Currently, one of the most popular ways to finish the exterior of a house is siding. This material can imitate various natural materials, including wood, allowing to give the building an aesthetic appearance. This treatment is universal and durable and quite functional, acting as effective protection of the facade from the adverse effects of the external environment. In addition, it is easy to install the panels – the panels are attached directly to the facade of the building or with the help of a frame.
The advantages of cladding with wood siding
Traditionally, natural wood is widely popular as a building and finishing material. Nevertheless, it is characterized by capriciousness in care and operation, in addition, such construction entails significant costs. You can avoid such problems by using wood siding. This facing material appeared in the sixties of the last century in North America and Canada, and in a short period of time gained wide popularity due to its excellent thermal insulation properties, ease of installation, and ease of use. Initially, only wooden buildings were covered with siding panels, over time, the technology for the production of this material was improved. Currently, siding is used to finish buildings of various types.
It is worth noting that the cladding of the house under the tree looks very natural, aesthetic, and presentable, moreover, in many characteristics, it is significantly superior to the traditional wooden one. The manufacturing technology of this facing material allows you to imitate the look of natural wood, as well as the curvature of the logs. Such finishing will help to give a special style to any structure. The universal palette of shades of siding for the house under trees allows you to combine this cladding with other finishing materials. For facing the facade, you can use the same type of material or combine panels in several color solutions, in any case, the finish will look very original and impressive.
The following can also be mentioned among the advantages of finishing with wood siding:
- excellent heat and sound insulation characteristics;
- the possibility of cladding without visible joints;
- resistance to adverse atmospheric effects and temperature changes (siding panels can withstand from -65 to 110 °C);
- this finishing material is not susceptible to the appearance of rust and mold, as well as the influence of insects. In addition, such cladding does not burn out in the sun;
- wood siding is very strong, so no additional wall reinforcement is required when installing it;
- lower price compared to natural wood;
- lightweight and ease of installation;
- this treatment provides excellent ventilation to the building – with proper installation, a comfortable microclimate, and humidity level are maintained on the premises;
- fire safety – vinyl panels do not burn and do not participate in the spread of fire;
- economic processing and its environmental friendliness (materials safe for health are used in the production of siding).
Facing with petaluma siding is durable – the service life of the panels can reach 50 years. Such treatment does not require special care, including painting, only periodic washing of the panels may be required. If necessary, individual structural elements of such cladding can be easily replaced. The disadvantages of log siding include the fact that it is difficult to fix on curved or broken surfaces.
Types of siding for wood siding
When decorating the facades of country houses, siding is increasingly used. For this, several types of wood siding are used – panels made of durable plastic (vinyl and acrylic), as well as metal. Each of the varieties of this facing material has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Metal siding
Modern manufacturers offer a wide selection of finishing material that imitates the texture of wood cladding. Metal siding for wood is distinguished by an affordable price, as well as its versatility of use, as it is suitable for finishing buildings of various types. This finishing material is profiled panels made of galvanized steel, on the surface of which a special polymer coating is applied, imitating the texture of natural wood. On the back side, such panels are covered with protective paint. In section, the metal panel resembles a sheet cake, in which the layering of the material provides a special strength to the building finish.
Plastic siding
Vinyl panels for cladding the facades of buildings are made of high-strength polymers and painted in various shades by spraying. Modern technologies allow embossing on the surface of plastic facade panels and very realistically imitate the texture of wood in its various forms. The color range of vinyl siding underwood is as close as possible to the shades of natural wood and at the same time, it is quite diverse. This facing material is characterized by significant plasticity and mechanical strength, cracks or breaks do not appear on it. Panels of vinyl siding for wood are distinguished by their resistance to burning, as well as the influence of moisture and aggressive chemicals, they do not reproduce fungus or mold. In addition, due to high frost resistance, such cladding will not crack at low temperatures.
Sequence of works
Before installing the siding, it is necessary to remove the branches of trees and shrubs located near the building, to dismantle the protruding parts from the facade – doors, grilles, as well as shutters, lanterns, and platbands. In addition, it is necessary to clean the surface of the facade from garbage, dust and mold, to clean off peeling paint and plaster, in order to get the most even and stable surface of the base for cladding.
If it is planned to install panels on walls made of timber or clapboard, you should replace rotten boards and fasten shaky ones with self-tapping screws. In addition, it is necessary to check how even the base surface to be processed is. If a significant discrepancy is detected, it should be leveled.
To cover the brick or concrete surface of the walls, you will need to pre-install a strong frame made of wooden bars or a metal profile, keeping the distance between the lattice bars 30-50 cm, depending on the length of the walls.
After preparing the base surface, the siding panels must be fixed with nails in a row, starting from the back side of the building – at the same time, it is necessary that their caps slightly do not reach the level of the siding (with an interval of about 1 mm). In addition to nails, panels can be attached using a construction stapler or screws. It should be taken into account that for external work it is necessary to choose aluminum or galvanized fasteners.
