Posted by admin on October 31, 2012
Choosing a new siding for your home involves sifting through many options, including style and material.
If you are seeking wood siding you likely already know there are alternative siding materials for lap, shake and panel siding.
Two such wood siding alternatives are LP SmartSide — an engineered wood product — and another relatively new siding material, fiberglass.
Both LP SmartSide and APEX fiberglass siding by Marvin, give the appearance and finish of wood.
A view of LP SmartSide’s front (at top) shows the wood texture and the rear view (bottom) shows how the product is manufactured.
A view of APEX Fiberglass siding’s front (at top) shows the clips used in the water management system. The rear view (bottom) provides a perspective on the thinness of the durable siding.LP SmartSide is made using treating wood strands with a resin binder and compressing them to give the board superior strength while being light weight. Use of the small, fast-growing trees means strong forestry practices limits the tree acreage needed to make the siding. The process includes adding a textured face that is embossed, providing a rough, cedar-like texture at a percentage of the cost of wood.
APEX Fiberglass siding is made using a proprietary process that begins with fiberglass filament made from sand and ends with siding material. The process includes adding a acrylic finish with the color bonded into the material during manufacturing, not applied on the finished product. This means no painting decisions and no added cost. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by admin on October 24, 2012
If you’re in the market for engineered wood siding among the choices are fiber cement and LP SmartSide.
The best known fiber cement product is HardiPlank by James Hardie and that brand of fiber cement siding has been around far longer than the relatively new LP SmartSide siding.
Each are manufactured products — “engineered wood” — that combine wood fibers with another material before using a process to combine and compress the combination into the final siding material.
In the case of fiber cement the fibers are combined with a form of cement while in SmartSide the wood fiber is mixed with resin. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by admin on October 15, 2012
If you have decided against stucco, stone, metal or vinyl for your replacement siding you are likely considering lap, panel or shake siding.
After making that style decision the next one is selecting the material.
There are an increasing number of siding material options — wood, fiber cement, fiberglass — and among those options is a relatively new engineered wood siding product called SmartSide by LP Building Products.
SmartSide looks and feels like cedar while providing some of the advantages of wood.
LP’s proprietary manufacturing process begins with wood strands or fiber which are then treated with a resin binder and compressed to create a board touted as offering superior strength while remaining relatively lightweight. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by admin on August 9, 2012
While there are many types of construction defects that can occur to a home, water-related construction defects can be among the most damaging and long-lasting.
Typically water-related construction defects occur when water seeps into a home’s wall from the outside, getting behind the home’s exterior siding and into the framing. Once water reaches the framing long-term damage such as wood rot and mold can occur.
While water-related defects can occur with any siding, stucco siding is known to be particularly vulnerable. There are potential legal remedies to water-related construction defects, including any warranties associated with the construction or provisions in the building contract.
Part of any legal process includes a defect investigation, and no matter the legal outcome homeowners should get the problem fixed.
When choosing a contractor to repair a water-related construction defects it makes sense to find a firm that does construction defect investigations for law firms, provides expert witness testimony if the case goes to trial and also repairs the problem.
AMEK Custom Builders is such a firm. AMEK co-owner Paul Schmidt manages the company’s siding division and has investigated hundreds of cases of water-related construction defects and has personally directed more than 70 stucco renovation projects.
AMEK was among the first Minnesota contractors to replace leaking stucco siding with new fiberglass siding. Images of the work show what can happen when water seeps behind a home’s siding.
AMEK’s siding and construction water defect expertise is what prompted the firm to help pioneer fiberglass siding in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.
That’s because the fiberglass siding is not only water resistant, but the APEX fiberglass siding system used by AMEK includes an innovative water management system that keeps water from seeping into the house frame.
Posted by admin on June 11, 2012
Water damage resulting from seepage behind house siding can cause health problems for those in the home because of the mold that can form inside the walls.
It can also prove costly to tear off the siding, do mold remediation and re-side the house.
Such water damage is known to occur with improperly installed stucco siding, but can occur with all types of siding.
The newest siding technology — fiberglass siding — helps resolve potential water and mold damage in several ways. First, fiberglass is water and rot resistant and won’t expand and contract with the weather, which opens up the opportunity for water to penetrate the siding. info
