Historic Frame Siding

Original or historically accurate siding on a historic home or building is an overt example of a building s era and unique characteristics.

Historic frame siding.

Because substitute siding is usually added on top of existing siding details around windows and doors may appear set back from the siding rather than slightly projecting. Wood siding has a potential life of at least 200 years. When you hope to preserve the home s original character you have to be more selective about color appearance and longevity. This type of siding is custom made and is generally made from hardwood making it easy to find split wood siding made out oak cypress and cedar.

Wood was plentiful and easy to obtain and sheltering one s family was of higher priority than conserving natural resources. First seen on mass produced homes of the 80s and 90s vinyl siding has become a common choice for most historical home renovations. Log cabin siding was common by the 1930s in 6 8 and 10 widths. Wood siding materials trim and shingles were installed over the frame and roof.

Take a drive through the historic district of any city or town and it s easy to see what siding materials were popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. Horizontal lap siding also known as clapboard or bevel siding is the one of the most common styles of siding. Rustic siding is a broad term often applied to several types of siding milled to present an appearance much more like timber than their actual thickness. Most of the time when i remove vinyl siding from a historic house i find wet spongy and rotted wood siding.

If you re renovating a historic home you have several options for restoring the siding. It is important that this type of siding is sawed while the bark is still intact. Photo by pierre châtel innocenti on unsplash. Generally no nails were used in the structural frame.

The structural framing was then covered with wood siding. If the wood siding on your home is starting to become beaten up and rotted or the upkeep is just becoming too much for you then consider all the advantages of their vinyl equivalents. Of the only ways to keep the original interplay between the texture of the siding with the window and its decorative frame. Inevitably the vinyl siding got some moisture behind it sometimes from rain seeping in and sometimes just from water vapor trying to escape the house.

And if the relationship of molding or trim to the wall is changed it can result in the covering or removal of these historic features. First vinyl siding doesn t allow the house to breathe. The siding plank will still be attached to the wall giving the appearance of solid logs forming the outside of your. Wood frame houses were built with uniform dimensional lumber cut at a saw mill.

The structural frame sat on top of a masonry foundation. Two centuries of u s. Advantages of vinyl siding.