Not sure what would be best here. Mess after porch taken off

[retrocircles]

Had to pull down a large porch on the side of my house as it was rotten & leaking all over the place. This is what was there before (complete with blue tarp to stop water getting in):

Then we ripped it down...!

Created a feather-edge fence for the new gap & put a new gate in etc... But it now looks like this and I'm not sure how to make it look nice again! Stupid guy who owned it before put artex on the wall, which is riddled throughout the whole house. I'm gonna learn render/plaster purely due to this no doubt!

I thought about rendering PART of the side wall, just where the damage is. Sticking on a nice canopy (cheap but nice hehe) like this:

to make a feature out of the side of the house where it could be rendered? Maybe add a feature somehow? Like trellis? I really am thinking out loud here. But then thought it would look stupid? Other than that, I can't think of a small job fixer that I can manage myself.

My ex council house has 2 ridiculous painted strips (this is an old Google Earth photo):

The house could do with some pointing doing, while I was doing that maybe over the summer, I did think about painting the whole house (not render) like this (same street) - then if I did render the side, and painting the whole house it might not look out of place too much:

Ideas & thoughts welcomed. Only clause is I need to DIY due to financial constraints. Doesn't need to be a quick job. Happy to learn new skills along the way.

Have had advice that painting a house is more hassle than it's worth. Don't really know what to do... !

 

[ree]

Rendering below the rendered band on the gable only would be presentable - paint all the render the same neutral color. Dont now or ever paint brick.
The new fence panel would have to be temporarily removed. Fix it back to the rendered and painted surface.

The canopy idea is fit for purpose. Fit after any render and painting.

I assume that you have cavity walls but there appears to be injection holes in the brick course at DPC height?
Any new step(s) would have to be alert to the DPC line.
At the front elevation there appear to be sub-floor vents?

Your garden wall - of concrete blocks? - looks disgraceful and not at all welcoming. FWIW: castellations were defensive measures on battlements.
Why not try for a similar garden wall to the one in the last pic? Only use coping stones not engineering brick.

 

[retrocircles]

Rendering below the rendered band on the gable only would be presentable - paint all the render the same neutral color. Dont now or ever paint brick.
The new fence panel would have to be temporarily removed. Fix it back to the rendered and painted surface.

So I'd be left with a strip of exposed brick at the top only? Is that what you're saying?

The canopy idea is fit for purpose. Fit after any render and painting.

I assume that you have cavity walls but there appears to be injection holes in the brick course at DPC height?
Any new step(s) would have to be alert to the DPC line.
At the front elevation there appear to be sub-floor vents?

No injection holes...

Your garden wall - of concrete blocks? - looks disgraceful and not at all welcoming. FWIW: castellations were defensive measures on battlements.
Why not try for a similar garden wall to the one in the last pic? Only use coping stones not engineering brick.

I'll pass your concerns onto the local council, circa late 70's/early 80's. Unfortunately 80% of the street has the same wall. Given the state of other aspects of my property, I'll be working through that long list before worrying about the front wall - such as fixing rotting conservatory, rendering garage, landscaping garden, plastering & decorating internals... Then I may consider the drive & front garden. Otherwise it's a parking space & I don't have to look at it after all!
.

 

[OwainDIYer]

Rendering below the rendered band on the gable only would be presentable - paint all the render the same neutral color.

Agreed, and wouldn't need to be taken right to the front of the side wall; a sharp vertical edge could be taken to the right of the door.

For a door canopy I would go for a long thin one along the length of the side path rather than one that sticks out across the path sideways.

http://www.coopersofstortford.co.uk/coopers-of-stortford-coopers-door-canopy-prodst09017i/

£70 for the first 4' length, extension pieces at £60 for subsequent 4' lengths.

 

[retrocircles]

Thanks for that link, looks like a contender.
I would however worry about cleaning it...!