HOW REPLACEMENT SIDING UPGRADES CAN SAVE YOU MONEY
Good quality siding lasts for years with very little maintenance. If your existing siding is damaged or worn, upgrades can improve the appearance of your home and help you save money. This home improvement project increases the value of your property, reduces heating and cooling costs and protects your home’s interior from pests. Find out why upgrading your siding is a wise decision, just ask your #1 siding contractor from Arlington Heights IL.
Improve Your Home’s Appearance With A New Siding Upgrade
Older homes may be finished with inexpensive wood siding. Without constant maintenance, often in the form of sealing or staining, lower quality wood siding will rot and create gaps in your home’s exterior shell. Upgrading to vinyl siding or a better quality wood siding product gives your home a facelift, refreshing the appearance from the roofline to the foundation
Aging aluminum siding has a tendency to bleed, with color or paint spreading onto the area below. Many suburban homes finished in a brick veneer/aluminum siding combination present an unsightly face after two or three decades, with stained bricks and faded siding. Vinyl siding is an attractive choice for replacement, but homeowners may have their work cut out removing the brick stain
Siding upgrades can be done during the construction of a home addition, in conjunction with window or roof replacement projects or simply on their own. Modernize your home by installing fiber cement board siding or give your house a classic look with prefinished engineered wood siding. New products can completely rejuvenate the appearance of your home, creating instant curb appeal
An attractive home also increases in value. This may only be an issue if you’re planning to sell, but increasing values also mean greater equity. Consider both the aesthetic and financial improvements that new siding can deliver to your property.
Save on Energy Costs With New Siding Upgrade
Siding upgrades also generate continuous savings by reducing your monthly heating and cooling bills. If your existing exterior finish hides a poorly insulated home, siding replacement projects provide the ideal opportunity to remedy that situation.
Some siding options are manufactured to include insulation. Others can be installed directly over polystyrene insulation, with a membrane or air barrier between them to help create the building envelope. This sandwich effect blocks the passage of air and reduces heat loss dramatically. Your home will remain warmer in the winter as heat is blocked from escaping. The summer humidity will also be blocked from seeping into your home, keeping interior temperatures at a more comfortable level all year round without taxing your furnace and air conditioner.
Your home still needs to breathe, and even newly installed siding will leave room for proper airflow. This design is carefully thought out, and gaps are minimized to prevent pests from entering your home. Aged, damaged and worn siding leaves far too many openings, forcing your heating and cooling appliances to work overtime.
Overgrown vines and plants can damage older vinyl siding, while exposure, storms and sunlight take a toll on aging wood siding. Upgrade to more modern designs that use the latest technology and manufacturing methods to create a durable product designed to save you money on energy costs.
Put more money in your pocket by putting new siding on your home. Talk to us, Revived Exteriors about the products and styles currently available, and look forward to a nicer looking, more affordable home.
Have you installed new siding on your home? When researching home improvement project, what was most important to you? Leave a message at the bottom of this article.
HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE BEST SIDING COLOR?
Siding protects and insulates your home from the elements. But the ideal siding color also creates an attractive exterior finish that improves curb appeal and increases the value of your home. Choosing the best siding color involves much more than picking your favorite – you will need to consider several factors including product quality, trim, architecture and the dominant style of your neighborhood. Stay with us, your #1 siding company in Arlington Heights IL and learn more.
INVEST IN QUALITY SIDING PRODUCTS
Avoid cheap siding – no matter what siding colors, profiles or combinations offered. Inexpensive product lines contain less pure vinyl than quality brands, resulting in more cracking and fading. Ask your contractor to recommend a few brands that offer the quality you need at the price you can afford, and then browse siding color selections and profiles available in those product lines.
Do you have a vision for what your home could look like? Now, expert contractors who invest in their business offer up a 3d design model of your actual home. This allows you can play with all the colors of your exterior home. Unlike most visualizers, you see your actual home with the current colors on it, not some other model. In fact, with high-end software available to technically advanced contractors, you can take 8 pictures and have this model ready for you in as little as two hours. Be sure to ask your contractor for the 3d rendering when scheduling your initial consultation.
High-quality siding also retains that ideal siding color for the long term, without any need to paint or stain. Simply wash your dirty siding with soap and water to restore the surface to a beautiful shine.
Think About Trim
The overall appearance of your home is a combination of siding color and trim, along with windows, doors, and roofing. Ask about the trim available when choosing the best siding color; this may help you make a better decision for curb appeal.
Trim can be in a contrasting color, but many homes look good with trim in a few shades lighter or darker than the main siding color. Dark siding should have lighter trim, while light siding looks best with darker trim.
