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What is Siding?

Fri 11 Jan 2008 - 14:35

What is Siding?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Andrew]Jonathan Andrew

This article talks in brief about all the types of Sidings available in the market. It tells you the advantages and disadvantages of each of the Sidings. Siding is the outer covering of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather.

It may comprise horizontal boards, vertical boards, shingles, or sheet materials. In all four cases, avoiding wind and rain infiltration through the joints is a major challenge, met by overlapping, by covering or sealing the joint, or by creating an interlocking joint such as a tongue-and-groove or rabbet. Since building materials expand and contract with changing temperature and humidity, it is not practical to make rigid joints between the elements.

Siding - Option's Today

This serves a very important role in home building simply for the fact that it does not only serve a decorative purpose but it protects the sheathing from the wear and tear of extreme climates

Something that is not talked about too often is the building paper. This is an essential part of siding. After one decides what kind of siding one wants, one will always have to buy building paper, which is black in color. It is the base of the covering. It is this layer onto which the siding material is attached too. Since it is behind the actual visible layer, it is left out sometimes, but nevertheless, it is an integral part of any siding project

Different Types of Sidings

Siding may be made of wood, metal, plastic, or composite materials. It may be attached directly to the building structure (studs in the case of wood construction), or to an intermediate layer of horizontal planks called sheathing.

Some of the siding materials are made out of:

Wood

Here, wood is placed in overlapping horizontal rows or "courses", called clapboard. In colonial times, Eastern white pine was the most common material. Wood siding can also be made of unpainted weather-resistant woods such as redwood. Jointed horizontal siding may be shiplapped.

Plastic

Wood clapboard is often imitated using vinyl. It is usually produced in units twice as high as clapboard. Plastic imitations of wood shingle and wood shakes also exist. Vinyl or plastic siding has grown in popularity due to the generally low maintenance and low cost appeal it offers.

Metal

Utilitarian buildings often use corrugated galvanized steel sheet siding. Formerly, imitation wood clapboard was made of aluminum: 'aluminum siding'.

Composite materials

Various composite materials are also used for this purpose for instance, asphalt, asbestos, fiber cement, aluminum (ACM) etc. They may be in the form of shingles or boards, in which case they are sometimes called clapboard.

The main [http://www.homesidingreview.com/Comparing_Prices_On_Vinyl_Siding/ ]function of siding is protection, from extreme weather or from excess water. It protects the house from these agents. Because this adds an aesthetic appeal to the house one lives in, there are many researchers today who are trying to study and develop new forms of siding which will provide a lot of security to the house, without compromising on the aesthetic appeal.

You can also find more info on [http://www.homesidingreview.com/ ]house siding types and [http://www.homesidingreview.com/Buy_Vinyl_Siding_Online/ ]buy vinyl siding. Homesidingreview.com is a comprehensive resource to know more about home siding review.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Andrew http://EzineArticles.com/?What-is-Siding?&id=920841


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