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Home & Garden Articles
Help Your Wood Siding Look Its Best
Wed 02 Dec 2009 - 13:32
Help Your Wood Siding Look Its Best
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Eric_Parish]Eric Parish
If your home is graced with wood siding, you may not have given thought to the TLC it requires. Although it is quite durable, it can fail and cause problems if not pampered a bit from time. Although this article cannot discuss every problem or issue you might face, it will be a good jumping off point and allow you to greatly lengthen the life of your beautiful exterior.
Most importantly is the performance of an annual inspection each spring. Simply walk around your home looking for an abnormalities. You might find nail pops, warping boards, chips or chunks missing from boards or badly weathered paint. Be sure to pull away any vegetation that might be leaning against the siding. Any plant material touching the wood tends to accelerate degradation of the siding and is a conduit for destructive pests.
Hammer any nails that have popped out and nail down any warped boards so that they are flush again. Be sure to use rust resistant nails to avoid ugly rust stains and employ a nail set to properly seat the nail and avoid unsightly hammer marks.
Places that are baldly weathered or are have lost their paint need to be addressed as well. The first step is to remove any loose paint that might be present and then to sand with coarse sandpaper. Next prime the area but be sure to check your local weather forecast - you want a day or two on each side of primer application. If you prime or paint while the wood is wet, you are asking for difficulties. Once the primer is dry, give it a light sanding and then paint. Be sure to paint over any new nails or repaired nail pops as seating the nail exposes a tiny interior section of the siding that can be a great starting point for water damage.
It is also beneficial to inspect the caulking around doors and windows to make sure it is holding up. Any areas where the caulk is failing or missing should be replaced using a quality caulk. Additionally, you will need to caulk anywhere that the siding meets trim board and to inspect the siding where two boards meet end-to-end. It is a good idea to caulk this area if there is a gap or the boards are offset from one another. Be sure you are using a paintable caulk to give your siding the best look.
Although these steps are straight forward, implementation can be time consuming depending on the condition of your siding. In fact, if you have never inspected your siding, you might find that it is in such poor condition that whole sections need to be replaced. Unless you are a die hard do-it-yourselfer, you will need to contact a contractor for an estimate. Be sure to ask about custom pre-painted siding as this can reduce costs and protects the boards better than painting after installation.
In short, spending a little bit of time each year can help ensure that your siding lasts for many years and will help you avoid costly rot issues in the future.
For more information and guidance about factory pre-finished siding and trim, visit [http://www.aciprefinish.com]http://www.aciprefinish.com. ACI specializes in factory finished products.
Eric Parish author's articles for WebDrafter.com, Inc. ( http://www.webdrafter.com), which produces Website design, hosting, and search engine marketing services.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Parish http://EzineArticles.com/?Help-Your-Wood-Siding-Look-Its-Best&id=3330025
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