Siding is the process of placing a new façade on a home, thereby giving it a fresh new look with a minimum of materials and effort. Many people like using siding because of the fact that it is placed directly on top of the existing exterior. This translates into less labor, fewer materials, and less hassle. Because of the time saved, 123 Remodeling can pass the savings on to you.

Traditionally fashioned out of wood or vinyl, siding can now be manufactured from fiber cement. Some of the claims of this material are that it is non-combustible, holds paint longer than wood, resists rot and termites, and is thicker and more durable than vinyl. Ask your 123 Remodeling representative to assist you with choosing witch martial would be best suited for your needs. Once you have established witch material best fits your needs let our experts do the rest.

Siding installation requires tools and resources that many companies do not possess, at 123 Remodeling we have a vast experience in installing all main stream forms of siding and the resources to complete the job in a timely and affordable manner. With so many companies vying for the business we set ourselves apart by guaranteeing you, competitive rates, quality workmanship and long warranties. Our designers can help you choose the material, color, styles and options that will work best for your particular home, based on the aesthetic look desired, weather conditions in the area, and budget.

Siding Can dramatically increase the appearance of your home. The are so many different types and styles, however, that it makes it difficult to decide which siding type would work best on your home. The articles in this section provide information to hep you make an educated decision between the various types of siding.

Aluminum Siding

Because aluminum is very resistant to oxidization and corrosion, the siding is long-lasting. Care should be taken if any signs of oxidization or corrosion are present to stop the damage. Aluminum siding is also easily cleaned. Aluminum siding is both less expensive and easier to maintain than wood siding, and looks nearly the same. It can also be purchased in dent-resistant versions, although it may still suffer damage if struck too hard. However, it is not difficult to replace small sections of the siding.

Aluminum siding is a material used to cover the outside of a home or building. Available in different textures and styles, it is fairly resistant to the elements, making it very low maintenance. The pieces usually overlap in order to prevent water from getting between the slats. Because it does expand and contract depending on the weather, it is best to install in sections. Aluminum siding can be made to look like shingles, wood boards, and various other types of materials.

It can be painted any color, and this, along with its easy maintenance and long warranties (typically twenty-five years or longer), make it an excellent choice for home use. Many varieties of aluminum siding are designed to look like wood (whether in horizontal or vertical board designs or shingle form), and make an attractive exterior to the home. Aluminum siding can be painted with paint found at local home improvement stores.

Fiber Cement Siding

Fiber-cement siding is an incredibly versitile material.  It can be used to look like expensive wood siding very well and you can achieve any look you want because intricate designs like wood grain can be imprinted onto the siding before the cement, sand, and cellulose that make up the fiber-cement is baked.

A huge advantage of using fiber-cement versus wood shingles is that it's very resistant to fire. The materials used to produce the shingles are far more fire resistant after the baking process than using a wood or even vinyl siding. Another benefit of using fiber-cement siding is that it is an extremely durable product. Fiber-cement is not prone to termites, it won't warp and buckle due to exposure to the elements and harsh weather conditions, and it's significantly cheaper than wood siding.

Unlike vinyl siding, cement fiber will not show dings and impressions after an impact with a baseball or a hail storm. It is however a bit more expensive versus vinyl but you get a material thats more durable than wood siding and just as good looking as expensive wood siding.

Composite Siding

Composite siding is a manufactured wood product designed to insulate, cover, or clad a house. It's an aesthetically pleasing and energy efficient product that will increase your property value and improve the look of any home.

Adding composite siding is a great way to retain the integrity of your home and give it a new modern feel. Composite siding is manufactured by heating and pressing wood fibers, fillers, binding materials, and glue into long boards 6 or 7 feet long. Using different fillers can create drastically different results, for example, using sawdust creates fiber board while using wood pulp creates hardboard and using shredded wood will create oriented strand board (OBS). 

Composite siding increses protection to the house in inclement weather and is virtually maintenance free, sound reducing, impact and insect resistant. It can be installed horizontally, vertically, or even as shingles. The joints between the boards are either overlapped or done in a tongue and groove style. The siding can be attached directly to the house's current exterior or sheathing can act as an intermediate between the house and siding. The sheathing will also be constructed with wood or engineered wood, whichever is best suited for the home.

