Has anyone ever seen (or installed) horizontal siding on a victorian? My house was built in 1920- Fruita, CO, and needs new siding. Plus it has a cinderblock (…) addition off the back. I would like to do horizontal siding over all of it- how does it look?
Any other ideas would be great too!
MWH
Replies
MWH, technically, "Victorian" refers to an era that lasted from the beginning to the end of the 1800's, but I assume you mean a Queen Anne or farmhouse style that uses some "Victorian" elements. It was very common here in New England to run clapboards with a 4" exposure around the first and sometimes second stories. Often a mix-and-match with clapboards, regular wood shingles, and patterned shingles was used.
By "horizontal siding" do you mean clapboards, or another kind of horizontal siding like a "drop" or "Dolly Varden" style, both of which are milled shiplap or tongue-in-groove boards? The latter styles probably wouldn't look good on a traditional Queen Anne, but on a more rustic "Victorian" they may look fine.
Mike
Mike
MWH, technically, "Victorian" refers to an era that lasted from the beginning to the end of the 1800's
Dont you mean from the middle to the end of the 1800's?
Doug
Doug, early- to mid- 1830's is when the Victorian Era "officially" started. That coincides with the introduction of Greek Revival architecture, though that style is often not included in the collection of Victorian styles. Whether you want to call the 1830's early or middle century is up to you. "Beginning" was a poor word choice.
Mike
Mike,
This is the west, we know nothing of original victorian! Much less I... I guess it looks "victorianish", but is rather small and non-ornate compared to others. I just want it to look better. The siding now is partially rotten and decreped, and i 'm trying to avoid tearing it all off and doing new.
I'll chekc out the web site- thanks!
"This is the west, we know nothing of original victorian..."
You're kidding, right?
Victorians and Queen Annes are probably the earliest period architecture of the West, and they're scattered all over; from Victoria, B.C. and Seattle to San Diego and points in between....then East as far as you want to go to call it "West."
thanks for your imput.
Victorian architechtural style was at its peak when the Colorado mtn mininng towns were in their glory days. The horizontal 4" clapboards were the main siding style used there.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Click on the Victorian houses link.
http://www.geocities.com/asiedydd/styles.htm
MWH,
>If historical authenticity is not extremely important perhaps you could investigate using a combination of Hardie products.
>Smooth Hardie-Plank for the main body of the house and Hardie-Shingles for gables. If what exists is original I would try and stay fairly true to this appearence.
>Hardie also makes a 5/4 board for corners etc. Azec or another pvc product can also be used to replicate rotten scroll-work and other elements if low maintnance is the goal.
>What do you have now and what are your goals?
Jay
Jay, i have horizontal partialy rotten painted wood siding. The whole house needs to be overhauled. I don't think the town would require historical authenticity, but it would be good for resale. I also want to do the shed out back- also concrete block- but i need to fir that out first.
The least expensive option would be the best- is Azteck a good price/ durability ratio?
Azec is not cheap. Nice stuff, it'll never rot, but it ain't cheap.
Joe H
Local variations vary - call your local historic preservation to get some ideas (although don't give your name or address in case you run into one of the "nuts")
A slow walk around your neighborhood might be all you need to do: look and judge for yourself what works on similar homes.
"Old House Journal" can be a good source of practical info: respectful but without the purist approach
Just a note to the original poster ...
"Old House Journal" can be a good source of practical info: respectful but without the purist approach"
The magazine ... yes.
Their web site forums ... absolutely no!
Jeff