Home Improvement

Exterior siding for your Home

Exterior siding for your home is the first line of defense against the elements and the first thing buyers see from the curb. From brick to stucco to vinyl to wood, there are a number of different options for your next build. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the seven most popular varieties.

Vinyl

The pros: Relatively inexpensive and quite versatile, vinyl can be installed over existing materials, making it a nice retrofit option. Since it’s easy to handle, it can also be installed quickly, which can help reduce labor costs. Modern vinyl is also available in a variety of colors and textures, which can mimic wood shingles, wood-grain lap siding and even stone.

The cons: While promoted as a maintenance-free material, vinyl siding does require some work. Mold and grime can build up on the surface. Vinyl is also vulnerable to weather damage, which may result in occasional repairs. Since the typical panel is 12-feet long, the ends require overlapping, which results in seams. Extra-long panels are available; however, they cost about 30 percent more than standard-length panels.

Wood

The pros: Easy to cut, shape and install, wood siding is prized by designers and homeowners for its natural aesthetics. Whether it’s board and batten, shakes, clapboards or shingles, there are an array of wood species and grades to consider. Quality wood siding can last decades with proper maintenance.

The cons: Quality wood grades cost a lot, and the siding will always demand diligent maintenance. Wood siding is also vulnerable to woodpeckers, termites and rot.

Fiber Cement

The pros: A mixture of clay, cement, pulp and sand, fiber cement has a strong reputation for low maintenance and stability. It can be made to mimic stucco, shingles, masonry and wood clapboard. It’s also easy to paint and available in a diversity of attractive finishes. Fiber cement siding is termite-proof, fire-resistant and comes with a 30-year warranty.

The cons: Because it is so heavy, fiber cement requires special installation tools and techniques, which can drive up building costs. After about 15 years, it usually needs to be refinished; however, maintenance duties are virtually nonexistent otherwise.

Stucco

Pros: Valued for its durability and unique aesthetics, stucco includes epoxy, which helps to prevent cracking and chipping. Well-maintained stucco can last a lifetime, especially in drier parts of the country.

Cons: Because it usually requires three coats, stucco siding can drive up labor costs. It’s also not an ideal option in wetter climates; however, with proper application techniques, it is still a viable option.

Engineered Wood Siding

Pros: Made from exterior-grade resins and wood fibers, this siding material is strong enough to tolerate the most extreme weather conditions. It’s available in a nice variety of textures and styles, such as rough-sawn clapboard, beaded lap and wood shingles. It also usually comes primed and ready to paint or with existing factory finishes.

Cons: While currently backed by iron-clad warranties, earlier versions have prompted class-action lawsuits, due to moisture issues. Many builders feel the modern varieties haven’t been on the market long enough to prove reliable.

Brick

Pros: Masonry offers substantial aesthetic appeal, along with impressive durability. It requires very minimal maintenance and typically lasts the life of a home. Brick is also resistant to fire and won’t mold or rot.

Cons: Since masonry veneer is non-structural, builders must tie it back to the building structure to prevent movement under weather and earthquake loads. It’s also expensive, compared to most other siding options. Color options are also somewhat limited.

Synthetic Stone

Pros: Made inside molds from a mixture of sand, cement and aggregate, synthetic stone siding can mimic virtually any stone type, including limestone and granite. While rarely used to cover an entire home, it makes a great accent on chimney exteriors and lower portions of walls. Synthetic stone looks very similar to real stone at a fraction of the cost. Because it’s lightweight, there’s also no need for builders to reinforce foundation footings.

Cons: While it does cost much less than real stone, synthetic stone is still quite expensive relative to other siding options. Also, because it is made of concrete, synthetic stone is less structurally sound than actual stone.

Real Estate (Farm & Ranch Land)

The Fairy Rose

My favorite rose (and the only one that survives) is the Fairy Rose is a Polyantha which means it has many clusters of blooms and there are many sub-varieties. 

 It is a low growing shrub which is absolutely smothered in blooms from spring right through to autumn. It grows to about 2 or 3 feet in height and spreads up to 4 feet in width, so when you put it in, give it plenty of room.

It has a slight fragrance, but its blooms make up for that. Each cluster of blossoms always has shades of rose pink, pale pink and white as each flower head goes through its birth to death phases. This may mean a lot of deadheading, depending on your taste, but I never had to deadhead mine even once, except after the flowers finished. Some pictures show up a lot of dead blooms, but I never saw that many on my bush. This rose is very prickly – its only downside. So just wear thick gloves when working with it.

