Woodsy exterior home siding without the fuss
Some regions of the U.S. have many neighborhoods of older clapboard or lap siding, traditionally white. Others have the same type of exterior home siding in a spectrum of colors. But forested regions often abound in homes with wood siding of one or another species--redwood, Douglas fir, and more. Termites, carpenter ants, dry rot, mold, mildew and unevenly fading stain bedevil such homes. Homeowners must wonder, "What will it be this year?" And they don't dare let such problems fester.
Vinyl: exterior home siding looks like wood--without the upkeep
From clapboards to board-and-batten to shakes, shingles, and logs, if you want a wood-like exterior, vinyl siding delivers. The initial materials and installation costs for vinyl siding are a fraction of real wood. And besides the wood styles previously mentioned, you can have stain-like colors that won't fade or need refinishing. Finely detailed surfaces cast from actual wood are available in these colors and more:
- Maple
- Mahogany
- Cypress
- Cherry
- Oak
- Redwood
- Pine
Savings start immediately
A home with 2,000 square feet of exterior surface demonstrates the materials cost of vinyl siding. Insulated vinyl siding will cost more (vinyl log siding is automatically insulated,) but of course the insulation cuts monthly energy bills. Here are some materials costs, give or take a few hundred dollars:
- Vinyl clapboard or lapboard: Around $1,500
- Vinyl shingles: Roughly $6,000
- Vinyl logs: About $7,500
Buy your new vinyl siding through a building supply store or dealers for brands like Alside, Certainteed, The Foundry, KP Building Products, RMC Siding, and others. Then, when your neighbors are out there sanding or fighting dry rot or termites in their wood siding, you'll come out with a hose, wash down your house, and be done with it. If they're good neighbors, don't rub it in!
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