While those are the cosmetic and structural problems related to water in the home, a major health concern results when that water prompts mold forming inside a house.

Mold can form in a home when stagnant water combines with naturally occurring mold spores in the air to create a growth of mold.

Common health problems associated with mold include aggravation of asthma, skin and eye irritation, symptoms similar to hay fever such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes and a skin rash.

In extreme cases, “black mold” can grow which is considered a toxin and can cause loss of energy, bouts of coughing and even extreme nausea and vomiting.

That is why keeping water out of a house is such an important element in construction, and why firms specializing in construction defect identification and repair — such as AMEK — are in demand.

AMEK’s construction defect division includes specialists at identifying causes of water damage that they are called upon as expert witnesses in court cases. In addition to using that expertise in remodeling, AMEK also has a new emergency response division for water, storm or fire damage, ensuring your home is properly cleaned up after suffering sudden damage.

That includes inspecting your home for mold. Sometimes mold can be seen on a wall or floor, other times it lives in air ducts or behind walls. If discovered, cleanup includes removing the water and then mold remediation to remove existing mold.

Water enters a home from both the outside and within.

Some examples of how water can infiltrate a home from the outside:

• Cracks in stucco siding around windows and doors allows water to penetrate into the framing.
• Ice dams can allow water to seep underneath shingles and penetrate into attics and ceilings.
• Improperly installed siding can allow water to get behind the siding and soak into the home’s framing or insulation.
• A cracked foundation can allow water to enter a basement.

While water can enter a home from the outside, it can also result from a problem inside a home, including:

• A leak in a water line or faucet.
• A burst pipe.
• A backed up drain line.
• Coils on an air conditioner.
• Condensation on windows pooling and collecting.

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.

There are similarities between the two siding products when comparing them to wood siding. Those include:

There are those similarities, but there are also differences. Among them:

For more help in understanding the pros and cons of both fiberglass and SmartSide siding contact AskAmek for assistance. Call 952-888-1200.

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.

Both products offer some similar advantages to wood siding:

• Both siding materials are lighter than wood, making on-site handling and installation easier.
• Both are pre-primed and ready for paint, although some fiber cement products can also come pre-painted.
• Both are considered greener alternatives to wood given their forest-saving properties.

While there are similarities, there are also differences. Among them:

• SmartSide uses a resin instead of cement and is lighter than fiber cement, making it even easier to handle on the job site and quicker to install.
• Hardiplank can come factory painted unlike SmartSide.
• SmartSide siding is also far less likely to break or crack during installation, meaning less waste on the job site.
• The SmartSide engineered wood siding also cuts like wood and accepts nails and screws. Fiber cement, meanwhile, is more difficult to cut than wood, requiring pneumatic shears, a dust-reducing circular saw or diamond-tipped miter saw.
• When fiber cement is cut a silica dust is released, so a mask should be worn when cutting which isn’t necessary when cutting SmartSide.
• Fiber cement has a longer track record, while SmartSide had been offered for only a decade.
• HardiPlank boards come in 12-foot lengths, while SmartSide comes in 16-foot lengths which limits seams and makes it easier to install.

For help in understanding the pros and cons of both fiber cement and SmartSide contact AskAmek for assistance. Call 952-888-1200.

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.

That durability and lighter weight makes SmartSide siding easy to handle on a job site and allows for selling it in 16-foot lengths, meaning fewer seams and less waste than other types of wood or engineered wood siding.

Each SmartSide board is treated with zinc borate which protects the siding against termites and fungus.

The siding can be purchased pre-primed and ready for paint immediately after being installed.

LP SmartSide’s exterior is compressd to provide the look of a wood finish.

SmartSide by LP is also considered eco-friendly because only small, fast-growing trees are used to manufacture the wood-engineered siding.

Any part of the tree not used to make the siding is typically used to help fuel the mill manufacturing the siding.

SmartSide is LP’s next-generation engineered wood product replacing Inner-Seal siding, which was not made or treated like SmartSide is, which resulted in an inferior siding product that failed in the marketplace, Ben Skoog, Business Marketing Manager for SmartSide, told bobvila.com.

Since revamping how its engineered wood product is manufactured and treated, LP’s SmartSide products have reportedly been used on more than 1.5 million homes. LP offers a 5/50 year transferable limited warranty. The siding warranty includes a 100% replacement on materials and labor against “peeling, blistering, cracking or erosion of the factory finish.”

