brick...classic or modern

Another installment in our continuing series on siding options for your home.  In this post we will discuss brick and its usefulness as a siding for your home. 

When I think of brick as an exterior material I almost immediatly go to the college campus buildings (Collegiate Gothic Architecture), or Post-WWII suburban homes, or even Southern colonial homes.  Brick as an aeshthetic material can be difficult, especially if your aim is to creat a unique piece of architecture and not a traditional style.  Brick, in my opinion, lends itself  to nostalgia.  There is a warmth and familiarity and a sense of the past when you see a brick facade.

Brick has been on our building tradition for a very long time, and was part of our technological progession from caves to built dwellings.  Brick started out as essentially sun-dried mud, and eventually has evolved into the modern and expressive building material that it is today.  All bricks are unitzed pieces of masonry that are bonded together with mortar to create a contiquous system.  Laying brick is a labor intensive process is part of the reason for the expense of installing brick on your home.

Brick has some of the qualities of dimensionsal stone that we have discussed previosuly, but with less cost that stone because it is manufactured and mass produced.  Brick can be made any many different sized and colors and can even be custom-shaped for a special project.  Of course, if cost is a concern (and when is not?) standard brick sizes are your best bet.  Some of the general drawbacks with brick is it can efloursece (click the link to learn more).  All brick is susceptable to freeze-thaw cycles that can damage the face of the material and all the mortar joints will have to detailed correctly as they have a huge impact on the life of the wall.

A brick wall can be a simple wall system that consists of several layers (wythes) of bricks tied to together with mortar to "glue" them into a solid wall; this is a mass wall system.  The benefits of a brick mass walls are similar to those discussed in our dimensional stone wall discussion; a mass wall has thermal mass that helps regulate the termperature inside your home.  Another benefit of any mass wall is that it provides excellent acoustical separation from the adjacent space; whether you live next to a noisy street or have neighgors close by, a mass wall might be the right choice to block out the sound.  Be aware, however, that mass walls are more expensive that cavity walls (discussed below) due to the shear amount of material it takes to construct them and make them structurally stable.  Some of the drawbacks to a mass wall is that it can be hard to keep water from infiltrating the system and the wall takes up more space than a conventional wall.  The freezing and thawing of moisture inside the wall can cause the wall to fail, so careful planning will need to be taken to plan the thickness of the wall to account for moisture penetration and drying time.  Also, in a tight floor plan, a mass wall may not be an option unless you are willing to give up space on the interior of your home. 

The modern use of brick as a siding material would be its use in a cavity wall.  This application is a more recent use of the material than its mass wall ancestor; this wall system is similar to the system used with siding materials we have already discussed (wood, composites, metal, and manufactured stone). In a cavity wall the brick veneer will have to be hung off the backing structural wall.  While this will add to the structural requirements of your stud wall or block wall, a cavity wall configuration will also provide some increased benefits to water infiltration (due to rainscreen principles) and total insulating value (because you can add rigid insulation in the cavity if you desire) of the wall.  If you are going to use a brick veneer for your siding, then I would highly recommend implementing a rainscreen wall.  The benefits will be worth the extremely minor amount of additional work and cost it will take to upgrade.  The cost, however, for either wall system is going to be more expensive than your composite siding ro manufactured stone. 

Whatever you do, please don't use the fake brick sheathing you see at the store.  You are not fooling anyone, and it does nothing to evoke the feeling of substanance and permanence that is meant to be fealt by using a heavy masonry product.  It's like the wallpaper my parent had in our basement of the forets.  Really?  I know it was the 70's, but all you had to do was turn your head to the right and the actual forest was right there.  I wonder what my kids will scratch their heads at?

Finally I will leave you with a famous (in architecture circles at least) quoute from a very famous Architect, Lois Kahn.  The quoute is in context of the nature of materials and that materials should be used for what they are intended and not superficially  artifaced.  Anyhow...enjoy!

