What’s the best way to make a house maintenance free? Well, truly maintenance free is impossible, but we could make it relatively maintenance free.
- Replace all of the Hardie siding with vinyl siding (no painting)
- Wrap all of the existing trim boards in aluminum (no painting)
- Replace all of the decking with composite decking (no staining or sealing)
- Install aluminum railings on the decks (no painting)
These are not easy nor cheap tasks, but really all of them were necessary replacements. Maintenance (almost) free would allow us to spend more time doing what we love there…
All of the Hardie siding had to come off to replace the rotten chipboard and install the necessary flashing. The majority of the trim boards had to be replaced because they were rotten as well. Apparently they were never primed on any side except the front side, so needless to say they were not holding up well. The majority of the deck boards and the decking joists were rotten and were going to be removed. We had already stepped through at least 3 deck boards in the first 6 months of ownership. There were no existing railings on the porches (one of which is 4′ off the ground) and we have 3 small children. The railings are a must.
I have to admit that I do not love vinyl siding. I really don’t even like it. I like wide clapboard siding. You know, the traditional looking stuff. The stuff that was on the house when we bought it. I was having a really hard time getting my head around vinyl and choosing a color that was essentially going to be the same for 25+ years.
I went down to the local Ace Hardware to find out what my options were. I wasn’t really happy with the Traditional or Dutchlap. In case you don’t know the difference (I sure didn’t), here is a graphic to illustrate them.
I asked about options for wider boards and was told that there weren’t any. For those of you that know me well, you know that isn’t an answer that I can accept at face value. So, I went home and did my own research. Guess what I found? Yep, wider vinyl siding. I think I found about 5 companies that make wider vinyl lap siding.
We settled on Ply Gem’s T-Lok Barkwood 8″ single in white. It required a special order of course, so the turnaround time was about 3 weeks. I think our contractor was ready to give up on us. I was about ready to give up as well. Those three weeks felt like an eternity. Did I really need 8″ siding? I could have been happy with traditional 5″, right? I knew I would have regretted that decision. Thankfully I had to pay a 50% deposit, so there really was no turning back after I placed the order, but those three weeks felt like an eternity.
Gen Z House 