Siding and Cladding for Your Home. Nothing will impact the appearance of your home more then the siding that’s on it. When shopping for siding you may want to consider what suits your lifestyle as well as the style of your home. Siding is the outer covering ( A.K.A. Cladding ) of a home meant to shed water and protect the home from the effects of weather but it may also act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly influence its property value. Here are a few types of siding you may want to consider :
Stucco: Traditional stucco is cement combined with water and inert materials such as sand and lime but many homes built after the 50’s may resemble stucco but they actually use a variety of synthetic materials to achieve the same look. Stucco can be tinted to the colour you want and then the need to paint is gone forever. Synthetic stucco siding is lighter then the traditional and is more likely to suffer damage from a hard blow. It is often compromised of foam insulation board or cement panels screwed to the walls and the stucco is applied around it.
As a building material, stucco is a durable, attractive, and weather-resistant wall covering. It was traditionally used as both an interior and exterior finish applied in one or two thin layers directly over a solid masonry, brick or stone surface. The finish coat usually contained an integral color and was typically textured for appearance.
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a coating for walls and ceilings and for decoration. Stucco may be used to cover less visually appealing construction materials such as concrete, cinder block, or clay brick and adobe.
Stone veneer siding: Stone veneer is used as a decorative and protective covering for both interior and exterior applications. Stones like granite , limestone, slate, etc… are not only beautiful and hardly affected by weather , there also really expensive. That’s why precast stone veneers and facings became popular , the can look genuine ( depending on the product) and are also much more affordable the the real thing. The veneer is typically no thicker then 1″ and must weigh no more then 15 lbs per square foot to be installed without additional structural supports. These veneers can be made from natural stone by cutting the stone into thinner pieces or can be manufactured to look like stone.
Vinyl siding: Vinyl siding is one of if not the most popular type of siding. Unlike wood , this durable plastic will not rot or flake. Vinyl is available in several colour and it is said that it will never have to be painted. Advertisements say that vinyl siding is permanent and although it will last a very long time, it is less durable then wood or masonry. Heavy winds have been known to lift panels from the wall and windblown debris and strong hail can puncture it. New technologies are making this material stronger but the sheets may still crack if struck by a lawnmower or snow blower and unfortunately panels cannot be patched, they can only be replaced.
Engineered wood siding: Engineered wood siding is made from wood products and other materials. The panels can be molded to resemble traditional clapboards although it does not exactly look like real wood due to the fact that it’s textured grain is uniform. It does however look more natural then vinyl or aluminium siding. The benefit of engineered wood siding is that it offers all the advantages of of regular wood siding but in addition, it’s termite resistant and it will not rot,crack or split.
Having a Professional Home Inspector inspect your home prior to purchase will allow your new homes cladding to be inspected by a Professional like the Barrie Home Inspector. He will inspect for cladding of siding failure or poor installation techniques. Having all the information available is paramount prior to purchasing real estate, whether for investment or for your new home.
Recent Comments