Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 22, 2000 03:11pm | #1

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   linda Mc -

   It depends on what you are asking. If you remove your siding (original?) and replace it in kind with matching profile, backprimed, same exposure, well-painted etc. you will change your painting schedule to more like once every 10 years (depending on other factors, like sun exposure, etc.) and will maintain the look and value of your house.

   If you are asking should you vinyl-side or aluminum-side over your dilapidated clapboards (or shingles?) - No! You may actually end up causing more damage to your house than deferring maintenance. Old houses need to breathe and you also need to find out if there are other factors related to your paint failure, such as a wet basement.

   Let us know a little more what you are thinking and what materials are involved. Can you post a picture? There are many issues here, for instance, in traditional clapboard siding, the courses almost always align with the top of the window casing/crown and the sill, both for practicality (flashing) and aesthetics. If you change to a covering material of fixed width and it won't align, you still have to use that width. The result can look just terrible. You may end up obliterating details that make your house what it is. Has your house settled? It is very difficult to side with a rigid fixed width material like vinyl whereas with wood clapboads or shingles you can make adjustments for out-of-level conditions more easily.

   Please tell us more. Is the paint alligatored (deeply creviced through to the surface)? Weathered gray wood exposed? Age of clapboards (they do wear out).

   Jeff

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   Guest_ | Jul 23, 2000 04:08am | #2

   *Do you have air conditioning? Forced air heat? Either of these can be directly related to paint failure.

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   Guest_ | Jul 23, 2000 10:09am | #3

   *How exactly does vinyl siding keep a house from "breathing", and what the hell does an old house "having to breathe" mean? Aside from perceived notions of aesthetics, how does a properly installed vinyl job cause damage to the house? These comments seem better suited for the DIY advice found on the old house journal.Jeff

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   Guest_ | Jul 23, 2000 10:20pm | #4

   *Fair questions Jeff, although I disagree with your DIY comment. Is residing a house DIY? Not for most people. Also, exactly what notions of aesthetics aren't perceived? I thought aesthetics were all about perception. Is the 'aesthetics problem' that too many of us care about aesthetics? Or too i few.My point is - let's not give aethestics a bad name - it has been defining the way we appreciate buildings for at least 2,000 years.Anyway, with typical new construction, vapor barriers properly installed on the warm side, etc. vinyl siding shouldn't cause problems. But it's a given that older houses tend to leak air a lot more into wall cavities, and tend to have more moisture problems (wet basements, gaps, etc.). Vinyl siding has a tendency (notice that I said 'may' in the original post)to reduce the ability of an older house to vent moisture through the exterior wall and tends to cause it to be trapped as a result. That's one of the reasons that it's not permitted as a residing technique in historic districts, or by the Secy of the Interior Guidelines for Historic Structures.I'll go so far to say that putting vinyl siding on a 1750 house is almost always inappropriate, potentially damaging and somewhat difficult. Details that add character to the house might have to be hacked off, for example, to suit the new material installation methods. That doesn't come from a notion of anything - it comes from experience working on c. 1750 houses.Now I don't know that she intends to vinyl-side her house - it's just such a 'quick-fix' approach that is too often used to avoid what is really needed - replacement of worn-out material in kind. What's wrong with that? When your car's tires wear out you don't replace them with compact spares or solid plastic tires all around just to save money, do you?JeffPS - If you think I'm alone on this you can look here for a lot more information Click on "Use of Aluminum and Vinyl ..."

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   linda_Mc | Jul 24, 2000 01:34pm | #5

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   Thanks Jeff - I will try to answer all ?as: The clapboards are not original - some were replaced 10 years ago and the remaining are probably 30 - 40 years old. The paint is alligatored in places and some wood is exposed. We have a very wet basement (dirt floor in some areas) and have looked into pouring cement down there but the cost would be prohibitive largely because of the configuration of the basement. There are no real architectural details like window trim to worry about. That has all been replaced over the years with very simple straight trim. We do not have air-conditioningg and our heating is steam. I definitely want to consider aesthetics and preserve the historical aspect of this house. I was considering vinyl/aluminum siding because I have been hearing thatewer styles better approximate the look of wood. Maybe I should go the route of replacing all clapboards with new wood clapboards and stain instead of paint?

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   Guest_ | Jul 24, 2000 01:48pm | #6

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   linda Mc -

   The very wet basement with dirt floor
   i is
   one of your primary problems. Dealing with house problems, particularly old house problems, almost always involves prioritizing things. Roof first (usually) gutters leaders (water management) and so on next. I would be very surprised if other posters did not agree that this should be tackled first. There are things you can do short of digging up the exterior and waterproofing the walls on the correct side, but sometimes it comes to this. There is a very good book by Patricia Poore on evaluating old house problems - you may want to get it because there is a good section on prioritizing when budget dictates a limited approach.

   This combination, interior wet and damp, along with relatively impermeable siding, would eventually cause more serious problems.

   FYI when paint is severely alligatored it's usually time to strip to bare wood. 30-40 year old clapboards aren't necessarily shot, they just didn't backprime them. Moisture escaping from your house tends to blow right through the paint. One way of improving this is to use the plastic wedges (a good painter will be familiar with these) that open up the clapboard overlap joint somewhat.

   Lots to think about - but that's normal.

   Jeff

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   Guest_ | Jul 30, 2000 08:49pm | #8

   *Linda Mac,I have an old house (80 years old) that had clapboard siding which was peeling all over and cracked in some places. I pulled it all off including the soffits and redid the house with smmoth (i.e. not woodgrained) hardiplank (6" exposure) and did the soffits with beaded pine. I primed the hardiplank with Benjamin Moore oil base and then finished it with a Benjamin Moore latex. Seven years has passed and it looks like I painted it yesterday. I had previously done the same thing on a garage apartment and was able to repaint it another color (latex finish coat over the 1st latex) in one day. I highly recommend the hardiplank for looks and wear. My neighbors rave about its looks.Jay

4. 
   linda_Mc | Jul 30, 2000 08:49pm | #7

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   I live in a 250 year old house in New England. We are so sick of painting that we are considering siding. Is this a bad/ugly idea?