“To express is to drive.  And when you want to give something presence, you have to consult nature.  And there is where Design comes in.
And if you think of Brick, for instance, and you say to Brick,"What do you want Brick?"

And Brick says to you, "I like an Arch."

And if you say to Brick, "Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lentil over you. What do you think of that?"

"Brick?"

Brick says: "... I like an Arch"”

--Louis Kahn

natural stone siding... rockin' it

This is part of our continuing series on siding materials for your home.  In today's post we will talk about natural stone.  Natural stone can be an elegantly magnificent choice for a wall system for your home.  When natural stone is used for modern building purposes it is often called dimensional stone because the natural material has been processed from the earth and reformed in some manner to be used as a building material.  Stone consists of various types of natural rock extracted from the earth; granite, travertine, and limestone are just some of the more popular choices.

A stone wall can be a simple wall system that consists of stones and a mortar to "glue" them together; this is a mass wall system and has been in use since antiquity.  Some of the benefits a mass wall has compared to a more modern wall system (discussed further below in this post) is that a mass wall has thermal mass, doesn't require a structural wall to hold the stone, and can be fairly simple to build.  Some of the drawbacks to a mass wall is that it can be hard to keep water from infiltrating the system and the wall takes up more space than a conventional wall.  In a tight floor plan a mass wall may not be an option unless you are willing to give up space on the interior of your home.  Another variation of using this material for a wall would be a Gabion, but I would like to limit our discussion to walls that are intended to create tempered space isolated from the exterior.

The modern use of stone as a siding material would be the use of dimensional stones in a cavity wall.  This application is a more recent use of the material than its mass wall ancestor; this wall system is similar to the system used with siding materials we have already discussed (wood, composites, metal, and manufactured stone). In a cavity wall the stone veneer will have to be hung off the backing structural wall.  While this will add to the structural requirements of your stud wall, a cavity wall configuration will also provide some increased benefits to water infiltration (due to rainscreen principles) and total insulating value (because you can add rigid insulation in the cavity if you desire) of the wall.  If you are going to use a dimensional stone veneer for your siding, then I would highly recommend implementing a rainscreen wall.  The benefits will be worth the extremely minor amount of additional work and cost it will take to upgrade.  The cost, however, for either wall system is going to be expensive.  The amount work it takes to extract, refine, ship, and install stone as a siding material is quite onerous, and your budget will take the brunt of this work.

Now that we know some very basic differences between the types of stone walls, let's talk  about aesthetics.  Stone has always been one of the more beautiful building materials.  There is an intrinsic quality to stone.  We understand stone innately.  Stone has been used as a building material for thousands of years.  When local stone is used it can evoke a sense of place and a timeless nature; a sense of place in that the building that uses the local material literally comes from the place it is built, and this connection is deeply understood and felt.  The use of the material in this manner connects with the earth and springs from the earth all at once.  When an exotic stone is used (material transported form another place on the planet) the material can seem other worldly, but yet the material stills feel natural and familiar.  This duality in feeling I think has helped to create some spectacular civic and residential architecture.  These qualities of duality, permanence, familiarity, etc. are what make stone such a desired building material and such an ageless addition to our palette of material and form in architecture.


For more proof,  you should click on this link to read about this wonderful project Scotland.

   

manufactured stone...friend or foe?



Cultured stone should mimic real stone construction.



This is part of our continuing series on siding products for your home.  Manufactured stone is a fairly new product.  It has risen to prominence in the "McMansions" of the early 21st century.  Manufactured stone (or cultured stone, or technically "adhered concrete masonry veneer") is essentially a concrete masonry product finished to look like quarried stone (real stone mined from the earth).  Concrete is poured into a mold, and then the appropriate amount of color and texture is added to create a product that looks like its associated real stone counterpart. 



