What's wrong with my house?

Brent helps a 1970s house come to life.
Be sure to check out Brent's podcast. Its available on Apple and Spotify. He teams up with Richard from Finish Carpentry TV to chase after the Passion for Craft! Passion for Craft podcast is also on / passionforcraftpodcast
Also, you might want to find all the extra content on the Patreon page. A lot of great learning tools all the time to help you become a better craftsman and builder. / passionforcraft
Also check out our webpage: www.passionforcraft.com
Here are a collection of books used in this talk in my Kit.Co library: kit.co/brenthu...
Here are more great books to check out on my Amazon associates page:
Design book for houses 1920- Architect Small House plan book: amzn.to/37XWaUI
500 Small houses of the 20's- Good designs for period revival homes: amzn.to/3DiH3kh
Samuel Chamberlain's drawings of Rural France: amzn.to/3utg15G
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Brent Hull
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[@debb8152]

It really tells the story of the house. Elevating the entrance, figuring out what is important to the story of the house, how to enter. So much more dignified.

[@BrentHull]

Thank you!

[@joelstillson6713]

As soon as I saw the original all I saw were the roofs over the front windows! Like "wow, that's over powering!" The portico would be a beautiful upgrade! Love these videos Brent! Thanks for doing this series! 🍻👍

[@BrentHull]

Nice, thanks so much.

[@KevinSmith-qi5yn]

They might have been voyeurists. Imagine if those were bathroom windows and everyone who looks upon the house immediately looks into them.

[@Indylimburg]

The features above the bay windows and the front door alone make would make it amazing.

[@BrentHull]

Thank you!

[@JoshPiland]

Hierarchy. proportion, and language. Nice consultation!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks!

[@heystarfish100]

This is such a common built home across the country and it is tired and in need of some work to modernize it and give it new life. I think your plan is very exciting and wish the homeowner well.

[@BrentHull]

Thank you!

[@pcatful]

Good job. Without totally rebuilding the facade, you've transformed the feel to something that make sense.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks!

[@smoath]

Lovely

[@BrentHull]

Thanks.

[@robertbamford8266]

Huge difference. The original was almost a two- dimensional cartoon.

[@BrentHull]

thanks for watching.

[@Fedgery007]

Love these videos!! More more!

[@BrentHull]

Thank you! More coming.

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

There were two identical houses in my neighborhood(built in the 70's), they tried to emulate that "box colonial" look with a completely flat front facade, vinyl siding, rear entry garage unlike this house, but the look was similar. They ended up looking kind of plain/ugly, until one of them had a DEEP full length front porch added onto it. Now it no longer looked like a stark vinyl sided box, the front porch with some nice fat columns and railing gave it a bit of a "real" colonial revival vibe to it, like those cool houses built from the 1920's to 1940's.

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Good to know.

[@pagecourts1474]

This is wonderful Brent! If the hedge plantings under the bays was removed and replaced with a low ground cover, the windows would be more exposed...anchor the corners with boxwood. That would help also. People often overdo foundation plantings and that overwhelms the house also.

[@BrentHull]

Agreed! 100% Thanks.

[@CrankyHermit]

Much better, far more sensitively proportioned. It just feels 'righter' now. I think nearly everyone would prefer your drawing to the original, but not one in a hundred could tell you why. And not one in a very large number could have identified those problems before you corrected them.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for that!

[@greene59]

Great design. Improves the curb appeal of the house. Definitely elevates the importance of the look.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks!

[@bigredgreg1]

I like the idea of a strong ceremonial entry to the house, which your suggestions conform with. This house could benefit from a five foot wide sidewalk from the street to the doorway. Good content. 👍

[@BrentHull]

Thanks so much.

[@bestbuilder1st]

I can't figure out who ever thought those massive bay roofs looked good (or the bays for that matter)? Or the dentil or the..... Good job on keeping this series going.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for watching.

[@flowersfrom7311]

Probably it was a contractor, who didn't even consult the homeowners. Roofs? Check ✔️

[@jelsner5077]

Totally agree with your changes. The fake shutters thing is a pet peeve of mine: If you're going to have shutters on your windows, they should be on hinges and WORK. Otherwise THROW THEM AWAY. Especially those fake, plastic ones. Sheesh.

[@613kc]

Oh the Humanity! 😅🤣😂🙃 Save us from the Plastic Shutter.

[@LogansRun314]

Totally agree, fake shutters are like fake dormers.

[@LincolnLog]

Then what do you think of the fake balustrade above the front entrance?

