Siding
Posted on January 6th, 2008 – 1:15 AMBy Jason Hammond
From the outside our house is looking less finished that it is on the inside as it lacks the majority of the siding. We had hoped that this would be remedied early last week with the arrival of our siding from UnaClad. However once the siding arrived we were told that we would have to have all the materials for the corners and around all the windows and doors fabricated separately. This was a bit of a surprise but we were fortunate in this case that one of the local fabricators we were put in contact with was not busy and was able to turn the needed parts around fairly quickly. All of this had left me feeling less than enthusiastic about our selection of materials however that would all change again on Thursday.
As the crew began to put up the materials on the wall It was completely clear again to me, just why we had selected this siding. The UnaClad Classic Omega siding with its large over-sized ridges and crisp silver finish worked to create a perfect contrast with the chocolate brown color of our Hardiboard siding.
We had originally planned to use an exaggerated rain screen system for the installation of the Hardiboard that would have left large black gaps between sheets but for various reasons our rain screen become an issue and we opted to do a slightly different application. What we selected was something that our architect had done one his cabin/river shack using a piece of silver Z channel to create both a horizontal and vertical grid. This turned out to be the perfect complement to the Silver of the UnaClad and really unified the two materials.
We are now about a week away (maybe slightly more) from the completion of the house and as the exterior materials go up we are seeing more and more interest from a variety of people. Although our house is on a dead end we see a great deal of traffic in various forms. There are the morning dog walkers who use the boardwalk and trails as a route past our house. As well as the numerous cars that drive to the end of our street and make a slow lazy turn around in our cul-de-sac taking a long glance and even occasionally stopping to gaze. However as our siding was going up this past week, we had a first. A pair of walkers extended their walking path into our cul-de-sac as they took a glance at the house. Then as they approached the driveway, one of them made their way up our drive, right to our front door. At first I thought they were going to ring the doorbell or knock but instead they were just getting a close up view of how our siding was installed, before they returned back to their walk. As they walked away I grabbed my camera and snapped a quick shot to document to moment.
Piece by piece the exterior of the house is coming together.
A close up of the UnaClad siding next to our Hardiboard siding. I love the way the two look together.
Our house seems to have become a popular sight for many, and has captured peoples interest.
6 Responses to "Siding"
I especially like the grid. I always loved grids or grooves as they put a nice structure on an otherwise plain or large surface. The UnaClad and Hardiboard combination is exceptionell. No wonder your house attracts passers-by. Wouldn’t it be interesting to hear what they are talking about?
Thanks Connie,
I think that a lot of the people who stop by are intrigued, yet it’s not their style.However I can only imagine there are some who really like it and would like to do something similar.
Jason
I think that siding look’s great. I am an electrician and I have often thought why don’t people use more of the stuff that goes on in commercial construction in their houses.
I must drive by to have a look at your house.
Carl,
I believe, that as more people become drawn to the modern design movement you will see an increase in the use of commercial products in residential design over the next few years.
Jason
Any chance you could expound on the z metal application. I was planning on using a nice reveal on my rainscreen application but the local building department has been giving me trouble. I’ll be using hardipanel with exposed hex-head stainless fasteners, some corrugated metal and a touch of cedar.
Thanks, the house looks great.
Marja,
The Z channel, is actually something that is readily available at lumber yards. The Z-channel is placed so that it goes over one piece and then under the next when it’s set into place. The same thing was done on the vertical pieces so that we ad a complete grid. We nailed ours but I think the screw pattern will look great.
Jason
