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By: Tammy Crosby
Nothing will impact the appearance of your home more dramatically
than the type of siding you choose, so it’s no surprise
that homeowners are looking to dress to impress. As you look
for exterior siding, look for a material that suits the style
of your house, fits your lifestyle and works geographically,
because you will be living with your choice of siding for
a long, long time. When it comes to figuring out the cost
of having your home sided - size really does matter, since
it’s labor more than materials that you’re paying
for.
Here is a look at some of the most popular and affordable
materials for exterior siding:
Solid Wood
The first choice for most homeowners is wood, because it
stands unmatched for beauty and durability. Wood is available
in boards, shingles or shakes. These products are typically
made from red or white cedar but they are also available in
pine, spruce, redwood, cypress and Douglas fir. The benefits
to going with wood is it offers some insulation value, is
easy to repair and install, and is available pre-stained,
primed or unfinished in many styles. Some products even come
with fire-retarding treatments. The drawback to solid wood
siding is that it must be painted or stained, which will add
several thousand dollars to the cost of the job and to maintenance
expenses in the future. For example, wood shingles cost between
$3 and $4 per square foot before staining or painting.
Cedar Shingles
Homes sided in cedar shingles (also called "shakes")
are made of natural cedar and are usually stained in shades
of brown, gray, or other earthen colors. Shakes are very popular
on traditional, ranch, historical and vacation homes that
want to blend in with its natural or rustic surroundings.
Engineered or Composite Wood
If solid wood is too much of a strain on your pocketbook
you might want to consider engineered or composite wood products
like plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and hardboard ($1.50
to $2.70 per square foot), but even the best of these products
won’t give you the look of real wood. Of the group,
plywood (often sold in a reverse board-and-batten design)
is the least expensive, easiest to install and has the longest
track record. It works best on contemporary-styled homes.
OSB and hardboard products are sold as 4 x 8 sheets or are
molded to look like clapboard. They are available preprimed
or prefinished in a wide variety of colors, which keeps the
cost down.
Fiber Cement
If you want the appearance of wood, stucco or masonry, but
can’t afford it, fiber cement siding offers a strong
and attractive alternative. This durable, natural-looking
material is best known by the brand names HardiPlank®
and HardiPanel®. A real selling point is the fact that
it’s fireproof, resistant to rot, fungus and termites
(a great perk if you live in an area that is hot and humid),
and may have a warranty of up to 50 years.
The installed costs of fiber-cement are reported to be less
than traditional masonry or synthetic stucco, equal to or
less than hardboard siding, and more than vinyl siding. As
always, size matters when it comes to your exterior.
Stucco
You can’t get any more sturdy than stucco. Simply put,
you’re covering your home with a layer or rock. Cement
stucco is made up of a small quantity of lime, Portland cement,
and water. This fine grained concrete is attached to your
house using waterproof barrier paper, galvanized wire mesh,
and metal flashings (handy devices that channel water to the
exterior wall). While the strength of stucco remains unchallenged
among sidings (it has a track record of say over a thousand
years), it does have it drawbacks because of its rigid makeup.
If the wood framing beneath it shrinks or if the house foundation
moves, the cement stucco could crack. To avoid this happening
to your new home, be sure the contractor frames your house
with wood sheathing and allows the lumber to dry for about
60 days before installing the stucco. If you hire a talented
plasterer, you have unlimited surface texture possibilities.
If you want to add color to your stucco be sure to spend the
extra money on a m!
asonry penetrating stain, because other paints may peel after
time. Traditional stucco has a low material cost, but is expensive
to install ($12 to $16 per square foot).
Aluminum and Metal Siding
Aluminum and steel siding, may be considered a step up from
vinyl in durability, but it’s plagued with its own limitations.
Like vinyl, metal siding comes in limited colors, is a worse
insulator than vinyl, dents easily and is very difficult to
repair. So if you live in an area where you get a lot of hail
or your house is surrounded by acorn trees, you might want
to reconsider using metal.
Vinyl
Thanks to new technology in the vinyl industry, the common
stereotype of a “plastic” home has all but faded.
New product offerings wood-like textures, shingles and shakes,
deeper colors and more trim options are making vinyl a popular
alternative to its high priced rivals. Vinyl is made from
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which makes it immune to rotting
and flaking, but even the best vinyl siding will crack, split
and look dingy after awhile. The fact that it requires low
maintenance - it can be washed with a garden hose - and that
it is cheap - $1.50 to $2 per square foot, makes it very appealing.
Not so appealing is the fact that it has limited color choices,
provides virtually no insulation, is not easy to repair, can
fade over time and doesn’t stand up well against Mother
Nature.
EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Stucco)
Synthetic stucco, also called EIFS (exterior insulated finish
system) consist of a a polymer-and-cement mixture, which is
applied in two coats over rigid foam insulation and a fiberglass
mesh. You might want to double think using this product, because
since it came on the scene two decades or so ago it has been
unable to successfully keep the water out. Water gets behind
many EIFS systems and can’t get out. What that means
for you, is that your home will likely suffer some serious
structural wood rot. Synthetic manufacturers are working on
rectifying this problem by using special water management
systems which collect the water and divert it back to the
exterior of the home before it suffers water damage. Being
a new homeowner, this may be one worry you’ll want skip.
Synthetic stucco materials cost more than the real thing,
but because it’s easier to apply it costs less.
The biggest trends in exteriors are vibrant colors and a
wood look
Interior design has always been the big “in”
when building a home, but now homeowners are starting to look
outside. Let’s face it - first impressions go a long
way, so your exterior home should really stand out. People
are looking for something different and unique, but at the
same time want low maintenance - in walks vinyl. Vinyl manufacturers
are hard at work to meet the demands of homeowners who want
a higher quality and more stylish vinyl siding. The big change
to vinyl is that it’s coming out bright and colorful,
now that it’s adding acrylics into its mix. Most color
palettes for vinyl used to be very similar and pale, but now
homeowners can find deep rich colors like forest green and
barn red.
Another new look by vinyl is dressing up as cedar shingles.
These cedar shingles come very close to looking like the real
cedar. The real beauty to these shingles is that they won’t
split, rot, flake, peel or chip like the real thing. Over
the last several years, almost every vinyl manufacturer has
come out with some sort of replica cedar product.
With everyone trying to simulate wood products, it would
only make sense that someone would market a real wood siding
product. That’s what Georgia-Pacific, who makes vinyl
and fiber cement, has done with its Catawba hardboard siding.
Catawba is 100 percent hard wood made out of pulp-grade wood
chips pressed and bonded at very high temperatures. This process
makes the wood very weather resistant. If you use two coats
of paint you won’t have to paint it again for 10 years
- double the time of traditional wood products.
About The Author
Tammy Crosby-Editor, Dream Designs
http://www.thehousedesigners.com are independent architects
and designers who joined together to provide you the best
house plans at the best price.
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