It also offers the original and one subsequent owner a 50-year warranty against “fungal degradation, buckling and cracking, peeling, separating, chipping flaking or rupturing of the resin-impregnated surface overlay.

For help in determining whether SmartSiding is right for your project contact AskAmek for assistance. Call 952-888-1200.

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.

In the last 10 years the choice for replacement windows has expanded beyond wood, aluminum and vinyl to include both fiberglass and composite windows, made from a combination of fiberglass and wood pulp.

The new products offer homeowners more options to replace window sashes, the part of the window that opens and closes, and each option has pros and cons.

Vinyl windows came to market in the 1970s and gave homeowners looking for replacement windows a less expensive alternative to wood or aluminum.

In addition to being more affordable, vinyl replacement windows were touted as better than the popular wood because they didn’t need painting or other maintenance, were unaffected by moisture and were quickly delivered.

Thirty years later wood is still considered the high-end window material because of its strength, appearance and durability. Vinyl replacement windows are still considered the more affordable, lower maintenance alternative.

New home builders are using a combination of materials for entire windows — sashes, frames and interior and exterior casing — including aluminum in some parts, vinyl and wood in others.

But in the last decade manufacturers have brought fiberglass and composite windows and replacement sashes to market, offering homeowners new alternatives, particularly to vinyl replacement windows.

The comparison of fiberglass and composite windows to replacement vinyl include:

• The fiberglass and composite windows are stronger and harder than vinyl, meaning less material is needed to hold the glass window in place. That allows more sunlight into a home.
• The acrylic factory finish ensures the color resists fading and cracking far longer than vinyl.
• The materials are more rigid than vinyl, making them much less susceptible to expansion and contraction than vinyl.
• Fiberglass windows are made from sand and composite replacement windows are made from sand and wood pulp left over after manufacturing of wood windows. That makes them more eco-friendly than vinyl, a petroleum-based plastic.
• Both types of new replacement windows are more affordable than wood and competitive with ‘high-end vinyl” windows, typically wood windows with a vinyl exterior.

Fiberglass and composite windows are available in the Twin Cities. Contact AMEK Custom Builders to learn more by calling 952-888-1200.

See the difference between a full frame window replacement and an insert window.

Learn more about Integrity by Marvin fiberglass windows or Andersen Windows 100 Series composite windows.

To help make a better replacement window choice it helps to understand how windows are put together and what advances have been made in home windows.

First, the basics. There are several parts to a window:

• The sash is the part with the glass and the material around the glass holding it in place, or the “frame” of the window. The sash is what opens and closes in a window.
• The sash is held in place by side jambs and the “head” jamb at the top. The bottom of the area around the window is the “sill.”
• There is “trim” around the window on the inside and outside of the home.

Prior to the 1950s all parts of the window were typically made of wood. If a window pane cracked, broke or needed replacing a new sash could be built if the glass pane couldn’t be removed and replaced.

Then, in the mid 1960s, aluminum windows were brought to market and, a decade later, vinyl windows were introduced as a low-cost replacement window. While vinyl was introduced in all parts of the window — sashes, jambs, sills and trims — the main revolutionary aspect was in the sashes.

That’s because vinyl sashes offered a low-cost replacement window alternative to wood or metal. This allowed homeowners to simply replace wood sashes with vinyl while keeping the wood or metal window jambs and frames intact.

While vinyl replacement windows remained the most popular for several decades, builders of new homes continued introducing new types of windows, mainly by combining materials.

The internal trim of a window may have been wood to add warmth and customization, the sash made of vinyl and the external frame made of aluminum or steel. Window manufacturers have also experimented with so-called ‘high end’ vinyl replacement windows, which are stronger than standard vinyl windows.

In the last decade, window manufacturers have begun marketing a fiberglass window and composite windows (made with a combination of vinyl and wood pulp.)

These new material are touted as offering the strength of steel along with the energy efficiency and low maintenance of vinyl.

Upcoming posts will take a look at the new types of replacement windows and how they compare to wood, vinyl and metal windows.

There are a variety of ways storms damage homes — blown off or damaged shingles, dented or torn siding, broken windows or fallen tree limbs — but the potential long-lasting damage is the same: water getting inside your home.

