[MassHistPres] wood vs vinyl siding

[Michele P. Barker]

Hi, Marcia,

 

For a good article on the merits of vinyl vs. wood, see the NPS Preservation
Brief on artificial siding:

 

http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief08.htm

 

They estimate that vinyl siding has a 15-20 year lifespan (and that's
usually about all a warranty will cover, anyway) before it gets so faded,
cracked, weathered, etc., that it needs replacing. All of us have seen
wood-clad buildings where clapboards or shingles have lasted a hundred or
more years. So the durability of the wood shouldn't be an issue - but
there's the question of the durability of the paint, which has a 10-15 year
lifespan, depending on how well it was applied. So the trade-off is getting
the building painted every 10-15 years versus getting it sided every 15-20
years. There's also the issue that, should the vinyl get damaged, it will be
nearly impossible to match the color - even if some of the original siding
has been set aside, it won't have faded the same way that the exposed vinyl
has - and if you haven't saved any siding, forget it. If wood siding gets
damaged, it's easily replaced and painted to match the rest of the building.

 

There's also the moisture issue. Just anecdotally, when my husband and I
were house-hunting many years back, we found that when we peeked under the
siding, every single aluminum or vinyl sided house that we looked at had
major rot underneath - of course, we weren't sure whether the siding had
been done to hide the rot, or was the cause of the rot, but there seems to
be substantial research indicating that poorly installed siding contributes
to moisture problems and decay of the underlying structure. So regardless of
the durability of the siding, vinyl can definitely reduce the durability of
the building underneath. 

 

Hope that helps give you something to back up your case.

 

Regards,

 

Michele

 

Michele P. Barker

Circuit Rider

617-999-3256

mpbarker at preservationmass.org

Preservation Massachusetts

www.preservationmass.org

Old City Hall

45 School Street

Boston, MA 02108

 

From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of Marcia Starkey
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 5:54 PM
To: 'MassHistoric'
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 Starkey

Greenfield Historical Commission       

 

       

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