[@613kc]

@@LincolnLog"balustrade above the front entrance?" I like the looks. But had immediate maintenance concerns. But. Some clients have no cost concerns.

[@BrentHull]

Agreed!! Thanks.

[@homesteadorbust]

I love shutters but with the -what I assume is a garage- being so close to the one window it really eliminated the chance to have real shutters. But man top notch. I hope after watching all of these, I'll start to think Iike you Brent and see where changes will be best.

[@BrentHull]

Stay tuned more are coming. Thanks.

[@jameshill9726]

I agree 100%

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Thanks.

[@abigailwirtz3870]

This is one of my favorite series on KZbin. We are currently looking for a new house and so many are ugly 1980-2000s builds. We might need a consult…

[@BrentHull]

Of course. Happy to help. Good luck.

[@FB-111A]

Excellent

[@BrentHull]

Thanks

[@weekendwarrior3420]

When I'd just started watching random videos of yours I had no idea what you meant by "elevate" and "communicate". But after some repetitions I'm now getting it, I think. Together with "proportion" and "hierarchy", this should help me design the interior trim for my house. These days one has to do it himself for it to be done right. I wish you had a book made specifically for weekend warriors who want to fix their house... I'm still contemplating if I should spring for Windsor One or make my own moldings with a router...

[@BrentHull]

Hmm, good question. If it was me, i would buy Windsor and focus more of my time on laying out the moldings so they looked great. Good luck.

[@spencer04629]

Enjoy these videos every time. Making those few moderate changes to establish the importance of the main entrance improves the readability of the home. Regarding the shutters and dentil, this is another case of homes including those "design features" as a way to give the appearance of detail to home buyers with an untrained eye, but in reality they are added only to fill space and are either the wrong type of detail, wrong proportion, in the wrong location, or have no basis in history at all. Even dropping those fake details from the front improve the look

[@BrentHull]

Agreed. Thanks for your feedback.

[@pgadeb]

I live in a 1769 colonial and found it fascinating how you brought that colonial back to its roots. The architectural societies need to really educate the next generation - no more ugly houses! Great job!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks so much.

[@briansmith1514]

With the small window in the center it almost seems like it originally had some type of front porch feature that was later removed. These short videos really help visualize the things you have been talking about in your earlier videos. Thank you!

[@BrentHull]

That's great feedback. Thanks.

[@beverlyboys73]

Great job. What a big difference. So much improved.

[@BrentHull]

Thank you!

[@rok4220]

Really loved this. Had no idea when I asked about this last video it was next in the queue. Thank you!

[@BrentHull]

You are so welcome!

[@theofarmmanager267]

Excellent video. The original house seems very typical in style for many new “Georgian” houses being built over here in the UK. Lots of features but no real attempt at design; almost “the more bits and pieces we put in, the more marketable it will be”. Your after design really shows what a little thought can do. The removal of the pitched roves above the GF windows plus the portico or porch are, for me, the really vital changes. Assuming that money is not limitless, the 1F window changes could be done later as budget allows. What a pity that the people who really need to watch this video are the ones least likely to have an inquiring mind

[@BrentHull]

Nice, thanks!

[@Kaynos]

I hope it doesn't snow much where he lives, that balcony with no access above the door is gonna become a huge snow mount.

[@BrentHull]

It doesn't. Thanks.

[@robnarley]

I think these are all great changes, but I think I’d need to see a very detailed rendering or a picture of the actual finished product to feel the full effect of the changes. I love this series. Could you share before and after photos of projects as the come to life?

[@BrentHull]

Will do, most of these are still in the design phase.

[@eh_bailey]

Love it, Brent! Great details!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks so much!

[@ryananthony4840]

Huge difference!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks

[@LogansRun314]

Man I love this series. The two windows on the second floor, to the right, stayed the same size. Why is that? Or did that just not get finished out yet? Glad the fake shutters got canned!

[@BrentHull]

Ha. Just shared ideas with the homeowner. We'll see what they do.

[@pointnemo369]

It made a huge difference in the right direction. Thank you for sharing.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for watching.

[@tc9148]

Genius. Love the portico to emphasize the front entrance and all the window tweaks.

[@BrentHull]

Nice. Thanks.

[@ponysoldier6770]

I love this series

[@BrentHull]

So glad. Thanks

[@stephenseidl3389]

It would be cool to see an update on this project once it's done. Thanks for the video, I have a similar house and have been debating what to do with the front. Great notes!

[@BrentHull]

Sounds good!

[@AVSMedical1]

I love this new series!😊

[@BrentHull]

So glad to hear it.

