[MassHistPres] wood vs vinyl siding

[james hadley]

Ms. Starkey,
The first question I would ask is whether the wood was removed and vinyl substituted, or whether the vinyl was applied over the wood. In restoring the exterior of the Waquoit Congregational Church in Falmouth this fall we found, after stripping off the vinyl. many, many instances of destruction or removal of wood trim elements in order to install the vinyl. This destructive part of the vinyl and aluminum retrofit is the unacknowledged and worst aspect of the process. In our case we were lucky to find paint lines indicating profiles of removed moldings, helping enormously to restore original conditions. But is was sad to see the evidence of destruction wrought by the "protective" installation.
James Hadley AIA

From: mdstarkey at crocker.com
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:54:17 -0400
Subject: [MassHistPres] wood vs vinyl siding

Hello all, The Greenfield Town Hall is receiving a “facelift” to the building, originally the Second Franklin County Courthouse. It has had several extreme exterior changes i.e. a ca. 1870 brick skin with high Gothic details to comply with a state fire prevention requirement for courthouses and a ca. 1950 reworking of the details in the spirit of Isaac Damon’s original classic design.  Under a four year plan, last year all the 1950s wood sash and frame windows were replaced with vinyl, and now the wood siding has been replaced with vinyl.  The reason given for this particular choice is that vinyl is “more durable” than wood.   It is true that the quality, preparation and maintenance of wood on building exteriors is critical. I would appreciate any experiences with the use of new wood siding on historic buildings or suggestions  for information sources.  The center of town is a National Register District.   Marcia StarkeyGreenfield Historical Commission                
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