Want to put maintenence free siding on two 900 sq.ft. two story houses in Cold Bay, Alaska. Cold Bay is on the Pacific Ocean side of the Alaska penninsula. The Bering Sea is only ten miles away. The weather is usually wet and windy. Some freezing temperatures in winter. Hundred mile an hour winds are not uncommon. We use the houses as a hunting base for goose hunting in the fall and fishing in the summer.
They have t-111 siding now, which is peeling paint and deteriorating rapidly. There are lots of windows and the usual utility penetrations. All materials are flown or barged in.
Thoughts on what to clad these houses with that will hold up in a very harsh marine environment would be appreciated.
Replies
Do you mean truly "maintenance free" or just low maintenance? What's your budget? Truly maintenance free doesn't off many (if any really) choices.
Want to avoid having to caulk/paint/stain in the future. Don't have a budget plan, yet. My hunting buddy has deep pockets and wants to keep these houses around for the next twenty years.
Deep pockets, eh? I used copper on my place. On a client house. And will on my next one.
I'm expecting a lot more than 20 yrs.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
i would put asphalt impregnated felt over the T-111, then i would put pressure treated 2x4's for stringers, then corrugated steel.
the steel will rust away, and i think from the application you describe, what you are after is maintenance free on the cheap, until it is time to redo it. a new layer of felt should keep out the weather and protect the T-111 from further decay, the outer layer of corrugated steel is just a sacraficial layer, to be replaced when it rots away enough to need it.
like dieselpig says it depends on budget, and i don't think anything in that environment will be "maintenance free" over time. i think the best you can hope for is a rustic look that you don't have to do anything to for 5 years or so.
the other thing i would look into are those "do it yourself spray foam insulation kits" i forget the name of the company or the website, or even where i found it, but i know they exist. it comes in cardboard boxes with plastic liners and you attach the hoses and pressurize it somehow and spray away. i would think if you could get spray foam to a remote location economically that might go a long way to sealing and strengthening things to prevent seasonal maintenance, again a sacraficial layer over a sealed surface may be the most cost effective solution and the least maintenance over time.
Hardie with stainless steel nails. You'll have to do the painting in warm weather, but a properly applied paint job with quality paint should last 15 years or so. The material will definitely stand up to the wind and weather.