It is resistant to rust, powdery mildew and even black spot (ideal for South Dakota). It is also shade tolerant; ideal for at the base of a tree or in a corner (although it must have good air circulation around its base, like all roses).

The Fairy Rose needs very little attention. It is hardy, drought and disease resistant and blooms ‘as if it meant it’. Wherever you put it, it asks for only one thing: good drainage. Like all roses, they hate wet feet. It loves a good organic or compost mulch, and if you must give it fertilizer, use a slow release, occasionally. Early pruning after the flowering season will promote new growth and deadheading will extend the life of the flowers well into autumn.

Garden Pests

Scarecrows

As long as there have been farmers and gardeners, there have been birds trying to eat their crops. And throughout the ages, farmers have tried to come up with ingenious ways to scare them off. Nowadays, scarecrows are familiar sights, not only in gardens but in autumn decorations, with no end to the cute (or scary!) possibilities.

From ancient Greek wooden sculptures of Priapus placed around the garden, to the German bootzamon or “boogeyman” (often accompanied by his wife, the bootsafrau), scarecrows have always been familiar figures in gardens, orchards, and vineyards. And in some cultures, scarecrows were actually live people, hired to shoo the birds away!

In modern gardens, we most often see the typical stuffed human-shaped scarecrow, perhaps accompanied by an assortment of rubber snakes, owls, and foxes. Because they don’t actually harm the birds, they’re popular in organic gardens, where the idea is to scare birds away from the crops while still allowing them in other parts of the yard to eat insects and grubs.

Like deer and rabbits, birds are wary but adaptable. While they will steer clear of anything that looks suspicious or out of place, if it stays put for a while, they’ll get used to it, and eventually you’ll find them roosting on it!

A basic scarecrow, placed in your garden and left alone, is likely only to be effective for a few days. So in order for your scarecrow to work, it needs to be ever changing. You can accomplish this by:

  1. Moving the scarecrow around.
  2. Attaching reflective or noisy accessories that flash in the breeze.
  3. Changing up your scarecrow’s wardrobe from time to time.

If you’re also using rubber snakes and the like, keep them moving too, so the birds will be fooled into thinking they’re real.

You can make a basic human-shaped scarecrow from scraps you probably have lying around the house. It could be a hat on a wooden tripod.

Frame: A “T” or cross stuck into the ground can serve as a simple frame for a scarecrow. Simply lash or screw together two scraps of wood, pipe, or straight tree branches. Make the vertical piece about as tall as you are, and the horizontal piece at shoulder height, at least as long as the shirt sleeves the scarecrow will be wearing.

Clothing: Dress the frame with old clothing you have lying around. Use hot glue, safety pins, or simple yarn stitches to hold the clothing together. Plaid shirts and overalls are popular choices but be creative! Add gloves, shoes, bandannas, or whatever you like. Loose clothing or scarves will add movement to help scare birds away.

Stuffing: You don’t have to stuff your scarecrow; but you can use old rags, straw, leaves, or newspaper if you do. Plastic garbage bags are helpful for holding stuffing in shape and keeping fragile stuffing (like newspaper) from falling apart when it gets wet. Your scarecrow will last longer if the stuffing can stand up to the elements. You can always add a little straw sticking out around the sleeves for the traditional scarecrow look.

Head: A head is optional too, but you can easily make one out of an old pillowcase, milk jug, pantyhose, fabric, pumpkin, or gourd. If you like, you can add hair and a face using markers, yarn, buttons, twigs, or whatever you have on hand.

A hat is another way to keep your scarecrow working. You can put it on your scarecrow’s head, or directly on the top of the pole. Rotating several hats frequently can help keep your scarecrow fresh. In one yard I spotted a scarecrow that was nothing more than a wooden ladder with a wavy straw hat on top, which was regularly moved around the garden.

Bob

Accessories: To keep the birds guessing, add some changeable accessories to your scarecrow. Aluminum pie pans, old CDs, and strips of plastic can be tied to the scarecrow to flash in the sun. Wind chimes, bells, spoons, or sticks can be dangled to clack and ring in the breeze. Wheelbarrows, bicycles, garden tools, hay bales, and other accessories can also be added and removed.