Renovating The Exterior Of A Century Home

There are a lot of old century homes in the rural area's of Ontario, the great thing about century homes is that they av survived for over a century (100 years). The bad thing is that a lot of the times because they have survived so long that people stop maintaining the old side of them and when it gets to the point that they need to be updated or repaired they don't know what to do because it seems like a daunting task.

Repairing or renovating the outside of a century home is not easy, it's not simple and its not usually cheap. The good thing though is as long as the bones of the century home are in good shape then the outside renovation should last a long time once it's completed and completed correctly.

Most century homes are brick, now brick is great if it's been kept up with, but like most century homes that need major renovations the brick gets to the point where its not worth repairing. There are a lot reasons why the brick on a century home can be compromised;

• Foundation shifting. A lot of century homes are built on stone or ruble foundations, over time these foundations shift and move. This movement can cause cracking in the brick above, cracking that isn't a cause for concern where it comes from the home becoming structurally unsound but it does make repairing the brick properly nearly impossible.
• Water penetration. If water has gotten into the brick overtime the face of the brick will start to shatter and fall off. There is no treatment for this, only replacement of the bricks if possible.
• Sandblasted. There was a trend years ago that the best way to clean brick was to sand blast them. This actually has disastrous affects on brick. It removes the skin of the brick allowing moisture in destroying the clay based brick.
• Painted brick. A lot of people wanted to change the look of the outside of a century home went and painted the brick. Once brick is painted there is no way to return the brick to its original colour.
• Stucco. Some people wanting to cover up damaged or cracked brick opted to cover the brick in stucco or parging. What happens is that the parging or stucco cracks over time because the brick behind it continues to move and shift.

So what do you do? Remove the brick? You could but at that point you are changing a large part of the house. 

What we have found is that if you can actually cover it in new siding. Cement or wood siding is the best as it has the strength to stay in place. Wood is the preferred method because unlike cement siding wood will bend allowing you to work easier on an un level surface like a century home.

There are several things that you will have to do to make sure that your siding lasts a long time on the outside of your century home;

1. House wrap. You have to install house wrap on top of the brick, this is to help with the moisture that will end up behind the siding.
2. Strapping. Wood siding requires that you strap the building. This is to help with installation and also to allow the moisture to run down the back side and out.
3. Air movement. You have to allow air movement behind the siding. The strapping helps with that but it only works if there is a way for the air to get from the bottom of the siding to the too of the siding and vice versa. Most sidings now have flashings that allow for this at the top and bottom and around windows and doors.
4. You will need to change the windows and doors if they are not new. Once you change the siding you will not want to replace the windows and doors.
5. New flashings. You will have to install new flashings around all the windows and doors and around the window sills. 
6. Caulking. This is one of the most important jobs that gets overlooked. Once you have completed the siding you have to go back around and caulk all the joints in the siding. Everywhere it attaches to windows/doors and at the corners.

The biggest thing you will need is to find the right contractor. A contractor that knows what they are doing and will properly install your siding for you.

The better your contractor the better the results you will have in the end.

Rob Abbott 

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Proper Wood Siding Installation

Air Flow is more important then you think when it comes to wood siding!

Recently I was called to a home that had siding that had some problems. The pre-painted wood siding was curling, cupping, splitting and the knots were starting to bleed through the paint.

I was shocked when the homeowner told me that the siding was only 2 years old, I had assumed that it was 10 plus years old and the damage caused to the siding was from years of weather and the southern exposure to the sun.

How could siding that is put on so many new homes start to fail so quickly on this home?

What I discovered was that there wasn't enough space at the top and the bottom of the siding to allow air to pass through it to allow the siding to breath.

That's right wood siding needs to breath.

Wood is a natural product and like every natural product there are certain things you have to do to make sure that it will last as long as it can. One of the main things that you have to do is provide proper air flow.

How do you accomplish this with wood siding that is nailed to a house wall?

Every manufacturer of wood siding will send out an installation manual with the product, your siding installer will need to at the least give it a glance. Why does a professional need to read the manual on siding that they have probably installed hundreds of times? Because every siding manufacturer has a slightly different installation method and has slightly different products to accomplish it. If your installer doesn't complete the installation exactly how the manufacturer states then you could be risking your warranty.

The reason for the exact way they require you to install the siding is to make sure that the siding lasts as long as it should.

On this particular job the installer had installed the siding without leaving enough space (they actually left no space at all) at the bottom and at the top to allow air to pass in behind the siding. To achieve this you have to leave a minimum of 1/2 of an inch gap at the bottom and also 1/2 an inch at the top. There are special flashing's that are supplied with the siding from the manufacturer to help achieve this, these flashing's limit any water, rodent or bugs from entering these gaps while letting the air to pass through as freely as possible.