Siding and Trim Colors

Vinyl Siding

Vinyl is a polymer (a type of plastic). It is produced in the form of a powder (vinyl resin) that can be combined with different additives to create wide variety of vinyl compounds used for items as diverse as raincoats and fencing. Siding is applied to the exterior of a house. Its purpose is to shed water and protect the structure from the elements and environmental factors. Vinyl siding is often used in combination with vinyl soffit and trim elements to achieve a cohesive exterior in the style and color desired by the homeowner. Vinyl siding is often less expensive than alternatives like wood. It is also relatively easy to install and maintenance-free.

The quality of vinyl siding is greatly determined by its gauge. The thicker the vinyl siding, the greater its durability. Additionally, vinyl siding made from polypropylene and other high-quality plastics offer the greatest pattern realism, deepest color, and cleanest edges. Vinyl siding is one product where cost is a good indication of quality.

An industry organization that promotes quality in the manufacture and installation of vinyl siding-has initiated a set of quality standards and certification programs to ensure consumers get the best performance from their vinyl siding. Vinyl siding products certified by VSI meet or exceed industry standards and are a good indication of quality manufacture. Ask your 123Remodeling.com representative about VSI certification.

Vinyl siding is frequently used as an economical substitute for wood siding, as such, the siding panels often imitate wood in their look. Common siding panels include Dutch Lap, D4/D5 (two rows of wood with 4"/5" exposure), T3 (three rows of wood with 3" exposure) and Beaded profiles. Other forms imitate scalloped shingles, cedar, flat plank, brick, and stone. Vinyl comes in a range of light to medium colors. New products in vinyl siding include vinyl siding fused to a foam backing material and isolative foam underlayments that fit snugly behind the siding to provide strength, energy efficiency, rigidity, and deaden sound.

Wood Siding

Wood Siding: The Environmentally-Friendly Choice

Manufacturing wood siding is one of the most environmentally friendly wood processing industries as well. Very little wood is wasted in the sawing and sizing of wood siding, and wood that is often rejected by furniture makers due to perceived imperfections such as knottiness is often in demand for the more "rustic" varieties of wood siding. In addition, the types of trees most commonly used in the manufacture of wood siding are quick-growing species of Pine and other coniferous trees that are often grown on plantations, not cut from old-growth forests.

Types of Woods Used for Wood Siding

The most popular wood species used for wood siding are Western Red Cedar, Pine (Red, White, Jack and Lodge pole), Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Cypress. These woods have certain features that make them ideal for use in siding:

Lightness: Heavy wood tends to sag over time and may cause stress to supporting walls and pillars.

Resistance to Decay: The natural resins and turpenes produced by conifer trees provide natural protection against insect pests as well as the ravages of the elements. This protection continues after the trees have been processed into wood siding

Natural Tone: The life span of wood siding is measured in decades, so the wood must look good throughout that lifespan, even as it tones and weathers through the years.

Wood Grades for Wood Siding

Wood siding is available in various grades. The grading system is based on the clarity of the wood and freedom from large knots that may loosen and fall out. A lower grade of siding may be quite suitable if your intent is to paint it and cover the grain, or if a grainy appearance is to your liking.

Use Siding to Decorate the Outside of Your Home

There are several different ways wood siding is trimmed, then applied to an outside wall. Beveled siding is cut to a tapered, nearly triangular cross section. This enables it to be applied much like roof shingles in an overlapping pattern. Other types of wood siding are variations on "shiplap" or tongue & groove patterns that lie flat against the wall, "locked" into one another. One style or pattern is much like another when it comes to coverage and protection; the main difference is in the appearance. Any way you cut it, there's nothing like the natural beauty of wood to make a house a home!

Stucco

Exterior House Stucco gives an extraordinary look to your house.  High quality stucco products using the latest stucco modling technology to strengthen the power of exterior house stucco.  Exterior house stucco uses the plaster which is generally made by mixing cement and lime in right proportions.  Stucco Columns for important home decorative elements that enhance the gave your home internally and externally.

Versatile architectural column styles can be made using stucco as their elemental abse.  Exterior stucco is used to proved an elegant and finished look to commercial and residential buildings.  Stucco is also employed extensively to protect the buildings from sun, ice, and rain. 

 Traditional Stucco is cement combined with water and inert materials like sand and lime.  Many homes built after the 1950's use a variety of synthetic materials that resemble stucco.  Some synthetic stuccos have been prone to problems, however a quality synthetic stucco will prove durable.  Stucco-sided homes became popular in twentieth century America but the concept of using cement mixtures in architecture dates back to ancient times.  Wall frescoes by ancient Greeks and Romans were painted on fine-grained hard plaster surfaces made of gypsum, marble dust, and glue. 

