Tips for adding resale value to your home's exterior

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Change the siding? Add new shrubbery? Replace the cracked sidewalk? When it comes time to enhance the curb appeal of your home, there are a multitude of improvement projects you can consider -- but which ones will add the highest resale value to your home?

According to home improvement expert Don Zeman, "think big" and invest in projects that make a significant impact on the exterior of your home. "Adding some window flower pots or garden flags are nice, but they don't add lasting value to a home," says Zeman, a former contractor and host of the nationally syndicated Homefront with Don Zeman radio show. "For your enjoyment while living in the home, and for added resale value when you decide to sell the home, consider projects that impressively kick up the value of your house overall."

Zeman, who offers televised home improvement tips nationwide on "News from the Homefront," recommends these projects and products to significantly upgrade the value of your home.

Tip #1 - Create a Bay or Bow Window on the front of your home. Take out a few side-by-side Double Hung windows and opt to replace them with a Bay or Bow window. These dramatic windows extend the living space on the interior of the home and create a new focal point for a house. Make certain to maximize your investment by insisting on low-maintenance ENERGY STAR® qualified windows, such as the vinyl Bay and Bow windows manufactured by Simonton Windows.

Tip #2 - Invest in a strong roof with a strong warranty. The roof is one of the most vulnerable areas of the home's structure, so when it's time to replace it, start with lots of research. Look for a low-maintenance roof that can withstand fire, high winds, impact, hail and severe weather. One company, DaVinci Roofscapes, offers a 50-year limited warranty on their synthetic roofing tiles that come in slate and shake styles. These roofs laugh in the face of Mother Nature -- and stand up to hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms and searing temperatures.

Tip #3 - Enhance the entryway with brick panels. Set off the area surrounding the entry door with an environmentally friendly panelized brick product. Available from Performance Brick, these panels are made of recycled gypsum and reinforced with high-density polymer materials. The overlapping and interlocking panels install quickly to the exterior of the home and come in "no repeat patterns" to assure a one-of-a-kind look. The decorative panels come in Cabernet Red, Darlington Rose, Manchester Brown and Pearl Grey color options along with a custom color match system.

Tip #4 - Add decorative millwork around windows and doors. Trimless doors and windows equate to a boring home exterior. By investing in low maintenance urethane window crossheads that sit atop windows, and pilasters that travel vertically up the sides of doors, homeowners can embellish the exteriors of their homes. Small touches can go a long way. Fypon keystones added to the crossheads, or pediments added on top of the entry door, create stunning complements to the home's exterior.

Tip #5 - Replace a window with a decorative glass accent window. Select a front-facing window on your home's exterior that's in a hallway or guest bathroom and replace it with an artistic decorative glass window to add sparkle inside and outside the home. Sunlight entering through a Hy-Lite decorative glass window is transformed into colorful prisms of light. Considered "art for the walls" these windows feature a variety of clear and colored glass pieces and swirls accented by black or patina caming for added elegance.

For more products and projects that can add value to the home, visit www.homefront.com.