The amount of leisure time available for today’s family is minimal with both parents working overtime and all the everyday chores around the house. Every hour saved from working on your house, is an hour that can be spent doing something you want to enjoy doing. Some of the low or no maintence building elements that can be adapted to your home have been around awhile, but I will try to focus on some of the newer innovations.
Scraping, priming, staining and painting are all tasks that just about all of us can do, but few enjoy, especially when most exterior paint starts looking rough after about seven years. A good rule of thumb is to limit the exterior wood on your house. Any wood siding, trim, walks, decks and landscaping will require maintence. The objective is to eliminate as many of the high maintence items as possible. Some of the obvious remedies are to use brick or vinyl siding, but to go the extra step you might consider a stucco system called EIFS Exterior Insulation and Finish System. This application has much higher insulation value that will lead to lower energy consumption and an airtight house. This type of siding system can be cut and shaped to accentuate corners, windows, doors, trim etc. The final coat has color mixed in, so painting might still be necessary, but it will last much longer. Note that proper detailing and installation of the system is important to prevent vapor barrier problems.
The roof is probably the second most important. It is true you don’t have to do weekly maintence on your roof, but if you can double the life it is worth talking about. Standard shingles are warranted for 20 to 25 years. Most architectural rated shingles are warranted for 30 to 45 years. You can expect to pay approximately 25% to 30% more. There are some roofing systems good for up to 100 years, but they are very expensive. Even if this is your first house and you know you are eventually moving, architectural shingles make sense because the ascetic and economic value will help sell your house and increase its market value.
My favorite new innovative low maintenance product that I have been incorporating on my own house is synthetic wood or TREX. It is an exterior decking composite of wood chips and plastic, originally used mostly for waterfront applications like docks and piers. This is the most severe application for any wood application and the TREX has held up quite well. It will not rot, warp, blister etc. There are three manufactures now with TREX being the original. Three different shades are available to match your existing exterior and landscaping. There is little to waste because all the boards are straight and with no imperfections. No more rummaging through a large pile of wet/green pressure treated wood requiring you have to have a game plan on installing every piece to conceal knots and flaws. TREX comes slightly bowed so water will drain off it when applied horizontally. The size matches the decking material that is probably used on your house now (5/4” x 6”). With a cost of $1.45 per linear foot you can expect to pay $3.00 per square foot. Stainless steel deck screws are recommended and they will need to be pre-drilled. The one thing you need to verify before purchasing material is the spacing of your floor joists. This type of synthetic wood is good for 16” O.C. but not 24” O.C.
Another suggestion to save time is to obtain an account at a commercial lumberyard like Waterfront Lumber or treated wood outlet. The quality is much better and you will only pay a little more. After the account is set, just call and your wood will be stacked at the end of the driveway or anywhere you want it. There is no charge for delivery. Just like that you have saved 2-3 hours. All of their salesmen are knowledgeable. If you questions just tell them what you are doing and they can tell you your options, advantages and disadvantages.
When evaluating your next upgrade to your house, just ask yourself the question: In the spring when it starts getting warm would you rather be at the beach or pool and enjoying the weather with your family or scraping paint and staining your deck?
Next month we will expand on this subject and go from the house to the yard.
