Siding – most durable, carefree, green, inexpensive siding…doesn’t matter if it’s ugly
So, it’s come to that time in the project… when you pay for the many times you said “eh, I know its more expensive but we’ll find a way” …. the money runs short and you have to start hacking things. The previous owner built an addition and and left it covered with outdoor grade plywood. It’s painted and still in good condition, but can’t last for another winter. We’ll have enough money to have it stucco’d in about 6 months. Problem is that the addition has french doors that lead to a 4 ft drop into the backyard… the wife wants a deck there ASAP (and honestly so do I, it’s a trek to the BBQ when you have to go out the front door and walk around the house). I already have the material for the deck, but I have been waiting to put the deck on till we get the stucco done. After delaying the deck for 4 months I realized (genious that I am) that there was no reason to wait…. no one is ever going to see the side of the house under the deck, so it doesn’t have to match the rest of the house so why am I waiting on the stucco?! I can use a different siding from the deck level down, attach the ledger over that, and stucco from the deck up later on. I’m going to build in enclosed storage under the deck, so the wall of the house underneath the deck will not be visible or accessable.
So… the question is (though it pains me to say so) what siding is:
– cheap
– doesn’t matter if it’s ugly (no one is going to ever see it under the deck)
– long lasting with no maintenance (has to outlast the redwood deck, we won’t be able to get underneath to maintain or replace)
– green (we redid the rest of the house with green materials, don’t want to stop now)
Best I’ve come up with so far is sheets of aluminum overlapped and sealed applied over the plywood.
Thanks for your thoughts!!
Elan
Replies
Corrigated Galvinized Metal Roofing.
Lousiana Pacific Smartside siding is pretty cheap and durable.
Yeah, I think the Smartside is worth looking at. About 27 years ago we resided our house (built 10 years earlier with crummy hardboard siding) using Masonite "Woodsman", which is a "tempered" hardboard (unlike 98% of the hardboard siding sold at that time). The siding is still in perfect condition, with no deterioration visible anywhere. And it installed easier than fiber-cement and looks a lot better.
I think the Smartside has some of the same attributes (though I haven't looked at it closely).
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It is made of wood chunks, not fibers like hard board. I put it on my shed and it looks great, and holds paint well, doesn't cost much, seems to hold up well, and comes in various formats, I used 4'x8' sheets because that was the best choice for me. They claim it's green for various reasons.
I don't think hardi siding is really considered green because of the cement making process, but I personally don't care and find it a great siding material, and it's easy to work with for the most part, if the right tools are used. It does have some issues, but I put it on my own house, and am impressed with paint retention and fire resistance, as well as the appearance. It looks like wood, but not exactly like wood, so some people fault it for that.
If my neighbors had it, they might be alive today, but the vinyl did not help matters, and one house next door burned down, and the other one had major damage, but was repairable. It was a disaster for the family, three left alive but injured - husband and two daughters. Four dead, wife, two babies, and her father, it was an unbelievably hot fire in the middle of the night.
Give me fire resistance over "green" anytime.
But anyway, Smartside is a great siding material. I suspect the fire resistance is much less than fiber cement, but it's probably a lot better than vinyl or other cheap siding materials.
Fiber Cement
A fiber cement product like Hardyplank.
The stuff does not rot, rust, absorb moisture, support mold, burn, or attract vermin. Paint it or not, as you like.
Cheap, lasting, siding
I'd have to vote for the fiber cement as well. A poor installation will look so. Installed well and it can be an acceptable, practicle siding. The two attributes that lead the list are it doesn't rot or deteriorate and it takes paint very well. Painting is negotiable. Unpainted can be 'ok' if you get your caulk to match the primed color it comes in - you will see the caulk if left unpainted.
Fiber cement was always my last choice, but it did make the list of options while other sidings did not even make the choices list.
Good luck with your decision.
Vinyl, hands down
Hardie and SmartSide are both good products, but they need painting and aren't cheap. Vinyl seems like the way to go here to me.
Yeah, you just need to replace it when it blows away, or when halestones punch holes in it.
Here in the NW Vinyl has really left the scene. It isn't very durable and it mildews terribly, turns green like the forrest - on the north side of course :)
You're in the Northwest!
Glass will mildew where you live, for Pete's sake.
Good one!
It's under a deck!
It would take one heck of a hailstorm to damage it there. Nor do I imagine it blowing away from such a sheltered location.
Wondering if there's a Vinyl Installer in our midst. Maybe!
Maybe
But it's not me. Vinyl has its uses.
elan
how about galvanized sheet metal. Preformed corrugated or perhaps get someone to bend a lip and hem flat stock. Would the zinc stop the growth?
mike suggested it right away, what do you think?
definition of cheap = free"?
here are some shed siding 'products' my shed have
1. just a few more layers of free CL paint over the plywood, 5 or 6 coats of laytex will alst over 20 years.
2. flattened #10 tin cans, looks like shingle siding
3. old scratched whiteboard, strip off metal from the particlae board back first
4. Beer cans - have one roof that is 16oz steel reserve cans, cut open, unroll. 1 sq from 4-5 year beer drinking.
5. Old car hoods and trunk lids, good for roofs also.
6. well, you get the idea......
This list is just appalling, 4-5 years of drinking Steel Reserve? I tried one once and then a second time - a long time later to see if it was as bad as I imagined. No, it was even worse. I would rather drink the -30 degree windshield washer fluid than that swill.