Stucco techniques were elaborated by the Italians during the Renaissance and spread through Europe.  This marble dust compound could be molded into decorative shapes, polished to a sheen, or painted. You have the option to tint the stucco whatever color you choose and may never need to paintit throughout the duration of its lifetime.

Synthetic Stucco:

Mock stucco siding is often composed of foam insulation board or cement panels secured to the walls.  Although synthetic stucco may look authentic, real stucco tends to be heavier.  Walls made of genuine stucco sound solid when tapped and will be less likely to suffer damage from a hard blow.  Also, genuine stucco holds up well in wet conditions.  Although it is porous and will absorb moisture, genuine stucco will dry easily, without damage to the structure.  

One type of synthetic stucco, known as EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems), has been associated with moisture problems.  The underlying wood on EIFS sided homes may suffer rot damage.  However, other types of synthetic stucco are quite durable.  There are three layers to EIFS.  The inner layer is foam insulated board that's secured to the exterior wall surface, often with adhesive.  The middle layer is a polymer and cement base coat that's applied to the top of the insulation, then reinforced with glass fiber mesh.  The exterior layer is a beautiful clean finished coat.  

HCS (Hard Coat Stucco) is another option that has been used for decades.  Traditionally three coat stucco has a long history that is well accepted and defined in the Model Building Codes.  The new OCS (OneCoat Stucco) is thinner with proprietary mixes that require code body evaluation service reports for local building officials to review and allow use of products in their jurisdiction.

Gutters

Gutters run along the roofs of homes and buildings. Together with their downspouts, they catch water and direct it away from the foundation and basement of the building, preventing water damage. Because of this, adequate gutter systems are essential to the maintenance and care of any house.

How Gutters Direct Water

The gutter runs around the edge of the roof, catching the rain as it slides down the slope of the roof. The water then runs down through the gutter to a corner or depression, where it goes down a downspout and is dumped away from the foundation of the home. This not only protects the foundation and basement, but also siding and other building materials from prolonged water exposure.

Gutter Materials

Gutters are available in a wide variety of materials. The most typical are vinyl, aluminum, copper, steel, and wood.

• Vinyl gutters are more costly to install, but resist the elements well and last a very long time. Vinyl is also the least expensive material.
• Aluminum is also resistant to the elements but will require occasional repainting.
• Copper can last up to fifty years, but the joints may need to be resoldered.
• Steel is the most expensive, and will need to be painted in order to prevent rust. Wood does not weather   well, is heavy, and will require frequent repairs and replacement.

Siding Installation

Below are some benefits of installing new siding:

• Improve the appearance of the exterior of a house
• Increase your home's value
• Structural integrity as well as curb appeal.
• Because siding, unlike paint, does not require touch ups every few years, it can translate into less maintenance and long-term savings.

Regardless of the material used, proper care will need to be taken in order to ensure that your gutters are doing their job. Witch is why 123 Remodeling recommends conducting semi annual inspections for blockages to help your gutters perform at there best. Ask your 123 Remodeling representative about our complementary inspections available on certain projects.

123 Remodeling is proud to offer siding and stucco products by:

ACM - Metal roofing, edging and accessories

Alsco - Aluminum trim coil products

Cemex - Efficient and comprehensive building materials

CertainTeed - Premier building material manufacturer

Crane -  manufacturer of Exterior Portfolio™ cladding products

ElRay - The most complete and readily available lines of stucco

EMCO -  Steel siding and accessories

Expo - High quality stucco and interior finishs

Flannery, Inc. - Specialty drywall and plaster trim manufacturer

Hanson - One of the world's largest suppliers of heavy building materials

K-Lath - Welded wire and paper-backed reinforcing products for stucco

LaHabra - Specially formulated and environmentally responsible stucco products

Master Wall Inc. - Manufactures a diverse line of Exterior Insulation and Finishes

Merlex - Top-quality products at competitive prices

Owens Corning - Top of the line residential products

Ply Gem -  A diverse range of siding materials and systems

Sto - Innovative and immense stucco and finish color system

Total Wall - Industry leading manufacturer of EIFS and stucco systems

TXI - Leading supplier of cement, aggregate and consumer building materials

If you have a question about a siding or cladding project or would like a free quote on a project, please contact us by phone: 877-685-6095, by email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or simply fill out an on-line estimate form!