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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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