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In this segment of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, the do-it-yourselfers talk about what went into their choice of materials as well as their decision as to whether to install the siding themselves or to contract it out to professionals.
Exterior Siding: Who's Doing the Work?- Lynn Underwood opted to install stucco for the exterior of his Vail, Arizona home (figure A), but the decision didn't end there. Stucco comes in various forms such as single-coat, double-coat or three-coat. Lynn opted for the two-coat variety, which consists of a separate base-coat and top-coat (figure B). Though he didn't paint his stucco initially, Lynn's intent is to apply a paint later on. A coat of paint on the rough stucco surface helps bring out the textured quality of the material.
- For the installation of the stucco, Lynn opted to contract the job out to professionals since he felt they could do a better job in terms of the final appearance of the exterior. Though he didn't mix or install the stucco himself, Lynn did perform some of the prep-work, including the installation of the paper and wire underlayment. Performing that step helped save considerably in the overall cost of his home exterior.
For her Los Angeles home, Jody Siegler chose a material known as steel-trowel smooth integral-color stucco. Aesthetically, she felt that the appearance of the material was in keeping with the style of architecture. This particular stucco has a smooth surface, and will eventually develop cracks that will show. For some, this characteristic is advantageous since it provides a sort of immediate "aged" look -- something that was in keeping with the tropical or island feel of Jody's home (figures C and D).
Skip Weahunt considered both painted and integral-color stucco for his home in Fair Oaks, California. He opted for an alternative color coat in the form of an acrylic coating that comes in a semi-liquid form but has a granular or sand component mixed in to add texture to the surface. This material offers the look of colored stucco (figures E and F), but provides a durable, water-resistant finish that resists to cracking and is practically maintenance free. Waterproofing of stucco can be very important since penetrating moisture can lead to the buildup of toxic mold, which is a growing problem in the US. This is frequently a problem with faux stucco that has been improperly installed.
Michael Buchtel chose to use vinyl siding, but he used two separate styles of siding -- a standard variety with horizontal lines for the upper portion of the home, and a faux-brick vinyl siding for the foundation exterior (figures G and H). Michael and his family did the installation themselves, and the entire installation took approximately a week to finish. Performing the job himself saved Michael the cost of labor, and lessened the material cost.
As with nearly all of the jobs in the construction of Fred Samuels' Rockwood, Tennessee home (figure I), Fred did the exterior siding himself. He installed white-pine siding over his entire home (figure J). Hand-selecting the material and doing the installation himself permitted Fred to make sure that the job was done to his high criteria for excellence.
In the segment that follows, the do-it-yourselfers talk about the challenges and problems they faced in installing the house exteriors.
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