If I put my personal bias aside, this product does have a broad appeal and some aesthetic qualities for use on your home.  However, when this product is overly used, used in way that defies the laws of gravity, or used in a manner that highlights the material as a fake stone, the application can feel unnerving and tacky.  Manufactured stone can provide the feel of permanence, sense of place, and mimic the beauty of natural stone if used tastefully.  I would suggest using the material exactly like you would be forced to use real stone.  Use it as a base to build the rest of your home from.  Real stone buildings are thick by necessity and manufactured stone is only a few inches thick so don’t highlight the fact that manufactured stone is of lesser substance.  Using manufactured stone as a surround for thin columns is an application that feels uneasy.  Using the material in large swaths is great, especially in a modern design, but if you are going to suspend this product off the ground than you better be bold.



Same home as above.  Nice use of stone in thick walls.

 The other issue you should be aware of is that this system appears to be prone to water damage if not installed perfectly.  With all building systems, time is what determines the ultimate success of new building technologies.  Manufactured stone has not been around long enough to know if this type of building component will fail when applied to a home for 50 years.  As I alluded to earlier, new residential construction over the last 10 years has seen a boon in this type of siding system and I would caution you in using this product.  See here for a great article from an inspection expert regarding some issues that have cropped up with the installation of manufactured stone.  The problem is that manufactured stone is applied to a wall like stucco (essentially glued with mortar to the outside of your wall).  If any water makes it past the face of this system then you are trapping water in your wall and, in turn, creating the potential for mold, mildew and rot.  Before installing manufactured stone on your home please ensure that either you or the contractor hired to install this product follows the guidelines provided by the Masonry Veneer Manufacturers Association.  Their website is here.

metal siding...not just for the shed

Another post in our continuing series about siding.  This time I'm here to talk about metal siding.  Now, metal siding can be tricky aesthetically.  It can be done in a way that works, and it can be overdone like some cheesy, pseudo-industrial pub that no one really wants to hang out in.  When this siding material is used appropriately it can be a stunning and durable choice for siding. 

 Metal siding can be a great siding product if used and installed correctly.  The main issue with metal siding is it typically is more complicated to install than your wood siding or composite siding.  Metal siding will most likely require you to build your exterior wall with the rainscreen principle in mind.  Most sidings, and the wall they enclose, are built with a face-sealed system, and if water gets past the paint or caulking then you have the potential for water damage to your house.  A rainscreen wall, in principle, is a better wall system for the long-term health of your structure.  Metal siding is very low maintenance (compared to wood and composites) and can be extremely durable over the life of your home.  One area that you need to be careful is in choosing the gauge, or thickness, of the metal siding.  If you go too thin (i.e. less money) on the gauge of metal siding you will get oil canning.  Oil canning will happen less with corrugated or ribbed metal siding than it will with flat panel profiles due to inherent strength in the corrugated profile of the material.  Metal siding is also not recommended in marine environments and can rust if either left unfinished or damaged; exposing the metal to oxygen and water (know as oxidation with causes the metal to decay) will cause rust.

The beauty of metal can provide an industrial, modern or rustic aesthetic to your home.  Be careful about the proportionality of the panels or ribs to the size of your home.  The examples in this post all use proportionally small profile corrugation in order to make the repeating pattern fit the scale of their respective home.  These applications create, in my opinion, a great texture to their respective buildings and a feel that is both permanent and familiar.  I think metal siding can be a great alternative to create either a modern or more familiar traditional aesthetic.

  

The last thing I will point out is that metal siding can be a good choice for a product in terms of environmental friendliness.  Some of the metal siding products out there are from mostly recycled content, but the real key is that metal siding has a longer life-span than most other building materials.  Metal siding can also be completely recycled when it is no longer wanted or in working condition.  No siding product approaches wood in it's environmentally friendliness (wood is a carbon sink), but sustainability is not only measured in the amount of carbon it takes to make a product or how much the product holds, but also how many times it has to be replaced.  The life-span of a product is a key cog in the wheel of sustainability.



composite siding...it's everywhere

Welcome to our continuing series.  Composite siding materials are all over the map, both in range of options and their ubiquitous use.  In North America, if I had to guess, I would say this is the most widely used form of siding today (see here, here, and here).  Composite siding ranges from wood composites, fiber-cement composites, recycled materials, and much more.  The reason I see why these systems are so popular is due to their low cost, versatility, and wide variety of styles.  These systems will buy you a reasonably priced siding option, but it will not provide any distinct aesthetics.

