A New Side at DomEc

Well, four sides.  Well actually, four sides of siding.  The new project at DomEc is new vinyl siding for the home.  The need for new siding comes from the fact that the old, probably original siding, was literally falling off the house.  Those cedar shakes (shingles) were badly sun-damaged, thinning and falling apart.  The particular under course used was cheap and has become host to myriad insects and attracted a good number of woodpeckers to the house.  I can't blame to woodpeckers--They were not the problem. Rather the infested, degraded house covering needed to go.

We decided to go with vinyl primarily because we wanted a long-term, low maintenance option.  Any plastic product has its environmental downsides, but in this case it seemed the best option compared to years of applying more paint to wood or another surface; the old paint flaking off into the environment.  It seemed better than more wood shakes that would have to be replaced and also painted or sealed.  And most of all, unlike expensive brick or other coatings, vinyl is an option that I am able to instal myself, having past professional training and experience.

Another nice bonus of vinyl is that the under-coating is an insulative foam.  We opted for better-than-minimum thickness foam which will give us additional insulation capacity up to R-3.  Inadequate insulation is, of course, a major problem in winter here at the DomEc homestead.  The exterior walls have only R-7 insulation.  Most modern homes are built with R-11 or R-13 rating. (The higher the better: The R-value represents the insulating potential of a component where a value of R-1 is equal to the insulative capacity of a 1-foot thick concrete wall.)  By adding an additional R-3 layer outside the walls the home is starting to approach modern standards.  In some cases, the project is affording me the opportunity to open up the wall from the outside and replace the wall insulation itself with new R-11.

This is a long-term project that will take months to finish with primarily one person working on it and only part-time at that.  Progress is slow, but steady.  Having started in late August, the building is now  a fifth or a sixth covered.  More updates are to come, especially when winter comes and the insulation is put to the test.