Wrap Your House!
By Susan Rich
Siding. Whether it’s wood, stucco, or stone, the cover of your house is akin to a beautifully wrapped gift, looking good on the outside while protecting what’s inside from damage.
Although every home has siding, not all siding is created equal. Wood needs to be sealed and painted; low-maintenance vinyl and aluminum need to be power-washed and checked for damage at least twice a year; and stucco, reminiscent of adobe villages and Italian villas, can crack.
Wood, with its natural beauty and long-lasting qualities, is still the time-honored choice for siding, but advances in manufacturing have made a variety of other products and options available.
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Photo courtesy of ABC Seamless of Lane County©
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Fiber Cement
Fiber cement is engineered to
have the appearance of wood, stucco, or masonry, and is a good choice if your budget doesn’t include natural wood siding. Other benefits: Fiber cement is fireproof, termite-proof, and impervious to dry rot. Some products carry a 50-year warranty. |
Cedar Shingles
Shingles or shakes are a classic siding choice in every community coast-to-coast. Made from natural cedar, shingles can be stained earth-tone colors but in most cases are left to age to a light gray. Cedar shingles are more resistant to rot and insect problems than other varieties of natural wood. |
Seamless Steel
No, not stainless steel: Unlike its less-superior cousins vinyl and aluminum, super-strong seamless steel siding resists shrinking and bulging when the mercury shifts. This is not a one-size-fits-all siding solution: Seamless steel is a custom-fit sheath. It can be ordered with a wood-grain texture or corrugated for a more industrial look. |
Brick
Not nearly as expensive as stone, brick is another time-honored way to shield your home from the elements. The range of colors from, well, brick red to muted earth tones makes this a choice that complements many architectural styles. Brick veneers are also available. |
Wood Clapboard
Never mind all the synthetic wood products available on the market today: Consumers still prefer the natural look of a clapboard house. Solid wood choices include cedar, pine, spruce, redwood, cypress, or Douglas fir. Maintenance is required and extends to regular staining and painting. Balance the attractive, durable quality of wood siding against your lifestyle, the size of your house, and an honest assessment of how much time you’re willing to invest in keeping the wood looking good.
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Photo courtesy of Castia Stone© |
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Photo courtesy of The Collins Companies©
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Stone
It would be prohibitively expensive to side an entire house in granite, limestone, or slate, but natural stone is durable and impervious to the weather. If yours is a grand façade, stone accents are one option to consider. For more extensive coverage, consider precast stone veneers or facings. |
Aluminum
It’s not just on granny’s house anymore. Aluminum siding had its moment when sparkle countertops were in style, but it is becoming popular once again, as an inexpensive, more environmentally-friendly option than vinyl. It has its drawbacks: Aluminum is fairly thin and lightweight stuff — think airplane skins — while it’s durable (airplanes do stay aloft), it can dent or fade. It’s also fireproof, so all you nervous fliers can relax. |
Stucco
Stuck on stucco? The traditional medium is cement combined with water and other ingredients, such as sand or lime. Its use dates back hundreds of years, to Renaissance Italy; nowadays, stucco facades give modern homes a classic Mediterranean feel. Natural stucco walls are solid and moisture-resistant, perfect for the Northwest’s damp climate. There are some pretender products out there; many homes built after the 1950s were covered in products that look like stucco, but lack stucco’s rigorous durability. If you have a mid-century home with a stucco façade, finding out if it’s the real deal or a charming imposter might be a good idea. |
Engineered Wood
Engineered products have been around for a long time: flooring, acrylic countertops, and for the exterior of your house, engineered wood siding. It’s a composite, meaning it blends wood products with other materials, resulting in a product that is inexpensive to purchase and easy to install. Examples include hardboard, veneered plywood, and oriented strand board (OSB). Engineered wood can be designed to resemble clapboards, but the uniform wood grain gives it away. Still, this product does look more natural than vinyl or aluminum. |
Vinyl
Here’s the good news: Vinyl won’t rot or flake. Scratches rub right off the embedded coloring. Properly maintained — which means power-washing on a regular basis — vinyl is a durable covering that can last for years. Now the bad news: Vinyl is made from a polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) and continually releases hazardous byproducts — whether it is used as siding or a floor covering — and also releases toxic chemicals if it burns. Despite the downside, vinyl is among the most popular, inexpensive, long-lasting siding products on the market today. |
Asbestos Siding: Not Always a Problem
Like the blankets on a bed, siding is a critical part of making up your home. Choosing the right one provides a pleasing façade, years of wear, and maximum re-sale value.
Here in the Northwest, many homes snuggle up under an asbestos blanket, a common siding material that was used from the 1930s until the 1970s, when it was banned. Asbestos has been linked to serious health problems, including a virulent form of lung cancer.
Before you panic and yank the covers off, keep this in mind: If your siding is in good shape and left undisturbed, asbestos shingles are usually not a serious problem, according to the website Environment, Health and Safety Online. “The mere presence of asbestos in a home or a building is not hazardous,” the website explains.
How do you know if your home has asbestos siding? For the average homeowner, it can be hard to tell. If it’s a covering that resembles cement-fiber boards (as opposed to wood, vinyl, or aluminum), and your home was built or re-sided during the asbestos heyday, you can send a sample to a laboratory for analysis.
However, if the siding is in good shape, it’s best to leave well enough alone: Taking a sample is a potentially hazardous process and requires following precise steps outlined on Environment, Health and Safety Online.
There is no law that says asbestos has to be removed. It is possible to repair damaged asbestos roofing and siding, but it’s not necessarily a do-it-yourself project. It is important to avoid breaking, sanding, cutting, drilling, or sawing the materials during repair, because this can release asbestos fibers into the air. For best results, hire a licensed professional.
Do-it-yourself projects include patching asbestos siding with caulk or painting with latex paint. It might be possible to cover asbestos siding and roofing with new materials; check local building codes first.
Removal becomes necessary only when the siding or roof falls into disrepair, or when the home is being renovated or torn down. |
