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.