Composite sidings come in so many different varieties, it's almost all you see.  Composites have been made to replicate all traditional wood siding installations.  Before we had modern wood stains, wood siding was painted to keep moisture and pests out.  Now, most painted homes you will see are actually composite materials painted to look like traditional wood siding installations (this is why if you are going to use wood, don't paint it).  Composites are cheaper and have some benefits over wood when painted.  Here lies the kicker, you really must paint these products.  Some come in pre-finished options, but they are generally more expensive and don't offer an exceptionally wide variety of choices.  These products also need to be painted in order to keep moisture out of your wall and out of the product.  Any moisture that gets into these products usually causes irreparable damage to the siding and to your home and the siding will have to be replaced.  Regular maintenance and proper installation are essential to keeping your home value up and not spending more money than you need over the life of your home.  

Aesthetically you will hear claims that these materials are just as nice as real wood siding, and I take exception to that claim.  If you want to paint your wood siding then composite siding is comparable to wood, but even then when you see the two compared side-by-side there is still a substantial difference in the aesthetic quality of wood over composites.  The human eye can quite acutely sense the difference between a natural product and one that is man-made.  This is also apparent in "fake stone" products versus real stone products.  Some of the more intriguing applications of composite sidings are panelized options.  These eliminate the trick of making them look like a wood product and instead reveal them as modern, man-made materials.  A general theme in my design flavor is that buidlings have more impact on us artistically when they are honest about their use of materials and the way they are built. 



Before (more interesting)



After (like everything else)



Environmentally, composite sidings can vary in their impact.  Wood composites offer some of the same environmental benefits as wood siding.  Specific products and their impact on the environment will have to be discussed based on their individual basis due to the large variety of products that fall under this category. 

P.S. - We will not discuss or recommend vinyl siding on this blog due to it's incredibly harmful nature.  A product that lasts forever, as any self-serving industry might claim, is not a good thing!  I urge you not to use vinyl siding, and if you already have vinyl siding please recycle it from the list provided here.  To learn more about PVC's and vinyl go here.



wood siding...warmth and weathering

Welcome to our continuing series.  Today we will look at wood siding generally.  I will get into specific woods and their use at another time.  Wood siding is often times the most desirable choice for the exterior of your home because people have a connection with wood that evokes feelings of warmth and comfort.  Wood is an inviting material, but it is also a choice that requires lots of TLC to keep it looking lovely after a few years of dealing with mother nature.  Wood siding, generally speaking, has some key benefits and shortcomings.

As I've already mentioned, the impact that wood siding can have on your curb appeal can be substantial.  Because we have an emotional reaction to wood, it's choice as a natural exterior finish (read: unpainted) will have an enormous affect on the perceived value of your home and it's subsequent curb appeal.  You can stain your wood siding in a wide array of colors.  Wood siding can also be stained in a finish that ranges from transparent to opaque (essentially a clear finish to a "you might as well have painted it" finish).  I would not recommend painting your wood siding because there are other products better suited to that aplication if you want to paint.

The pictures shown in this post are cedar and redwood siding.  These selections have the benefit of being naturally decay and pest resistant.  Not all wood species have these properties so choose carefully.  No matter what species of wood you decide to use, no wood can resist the damage done by the sun.  In fact, almost no siding material out there can withstand the sun's UV rays forever.  You will have to maintain your wood siding to keep it looking fresh.