[@error-xn7hn]

I love seeing this series mature. It works so well because there is an endless supply of houses to be fixed and they're all so interesting. The title is right. My previous suggestions were too negative. This kind of video just asks for discussion which is interesting to read and also youtube algorithm rewards it.

[@BrentHull]

Ok, thanks for the feedback.

[@heathmiller8462]

Really good eye. Significant improvements.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for watching.

[@jackwhiteside5094]

Looks great 👍

[@BrentHull]

Thanks.

[@mrBDeye]

This video series is excellent.

[@BrentHull]

Nice, thanks so much.

[@mikechan231]

I need a portico on my house - nice suggestions !!

[@BrentHull]

Cool thanks.

[@CarlosMartinez-un4sm]

Your videos and talks have opened me up to the character of house details. Thank you sir!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for watching!!

[@t.e.1189]

Great job, Brent as always. Something I noticed is especially with the shutters on, was how close it made the windows next to the corners of the house. They looked crowded. Seems like more room there. Am I right? What do you think? Also, whenever I see shutters the same width on all the windows, regardless of how wide the window is, I think cheap immediately. If you're going to have fake shutters shouldn't they be half as wide as the window? Otherwise you'll either have a gap on wider windows or an overlap on narrow windows when closed. As a side note, when I was a little kid we visited my grandparents in Germany and I remember the house they lived in had REAL working shutters and they use to actually use them. I thought that was so cool. I guess once you've experienced the real thing you never want to go back.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks, yes they need to measured and sized properly. Europe does it right!

[@crossroadschronicles4647]

Like it

[@BrentHull]

Thank you.

[@rogerhodges7656]

This is a great series!

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for watching.

[@thomasmeyer5004]

I like what you did but, in my opinion, you left one unsightly feature of the fenestration unaddressed which is the window that shouts bathroom is here, bathroom is here, bathroom is here. Why it seems to be a compulsion of Architects and builders to reduce the size of a bathroom window escapes me. You can still see thru a smaller window and therefor some type of interior treatment is most often needed. Anything that you can do to a small window you can do to a larger window i.e. cafe curtains, blinds, shutters etc. So maintaining the same size bath window as the rest of the adjacent windows gives a much more period look, and one, in my opinion, that is more esthetically pleasing.

[@BrentHull]

Good point. Thanks.

[@nancynewlin]

I would have tried to take out those front “bumps.” They can be very awkward for furniture arrangements on the inside.

[@BrentHull]

Noted. THanks.

[@MountainManFred]

Looks Great! Q: how wide should a column be? I've heard 1" wide per 1' tall.. I see lots of houses where the columns look like tinker toys compared to the house. Thanks for this.. I always learn when I watch these.

[@BrentHull]

Good question! Yes, 1" for 1' tall is a good rule of thumb. I think adding an inch to that total makes a stronger column. For an 8' porch a 9" column at the base.

[@KenYamaguchi-sg5zr]

Great job with the redesign, Brent. I agree with removing the dentils, making the upper windows smaller and that portico really makes the front door stand out. Question - Are those 1st floor bay windows authentic and realistic? They seem like a remodel, they seem way too big for the front elevation. Normally you have a "5 over 4 and a door" situation, right? Thank you.

[@BrentHull]

Bay windows have some precedent especially in the Victorian period. There are worse sins. Thx.

[@alexeynechaev266]

When you diminish the size of windows how do you overcome building code's egress requirements?

[@BrentHull]

I'm not diminishing that much. Also, you could use windows on other sides of the house. Thanks.

[@nikond90]

I wish I could hire you to give me feedback on my house.

[@BrentHull]

I have a consulting service. Send an email to [e-mail] and we can discuss. Thanks.

[@mab49696]

Amazing!!! you would not believe how many truly ugly houses there are

[@BrentHull]

Haha, yes I would!!

[@bradwatson7324]

Give it a cupola?

[@613kc]

I would move the gutter in.

[@BrentHull]

Not as a first round thing. But a possibility.

[@thenexthobby]

Yes, much better. Don’t forget the landscaping: bushes, hedges … none of that belongs. Houses shouldn’t need mustaches. Delete.

[@BrentHull]

Haha, Yes, that is correct. Way too overgrown. Thanks.

[@roysmallian2889]

Huge difference. The original was awfully bad. How could they have been so insensitive to the proper style?

[@613kc]

"How could they have been so insensitive to the proper style? Happens every day

[@BrentHull]

Thanks.

[@user-xp2op8gs7c]

Can I send you my house??

[@BrentHull]

Of course.

[@user-xp2op8gs7c]

Tell me how to send you everything. I'm in Baton Rouge