To Side, or not to Side

[bobpbx]

I'd like some opinions from this fine group of people on this forum. What would you do if you were me:

I am going to be in this house for maybe 5 more years, give or take. It is sided in wood; that crappy texture 111. I have to paint it every 7 years, a mean task that takes many weekends to do it myself.

Should I go with vinyl siding? It will cost at least 15K. It will save me the next paint job, but will it really be worth it since I plan to sell so soon? Will it increase the amount I get for the house enough to make it worthwile?

 

[Boyd]

Personally I hate the look and the flimsy feeling of vinyl siding. The house I bought last year has it, and it's in pretty good shape. But if I stay here I will definitely want to cover it (or remove) and put some kind of natural wood in its place.

My last home had cedar planks and I really liked the way it looked. It was old, but had a very natural color and texture with interesting variations. This might not be a good option however, depending on the specifics of your home.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I'm with Boyd. I had cedar clapboards on my last house and it was a great siding material. If I were to decide to live in my current house for years and years, I would want to side it with cedar. Since we will probably sell it in a few years like you, I will keep the aluminum siding, icky as it looks. It's fine and looks neat and tidy. Just because I hate it doesn't mean the rest of the world will! Including the guy I married. As I recall, we had our first fight over vinyl/aluminum vs. wood siding.

Although vinyl is rather standard, and I would guess a lot cheaper, if you are going to sell the house in a few years, it may be more economical to go with vinyl. Just make sure you get yourself a high pressure washer and clean it every year or it looks like doodie.

 

[bobpbx]

So far I am surprised you guys are "siding" on the wood "side".

 

[BEHR655]

Will it increase the value? Probably won't recoup the cost, maybe only 50% of it. However it should make the house more sellable.
If I were you, I'd wait and paint it again just before you put it on the market.

So......moving to a retirement village?

Steve

 

[woodjin]

I had my house resided with vinyl siding this year. Previously it had steel siding (yes, steel) but it was a very unattractive color and too dark to paint over. The new vinyl siding looks great. However, it does flex (unlike the steel) and makes quite a bit of noise, it is not annoying but creaks alot. I think it felt a lot draftyer (is that a word?) this winter, it was colder in the house.

Jeff

 

[piker56]

IThe new vinyl siding looks great. However, it does flex (unlike the steel) and makes quite a bit of noise, it is not annoying but creaks alot. I think it felt a lot draftyer (is that a word?) this winter, it was colder in the house.

Jeff

Did they put a vapor barrier (I think that's what they called it) under the siding? I had aluminum siding removed and replaced with vinyl 2 years ago and I don't notice it being drafty or noisey. Of course the aluminum was like living in a radiator, it was so noisey.

 

[woodjin]

I don't believe they did, I did not know such a thing existed. Under the old steel siding was the original asbestos siding, so they left it and put the vinyl over that. It is my understanding that asbestos is fairly safe if left undisturbed. My house was built in the late '60's.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

I don't believe they did, I did not know such a thing existed. Under the old steel siding was the original asbestos siding, so they left it and put the vinyl over that. It is my understanding that asbestos is fairly safe if left undisturbed. My house was built in the late '60's.

Jeff

You most likely have tar paper under the asbestos, which is the vapor barrier. With my wood, I don't have any draft problems or noises.

 

[Boyd]

It is my understanding that asbestos is fairly safe if left undisturbed.

Yes, I think that's true. I lived in an old farmhouse for years in upstate NY which had asbestos siding installed over the original wood. When I went to do repairs and painting in the 1990's I was surprised to find that you could still buy the stuff, and I think I've seen it more recently than that. As long as you don't saw or drill it you should be OK. The concern is over "friable" asbestos, which is in a form that releases particles into the air.

Now if you were to remove that stuff and throw it in a dumpster then you'd kick up some dust and have a problem I suspect. <Caveat> what the hell do I know really!

 

[Teegate]

Now if you were to remove that stuff and throw it in a dumpster then you'd kick up some dust and have a problem I suspect. <Caveat> what the hell do I know really!

You are correct. Asbestos is fine until disturbed.

I tore down a garage on my property and it had asbestos shingles. The dumpster man would not take them. So I put them in the trash a little every week for a year. I even took some to my moms and she got caught

She was looking out the window and the bag broke open and the driver wrote her address down. She was upset....but nothing ever happened.

When I had my house sided they refused to take them off.

Guy

 

[Sue Gremlin]

That's why we find piles of them in the pines. People dump them because it's too much of a hassle to get rid of them.

 

[Teegate]

I hated to do it but I could not get rid of them. They made me remove a few boards from the dumpster that had small pieces of shingles on them. They looked it all over before they would leave. There are quite a few shingles on a garage, so I had a ton of them.

Guy

 

[long-a-coming]

I have asbestos siding on my house and I plan on getting the vinyl over top (someday). My Dad worked for John's Manville for a long time and he sold the asbestos siding to my whole neighborhood (West Berlin) in the early 70s. Everybody thought it was great stuff at one time as he says. When I was looking to buy the house in 2003 I took him with me. He starts looking around the neighborhood and it all comes back to him, he goes "I sold this @&*% on all these houses." Thanks a lot dad

 

[james ungehajer]

The company i used to work for had a major asbestos removal program seven years ago,besides the usual safety precautions,respirator with cartridges for asbestos,full face shield,asbestos dust suit, rubber or vinyl chemical gloves,the first thing the mechanical department did beforre any removal was to saturate the asbestos with water,then tear it down putting it into plastic sealed bags a couple of lbs. per bag,took a year to clear the plant of the stuff,then it went to a lined landfill,where to,i do not know.