Trim is installed around the windows and doors, at the corners and on any finishing edges. Some trim adds to the architectural details, such as gingerbread trim in gables or dentil trim along the roof-line and on overhangs.
Stick With the Home Style
Colonial homes look best in colors that were popular in that era. Other home styles include Victorian, Ranch style and contemporary or modern homes. Each of these styles includes a range of suitable colors that complement the shape and architecture.
Browsing through paint swatches at your local paint store is an easy way to find period hues and tones. These swatches usually have descriptive names to direct you and may already be organized into periods for simple sorting.
Find the collection that best suits the style of your home and choose your favorite colors. Bring those to the siding retailer or contractor to search for a matching siding color. This method allows you to choose siding colors that ensure continuity and remain true to your home’s original style.
HOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYS INTO THE SELECTION OF YOUR SIDING COLOR
Consider the other colors used on your street, on your block and in the wider neighborhood. You may want to stand out in some way, but avoid installing a siding color that highlights your house in an unappealing light when compared to homes nearby.
For instance, if you live in a coastal area full of pastel shades and white trim, avoid the more sedate, darker colors. Colonial neighborhoods favor bold shades with traditional trim in complementary colors, although you may get away with a contrasting scheme.
Your home needs to express your tastes and style, but clashing with the houses next door will only serve to devalue your property in the long run.
Ask Revived Exteriors, your siding installer for recommendations on high-quality siding brands in appealing colors. Choose your favorite based on the above criteria and your home will be finished beautifully.
Efficiency is a top priority these days, with utility bills climbing and environmental concerns mounting. Homeowners wonder whether vinyl siding Arlington Heights IL presents a good option, high on energy efficiency and low on maintenance. Take a good look at the characteristics of this building material to uncover the answer.
KEEPING YOUR HOUSE WARM
Vinyl siding is manufactured in two layers—capstock and substrate. Titanium dioxide is used in the capstock to protect against fading and wear from UV rays, while the substrate includes limestone for durability and strength.
This dual layer construction helps to block the passage of heat from both sides. Manufactured in lighter tones and colors, vinyl siding deflects the sun’s heat in summer and blocks cold winds in winter. When partnered with insulation and interior finishing (drywall), this product keeps your living space comfortable in all seasons.
Using insulated vinyl siding may drastically improve the energy efficiency of an older home, while installing standard vinyl siding onto a new build helps to maintain peak levels of efficiency.
Vinyl siding is also significantly cheaper than other exterior finishing materials, such as fiber cement siding and brick. Although brick and heavier siding materials may provide a thicker heat barrier, modern designs have resulted in strong and durable vinyl siding that helps to protect your home in any weather.
KEEPING YOUR HOUSE DRY
Extremely resistant to all types of weather, vinyl siding works to maintain the proper level of dryness inside your home. Hard rain, snow and hail cannot penetrate the siding barrier, which protects your insulation, framing and all other interior building materials from harmful conditions like mold, mildew and rot.
Replacing or adding to old insulation without taking care of the outer siding layer will do little for energy efficiency. Keeping moisture away from the insulating layer makes this system work. Consider replacing aged wood siding or crumbling brick with modern vinyl siding products, designed to keep your home dry.
KEEPING YOUR HOME MAINTENANCE LOW
Vinyl siding is also virtually maintenance free. Simply give the siding a thorough wash down with your garden hose and it will appear good as new. This low maintenance design reduces the use of potentially harmful chemicals like stain or paint.
This building material performs consistently without worry. Even after years of use, vinyl and insulated vinyl siding maintain the same level of protection.
KEEPING THE ENVIRONMENT CLEAN
Vinyl siding can be expected to last for at least 20 years, with thicker varieties guaranteed for much longer. The lifetime of vinyl allows for less waste due to replacement.
Vinyl siding repairs can be completed with minimal waste, as the panel design allows for the replacement of smaller pieces and components. If storm damage has made dents, cracks and splitting in your vinyl siding, an expert siding installer can quickly and efficiently replace those broken sections, getting your home back to normal in no time.
Are you worried about rising heating and cooling bills or deciding which type of exterior finish to use on your new home? Vinyl siding is designed to keep your home warm and dry, and offers a low maintenance, long-term solution for any climate. Combined with quality insulation and expertly installed, vinyl siding can improve energy efficiency and help to create a more comfortable, attractive home.
If you or someone you know is in the market for upgrading your siding to vinyl siding, call Revived Exteriors to schedule a no obligation consultation. Check out some of our before and after pictures of vinyl siding on our Facebook Page.