These area's require special attention as they are the biggest difference between all the siding manufacturer's. Each manufacturer supplies different flashing's and a different installation method because of said flashing's.

These flashing's and the time it takes to install them usually make the difference in sub-trades prices. The sub-trade doing the installation the right way should be charging you more because they are taking the time to do it right, the one with the rock bottom prices is usually doing things as fast as possible with little regard to what is required for the warranty.

Something as simple as air-flow could destroy your expensive siding.

Hire a professional and get it done right the first time.

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Change Your Siding And Give The Building New Life

Have an old building? A garage, house, cottage a little bit of siding goes a long way!

No matter what the building looks like if you want it to look more appealing then install some new siding.

There are many different types of siding, colours, products, profiles and ways to install it. But the underlying theme is that new siding turns an old building into something newer and inviting.

In today's labour market paying someone to scrap the old paint off your siding and re-paint it is about the same price as removing it and installing new siding, the new siding will come with a warranty on the paint or the colour depending on what product you choose.

Some of the things you need to consider before picking a product;

• Budget. Your budget will be what defines which product you can be pick as there is a wide variety of siding materials to pick from and they all come with different price tags.
• Sub-structure. If your sub-structure is older and rotten then you will need to either add a layer to the outside to help with the siding installation. Siding fasteners require something solid to be attached too.
• Insulation. If you are re-siding a house or a cottage, an easy way to help the inside become more cozy and energy efficient is to add some insulation board to the outside of it. There are varying thicknesses depending on what R-value you want to achieve, but well installed insulation board can stop most drafts and it also helps seal the walls from unwanted creatures finding their way into the walls.
• Ripple affect. When you start changing the outside finishing's of a building you will end up finding things that need repairing or replacing. Once you start fixing siding you could end up  being forced to replace or repair soffit, facia, windows, doors, porches, outside electrical, overhangs, eavetrough, etc depending on the damage.
• Style. You can change the entire look of a building depending on the style and colour that you pick for your siding. You can make the building look classical or you can make the building look modern and sleek. Nothing transforms a house faster then the changing of siding.

 Whatever you decide on for for your siding make sure that you hire a professional contractor to supply and install it. No matter how nice the product you pick is it will only look as good as the company that is installing it. So do your research and find a company that not only can install the product but also someone you feel comfortable with as well.

Its your property you should feel like you've made the proper choice once its installed.

Rob
Village Builders Inc.

Exterior Finishing Trends on Custom Homes 2013

2013- Exteriors Finishes

The trends in the exterior finishes in custom homes and renovations in 2013. Some of the trends have started this year (2013), a lot of trends where started in the 2012 construction year and continued into this calendar year. There are trends that have been sustained year over year as well, they are long running trends.

Exterior Finishes for Custom Homes

Here is a list of the trends that have stayed the same over the last several years;

• Pre-finished wood siding. Pre-finished wood siding has been by far the most popular exterior material used on the outside of custom homes.

• Horizontal siding is still the most popular choice for siding.

• Using a different material in the gable ends such as cedar shakes instead of running the siding all the way to the soffit is still the most popular way to finish off high gables.

• Decorative timber framing is still the best way to high light gable ends and make them stand out.

• Natural stone is still the most popular stone to be placed on the outside of custom homes.

• A 4 ft skirt of stone is still the most popular option around the bottom of a custom home when stone is being used.

• Siding with trim to butt the siding up to on the outside corners. 45ed corners are not that common because of the high expense and the degree of maintenance involved.

• Wood facia and wood soffit are still the most common.

• Installing freeze boards in certain heights of a multi story homes are still used to add definition to a large sided area.

Here a list of the new trends happening in Exterior finishes on custom homes;

• Vertical siding is showing up on more and more custom homes. It helps give the home different lines that make the place look more modern.

• Cement siding continues to grow in popularity.

• Using facia that is coloured the same as the eave trough is a newer trend that is gaining in popularity, it helps hide the eave trough.

• New stone from manufactures like Eldorado are making man made stone a more likable option when compared to the high cost of installing real stone.

• Crown molding installed at the point where the soffit and siding meet is a new growing trend, it helps give a more detailed look to the area.

• Layered facia and layered trims where the siding meets the soffit are growing in popularity as people try to “dress up” the exterior of their homes.

• Elaborate layers of siding trims are being used, one trim installed on top of another to give the window and door trims more definition.

• Vertical siding is growing in popularity as people look for a more modern clean lined look.

These are just some the new trends on the Exterior Finishes of today’s new custom homes.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.