[MassHistPres] MassHistPres Digest, Vol 80, Issue 14Re: wood vs vinyl siding

Thu Oct 25 23:10:27 EDT 2012

of course the major issue is .. how does an owner specify an appropriate paint job?

My church has had several paint jobs over the years ...from presumably reputable companies ... and the jobs have failed.  They have resulted in failing paint (massive peeling) within the warranteed years ... and the companies have either failed to honor their warrantees or have moved out of state ... and ceased business in MA.
*sigh*

Cynthia K. Burr, Executive Director 
Millbury Improvement Initiative, inc. 
P.O. Box 767, Millbury, MA 01527

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Subject: MassHistPres Digest, Vol 80, Issue 14

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oday's Topics:
   1. Re: wood vs vinyl siding (Michele P. Barker)

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Message: 1
ate: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:29:22 -0400
rom: "Michele P. Barker" <mpbarker at preservationmass.org>
ubject: Re: [MassHistPres] wood vs vinyl siding
o: "'Marcia Starkey'" <mdstarkey at crocker.com>,	"'MassHistoric'"
<masshistpres at cs.umb.edu>
essage-ID: <005501cdb12a$cc56dd40$650497c0$@preservationmass.org>
ontent-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi, Marcia,

For a good article on the merits of vinyl vs. wood, see the NPS Preservation
rief 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
sually about all a warranty will cover, anyway) before it gets so faded,
racked, weathered, etc., that it needs replacing. All of us have seen
ood-clad buildings where clapboards or shingles have lasted a hundred or
ore years. So the durability of the wood shouldn't be an issue - but
here's the question of the durability of the paint, which has a 10-15 year
ifespan, depending on how well it was applied. So the trade-off is getting
he building painted every 10-15 years versus getting it sided every 15-20
ears. There's also the issue that, should the vinyl get damaged, it will be
early impossible to match the color - even if some of the original siding
as been set aside, it won't have faded the same way that the exposed vinyl
as - and if you haven't saved any siding, forget it. If wood siding gets
amaged, 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
ere house-hunting many years back, we found that when we peeked under the
iding, every single aluminum or vinyl sided house that we looked at had
ajor rot underneath - of course, we weren't sure whether the siding had
een done to hide the rot, or was the cause of the rot, but there seems to
e substantial research indicating that poorly installed siding contributes
o moisture problems and decay of the underlying structure. So regardless of
he durability of the siding, vinyl can definitely reduce the durability of
he 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
ent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 5:54 PM
o: 'MassHistoric'
ubject: [MassHistPres] wood vs vinyl siding

Hello all,

The Greenfield Town Hall is receiving a "facelift" to the building,
riginally the Second Franklin County Courthouse. It has had several extreme
xterior changes i.e. a ca. 1870 brick skin with high Gothic details to
omply with a state fire prevention requirement for courthouses and a ca.
950 reworking of the details in the spirit of Isaac Damon's original
lassic design.  Under a four year plan, last year all the 1950s wood sash
nd frame windows were replaced with vinyl, and now the wood siding has been
eplaced with vinyl.  The reason given for this particular choice is that
inyl is "more durable" than wood.   It is true that the quality,
reparation and maintenance of wood on building exteriors is critical. I
ould appreciate any experiences with the use of new wood siding on historic
uildings or suggestions  for information sources.  The center of town is a
ational Register District.  

Marcia Starkey
Greenfield Historical Commission       

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