While cosmetic damage can easily be repaired, structural storm damage that allows water into a home causes longer lasting and lingering problems, including rot, mold and structural decay.

That is why it’s crucial that any storm damage is dealt with immediately, including steps to keep any new water from entering a home and ensuing any existing water damage is minimized.

Here are some steps suggested by Home911, a home emergency water and fire damage response service in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area:

• If your basement is flooded ensure there are no energized power cords before wading in to assess the water damage.
• Understand that sewage may have backed up into water pooled in a basement. Take precautions to limit your exposure.
• Be quick in removing standing water and starting the drying process. It takes only a day or two for mold and mildew contamination to begin.

Turn off any source of water that may have led to the flooding, such as a damaged water line in the house.

If the water entered as a result of a storm — such as a tree limb into the home or roof damage — promptly cover the exposed part of the house with a tarp to ensure no more water enters the house.

Once water leaks are stopped drying the water damage areas of the home is the next step. Use large, industrial strength fans to remove moisture. They can be rented or installed by services such as Home911, which use them as part of a comprehensive remediation effort.

The advantage of using a service such as Home911 is knowing they have received Restoration Industry Association’s highest designations as both a Certified Restorer™ and Water Loss Specialist and provide comprehensive storm damage repair from stopping water leaks to fixing damaged areas of a home.

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.

In addition to the inherent water damage resistance of fiberglass siding, the APEX fiberglass siding system includes a built-in water management system that insures against water damage.

The system is a standard part of the installation of APEX fiberglass siding. The siding includes a system of clips that creates a thin space between the siding and the home which allows any water that manages to get behind the fiberglass siding to stream down and out to the ground.

The space also provides ventilation that allows any water that does get behind the siding to evaporate.

Letting water stream down and away from the home — as well as evaporate from behind the siding — greatly limits the possibility of water damage.

While there are water management systems for other types of siding, they are add-ons that don’t come standard as with the APEX fiberglass siding system.

The National Roofing Contractors Association suggests that homeowners take the time to understand the two basic warranties and options for extended warranties for their new roofs:

1) The manufacturer’s warranty. In general, these roofing warranties cover defects in the roofing materials itself.

2) The roofing contractor will provide homeowners with a warranty covering his workmanship. Typically, this will cover installation and related issues. Most reputable companies offer one year to two years of coverage, but there is no industry standard.

Shingle manufacturers tend to use impressive-sounding long-term warranties to convince buyers that their shingles are the best and will last the longest. They compete over such features as the length of coverage, algae resistance, wind tolerance, and whether the warranty can be transferred to a new owner.

Despite the common perception that these’ warranties provide homeowners a new roof, typically most warranties provide only the material for a roof replacement and don’t cover labor. Also, most manufacturers prorate the price based on how long the shingles have been on the roof.

That is why homeowners should understand the manufacturers warranty that comes with their new shingles as well as their options for extended warranties. Extended shingle warranties are non-prorated — covering the entire cost of replacement shingles not matter the age of the roof — and also cover other materials, tear off, disposal and labor to install a new roof.

These warranties typically cover 40 years and insure you won’t have to pay for a new roof again. They are also transferable to new owners, so extended roof warranties are a good negotiating tool when selling a new home. How to transfer the warranty may differ by manufacturer, so understanding how that is done is crucial.

On average, a newly shingled roof can last approximately 20-plus years, according to Andrew Schmidt, CEO of AMEK Custom Builders. That can make a 40-year extended warranty useful for homeowners, he added.

A few vital signs that indicate a roof replacement is needed include:

• Curling or missing shingles.
• Roofs leaking water.
• Rotting, blistering, algea growing or bucklin gof the roo.

It’s also important to note that most shingle manufacturers have specific installation instructions and improper installation of your roofing shingles can void your warranty.

As for the history of shingle warranties … it’s the general consensus that as time goes on, in most cases (except for wood) materials are better and warranties are generally longer.

One Seattle web site, however, makes the case that the basic asphalt shingle is inferior to asphalt shingles made in the 19th century, and today’s warranties are merely marketing tools for dupe unsuspecting homeowners.

That study — and many more materials — can be found online.

Other sources used to complete this research can also be found online from:

• roofery.com
• National Roofing Contractor Association
• Owens Corning