DIY Network

Exterior Siding: Selection of Materials From "Be Your Own Contractor" episode DBYC-105

In this episode of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, we focus on the exterior of the home. Our do-it-yourself contractors share with us the experience of getting the exterior of their houses done while acting as their own contractor. They fill us in on the factors that went into making their choices of siding materials. We see who did the siding work -- including one contractor in Kentucky who used fiber-cement siding because of his wife's chemical sensitivities. We hear the stories of their installation including two contractors who had some help from their families. And they also give us some advice and share some of their stories about the exterior trim work and some of the problems they encountered.

In this segment, we get an introduction to some of the siding materials that were considered and used.

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Choosing a Siding Material

There are lots of choices when it comes to siding -- wood, vinyl, stucco, fiber-cement, and others. Because it forms the protective exterior of your house, as well as the part of your house that's the most visible, the decision as to what siding to use is not one to take lightly. Here are the materials that some of our do-it-yourselfers chose.

• Jody Siegler emphasizes that the choice of exterior material for your home makes a huge visual statement. It determines your home's overall presentation to the public. It's important for your siding to be done well, and to have a look that you can live with over time. For her Los Angeles home (figures A and B), Jody chose a material with the lengthy name of steel-trowel smooth integral-color stucco. Part of her choice was economic since this material is less expensive than some others. Aesthetically, she also felt that the appearance of the material was in keeping with the style of architecture. Finally, it's a fairly low-maintenance choice.

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  
• Andy Beasley chose a stucco finish for his Hillside, Colorado home (figures C and D) for a couple of good reasons. First, he felt that the stucco texture provided a nice visual complement to the design of the house. Secondly, it was selected because it was a low-cost alternative. Most importantly, stucco is a low-maintenance exterior. Once it's applied, little has to be done to care for stucco other than repair an occasional crack.

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  
• Fred Samuels of Rockwood, Tennessee used white pine for siding throughout his house (figures E and F). He purchased the pine lumber from a local sawmill. He liked the texture of the wood, and it's ability to accept the oil stain he had selected.

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  
• Betty King and John Spracklen wanted to avoid vinyl siding materials since Betty is sensitive to certain industrial chemicals. Vinyl can produce off-gassing (releasing small amounts of chemicals into the air over time), and some people may have sensitivity to the chemicals that are released from vinyl products. Betty and John opted for fiber-cement siding for their Olmstead, Kentucky home (figure G). They chose this material to avoid the phenomenon of off-gassing and also because they preferred the more traditional or authentic look of the material over vinyl or similar materials for their Victorian style home.

• For Doug Kerr of Los Angeles, finding a low-maintenance material was his greatest consideration. He wanted a finish that could be installed, and would then be relatively worry-free. He chose a colored stucco (figure H), so exterior painting was not necessary.

• For similar reasons, Alan Sain installed ordinary vinyl siding (figure I) because of its simplicity and low maintenance needs.
  

In the segment that follows, the do-it-yourselfers talk about the work involved in installing their siding material.

Figure G

Figure H

Figure I