Residential Wood Siding Installation in Sumter, SC
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Cladding, or wood siding, is an all-natural material used to protect and cover the exterior of a home. Different styles of wood siding include board-and-batten style, vertical installation and horizontally installed clapboards, shakes, or shingles, many of which are made of preferred wood types such as redwood and cedar. Wood is an inexpensive alternative to other types of siding and is usually more easily available on the market.
Wood is certainly best for more traditional styles of homes like Cape Cod, Bungalow, Cottage, or Craftsman houses. Wood can be a very economical siding choice as long as the recommended routine maintenance of the wood is performed to keep its durable integrity solid. This regular maintenance can include re-staining or repainting. Some styles to consider when choosing wood as your siding selection: Shake, Shingle, Board-and-Batten, Lap, Drop Channel, Tongue and Groove, and Split Log siding.
Wood Siding has limitations on coding in many areas of the country due to its flammable composition. The local code should be consulted when considering wood as a siding option to ensure the best selection is made for your siding project. It may certainly be right for a certain section of your home and make a striking addition overall.
This may very well be your choice of siding, so give SSI Siding Installers a call to Get your Quote Now!
- Wood Shake Siding: Like shingles, shakes are similar, but are much thicker and more durable overall. Shakes do not have a uniform thickness which increases the appeal of using shakes on a home. The wooden pieces, or bolts, are sometimes hand cut to even further improve the look. Shakes are usually available in cedar and redwood and are installed in an overlapping pattern starting at the bottom of a wall and moving to the top of the wall. Shakes may come in several different sizes of 16, 18, and 24 inches in length.
- Wood Shingle Siding: Wood shingles, as they are smooth and somewhat uniform in size, are quite easy to install and are better siding for odd-shaped walls such as cylindrical structures. Victorian style homes are very popular for installing this type of wood siding which can be painted or stained, and often in historic or vibrant colors. Wood shingle siding needs to be treated in order to make them fire-retardant, and they can be of the different types of wood siding use for the other styles listed here. Local Building codes may have strict guidelines as to the use of wood shingle siding, so those must be consulted to understand what is allowed. To add, this style will require regular maintenance to keep the wood from drying out, resist damage, and resist insect penetration.
- Wood Board-and-Batten Siding: This particular style of wood siding provides room for expansion and contraction of the boards. Board-and-Batten is installed vertically with wide boards that are spaced evenly having a smaller strip of wood called a batten that is installed over the space between the wide boards. Sometimes, differing widths of boards and battens are used to create more appealing patterns for better aesthetic appearance.
- Wood Lap Siding: Lap siding, which is also called clapboard or bevel siding, dates back to revolutionary times in the U.S. A lap board is created by sawing a plank in a pie/wedge shape with one edge thinner than the other. The contractor installs these boards with an overlap where the first board has its wider end toward the bottom of a wall. Successive boards are "lapped" over each other with the wider end of the board at the bottom tapering upward to the narrow end at the top. This design helps to easily shed water, as the board edges will not hold the water. It is up to the contractor to determine how much the boards will overlap. The narrower the overlap, the less sturdy the siding will be. Typically, a four-to-eight-inch exposure is chosen to optimize area coverage to ensure adequate lap coverage, while regulating the amount of material used. This style must be maintained with caulk as well as stain or paint.
- Wood Drop Channel Siding: Drop channel siding, similar to board-and-batten siding, has ample room for expansion and contraction of the wood. To make the planks, a board is milled with a narrower long edge to be installed with this longer edge placed on top of another plank. The other board edge has a groove cut into it and becomes the bottom edge of the plank which fits over the narrower long edge at the top of the next plank. The overlap created where the planks fit together makes a narrow groove to prevent standing water. As knotty pine has a more rustic appearance, it is often chosen for drop channel siding. These types of planks can be made from whatever wood is desired. This causes the style to have a more varied range of pricing depending on the wood chosen along with the finish. As with any wood, this wood siding style will also require regular maintenance, to include sealing or painting, and pressure washing to keep clean.
- Wood Tongue and Groove Siding: Similar to drop channel siding, tongue and groove siding may be installed horizontally or vertically. Hardwood floors usually use this type of wood binding, yet it's also used in this style of siding. For more aesthetic purpose, this style is sometimes installed diagonally for a unique look. Boasting an uninterrupted surface contact, the boards stay connected throughout the length of the coverage. This is made possible during the milling process where a groove is cut into one edge of the plank and an equivalent tongue is cut on the other edge. Each plank fits together easily, making this one of the sturdiest wood siding styles.
- Wood Split Log Siding: Just as the style implies, split log siding is simply made of split logs. The logs are sawed with the bark still on them and then installed directly to the wall to be covered. Wood split logs must be dried prior to installation, as there can be some shrinking of the logs as moisture abates. This siding is usually custom cut from oak, cypress, or cedar which are dried and sealed to prevent pest intrusion. Maintenance is also required with this style and usually requires more clear-coat or stain.
