Steve Crook , President, SCD&C.
If you live on Colorado’s Front Range and own a home in the greater Denver communities of Evergreen, Conifer, Morrison, Golden, or other nearby communities it’s likely you have one of the following types of home exterior types. If the outside of your home is looking old or damaged and you think it’s time to upgrade, refurbish, or replace your existing exterior with new siding you’ll find the following information an excellent primer on what your options are.
- Rough-sawn lap siding which shows the contour of the log on each piece.
- Standard lap siding, which can range from wood species to the newer fiberboard composites and the latest fiber cement composites like the one James Hardie company manufactures.
- Board and batten siding, which is usually 4×8 sheets of rough sawn plywood or a fiberboard, with vertical battens of the same or similar material.
- Vinyl, steel and aluminum siding, which is often placed over existing siding.
- Full-round log homes, which may be smooth cut or natural logs, which form the interior and exterior walls of the house.
- Natural and synthetic stone, either in full or in combination with another siding product.
- Stucco, which has a variety of types, from the old style masonry stucco, EIFS (Exterior Insulated Foam Stucco) and the newer ‘First Coat’ masonry stucco with a top coat of an Elastomeric finish which helps avoid the natural cracking that is prevalent in masonry stucco.
- Multi-member siding panels such as Crane Board or CertainTeed products, which claim to have some insulation value.
Many of the above mentioned homes are in need of renovation due to their age, improper installation and/or insufficient or poor maintenance over time. In order to understand what is required to bring these homes back to ‘tip-top’ condition, let’s first discuss each type of exterior finish, their relative pros and cons, and possible scenarios for repair, renovation or replacement.