Finally, one of the lesser known benefits to any wood product is it's low embodied energy.  This basically means that wood products take very little energy to manufacture (log, cut, dry, ship, etc) and wood has the unique benefit of being a carbon sink.  As long as the wood siding is not burned, and is recycled or re-used, after it's life as a siding product, the wood actually stores carbon instead of creating carbon emissions, because as we all know, trees take in carbon dioxide to grow and release oxygen as a byproduct.  In that sense, wood products actually help reduce your carbon footprint.

let's talk about siding...

I will be doing a series on siding over next few days or weeks.  This is what I will be covering in the next several posts.

• The different types of siding products and their appropriate applications.
• wood
• composites
• metal
• manufactured stone
• dimensional stone
• brick
• concrete

• How the size and style of your home should affect your siding choice.
• What are the different options for protecting my home from the weather with siding.
• Design ideas on using different siding options.

You can read my original primer on siding after the jump...

bathroom above is not pie in the sky...

If you live in a home with only one bathroom, like I do, then you may dream of adding a second bathroom.  As a man that lives with two women (wife and daughter) I know the desire for a second bathroom first-hand.  Wow, can that be a wait in the morning, and our daughter is only 4!  Sometimes we don't always have an ideal space for our bathroom and as a reader asked...

"I would love to add a second bathroom on the second floor of my house. I have no idea where to start. How much would a modest bathroom addition cost? What are the major things I should consider before jumping into the project? Any ideas?"

Well, bathrooms on the second floor can be tricky, but the key is to locate your plumbing.  As a rule of thumb bathrooms are some of the most expensive rooms in your house (based on dollars per square foot).  There are many reasons for this expense (and also many ways to minimize that expense), but the main factor is the plumping pipe.  Running plumbing pipes is expensive and can be hard to install in a renovation project.  You will need to hire a professional to install the water lines and waste lines, and the less plumbing pipe you need to run the less expensive the work will be both in time for labor and cost of material.


For my own sake I am not going to suggest how much a project like this will cost.  You can find many contractors in your area that should be willing to come to your home for a "free in-home estimate".  This will give you a much more accurate view of the cost of your project in your location.  Please take the advice in this blog as a tool to empower you to make an informed decision.

Another decision that can greatly impact the cost of your project is the type of bathroom you want.  Do you really need a second shower?  Is a shower and a bathtub necessary?  Are you looking just to add a half-bath?  Think about the needs of your family, but also how this addition will impact the future re-sale value of your home.  A three bedroom home with one bath is not as attractive to potential buyers as a three bedroom with a half-bath or even two bathrooms!

Lastly I would suggest that your other main consideration be what space you are displacing by adding this extra bathroom.  Many homes use space inefficiently  and this means a half-bath could be squeezed into an underutilized space.  The great thing about bathrooms is that you don't need (or even necessarily want) windows.  This means a bathroom can be tucked into a space in the middle of your second floor in an area that is underutilized.  And, if the bathroom is on the top floor, all you have to do is add a skylight and you have a great value addition to your home.

windows are great...but not when they leak

One of the easiest fixes to our homes that we can do to save money is to make sure that the seals around our windows are not compromised.  If your window has even a slight leak around the edge of the window then you could be loosing hundreds of dollars a year.  I know this sounds cliche, but trust me it is not.  I recently experimented in my own home and so far this winter we have saved just about $300 in 4 months.  It is amazing that this small amount of maintenance can have such a large impact on your money.



Here's what you want to do.  Go to your favorite home improvement store and pick up some exterior sealant and a caulking gun.  Find that transition at the exterior of your house where the siding meets the window trim and make sure that this transitional area is sealed up nice and tight (see the first link for help on this).  This should prevent any air leakage you are experiencing around your windows.  This works in warm, cold, dry and humid climates; really anywhere you want the temperature or humidity level to be different inside your home than it is outside.

Do you feel a draft in your house in the winter?  You may want to feel around the edge of your windows to see if you can feel cold air coming in.  Was this helpful?  Make sure to click on the links for even more helpful information.  And as always, please leave your comments below.