The siding of a house is like the clothing we wear. Our selection of clothing depends up to place (a T-shirt and shorts wouldn’t be comfortable at a Midwest winter) and the fashion statement we would like to make. Not to mention there’s the budget factor.
But unlike our clothes, we can’t change our siding material easily. Even though we could change colors and accessories depending on the material selected, most of us take a “one and done” approach to the outside of our homes. We don’t want to restain repaint or any of that. We need. This guide to exterior siding choices will help you select.
Great Neighborhood Homes
Horizontal Lap Siding
Probably the most omnipresent of siding choices, horizontal lap siding can be made from wood, aluminum, fiber or plastic cement and could be completed in an unlimited range of colors.
This siding option is a natural fit for a colonial, or traditional-style, home because it functions well with simple, boxy forms and symmetrical compositions. So if your home is a stately colonial …
Daggett Builders, Inc..
… or even a humble Cape Cod, you’ll find horizontal lap siding to be a fantastic selection.
Cost: The installed price of flat lap siding may fluctuate widely, with the lowest about $3 to $5 per square foot for vinyl and $4 to $7 per square foot for fiber plaster or cement. Material quality, colour finishing and more affect the price.
Eck | MacNeely Architects inc..
Board and Batten
Available in wood and fiber cement, board and batten siding is, like flat lap siding, a fantastic selection for traditionally designed houses. Unlike the flat lines of lap siding, board and batten puts visual emphases on the perpendicular, making taller-appearing homes.
Cost: Originally used on barns and other farm buildings because a low-cost and material-efficient approach to siding, board and batten has become evocative of those rural structures. But it’s not the least expensive option, costing about the same as lap siding in either wood or fiber cement.
Union Studio, Community & Architecture Design
Lap siding together with board and batten on precisely the exact same exterior may create a comfy, rurally inspired look.
Mockler Taylor Architects
Shingles
Available in vinyl (polymer), wood and fiber cement, shingles (also called shakes) are ideal to traditionally designed homes that have a shingle, Craftsman or Arts and Crafts aesthetic.
Cost: Expect to pay slightly more for shingle siding than horizontal lap siding.
Wood Strip Siding
Wood may also be utilized as a flat, horizontal siding. Occasionally set up in a tongue-and-groove configuration, the key to this type of siding would be to get a constant waterproof membrane behind it. Otherwise warm water that gets behind the siding will harm the interior of your home.
Cost: The price of this type of siding varies depending on the wood species, but it’s generally one of the pricier choices.
Resolution: 4 Architecture
Fiber Cement Panels
Large sheets (often 4 feet by 8 feet) of fiber cement panels create a level, uniform surface treatment with shadow lines at the reveals where the panels meet. The aesthetic will be more modern but the exact same approach may be utilised at a Prairie-style home by putting battens on the panel joints as here.
Cost: about $7 to $10 per square foot installed.
More about fiber cement panels
Richard Manion Architecture Inc..
Stucco
Available in natural or synthetic form, stucco is a fantastic selection for exteriors with large surfaces and easy geometries. Although the texture may vary from fine to rough, stucco is best suited where surface shadows ought to be minimized.
Carson Poetzl, Inc..
Stucco is a great siding alternative for many home styles, from modern and contemporary to Arts and Crafts to Prairie, but it’s most closely connected to the Southwestern Spanish colonial design.
Organic stucco has the capability to “breathe” (allow moisture and air to pass through it), but synthetic stucco doesn’t. When using synthetic stucco it’s therefore important to get a fantastic vapor barrier or drainage plane installed so that moisture doesn’t build up inside the wall.
Cost: about $9 to $12 per square foot.
Stucco for modern houses
Charles Hodges Ltd.. Gardens
Brick
Permanent and requiring almost no maintenance, brick is an perfect siding material for many houses. Additionally, it is available in many sizes, textures and colors, and it can be stacked, or put up, in many different patterns.
Studio 1 Architects
Even more closely associated with traditional designs, brick may be used on homes which range from modern to Prairie and just about every style in between.
Cost: Brick’s durability and low maintenance come at a higher cost. Expect to pay about $17 to $20.
More about brick veneer siding
Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects
Stone
Like brick, stone is durable and low maintenance. Available in a wide range of colors, textures and sizes, stone is adaptable to just about any aesthetic.
Traditionally, naturally quarried stone was piled in large, heavy pieces that were very expansive to set up. To reduce prices while keeping the look of stone, some producers started making stone veneers, a man-made material that’s pigmented and formed to resemble stone. Not to be outdone, the stone quarries developed technologies to cut natural stone into thin veneers. The end result is lower costs and a range of stone materials.
Cost: about $35 to $50 per square foot installed.
More about stone siding
WA Design Architects
Metallic
Although not a generally considered material, metal may be an superb option for siding –particularly if your house has a modern aesthetic. From corrugated steel …
… to aluminum, metal sidings are durable and require little if any maintenance.
Cost: It varies widely with the choice of material and details. Also, craftsmen proficient with the installation of metal siding might not be available locally, so research what’s offered in your place before you choose this alternative.
More:
Stucco on Modern Home Exteriors
Metal Works Wonders With Home Exteriors
Wood Home Exteriors Branch Out
Glass Home Exteriors Reflect Modern Taste