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Brick Mortar Repair and Masonry Contractors: Restoring the Integrity of Your Structure

MT Masonry Chicago – best brick mortar repair contractors in Chicago

Brick mortar, despite its durability, can deteriorate over time due to weathering, age, or structural movements. When the mortar starts to crack or crumble, it compromises the integrity of the entire structure. That’s where brick mortar repair and masonry contractors come in. These skilled professionals specialize in restoring and repairing masonry structures in Chicago, ensuring their longevity and stability.

Brick mortar repair is a meticulous process that requires expertise and precision. Masonry contractors understand the different types of mortar, such as lime-based or Portland cement-based, and the appropriate techniques for repairing various types of brickwork. They carefully remove the deteriorated mortar and replace it with fresh mortar, matching the color and texture to ensure a seamless appearance.

Hiring a masonry contractor for your brick mortar repair offers several advantages. First and foremost, these professionals have the knowledge and experience to assess the condition of the mortar and identify any underlying issues. They can determine if the damage is superficial or if there are deeper structural concerns that need to be addressed.

Masonry contractors also have access to specialized tools and equipment required for efficient and effective brick mortar repair in Chicago. Their expertise allows them to work efficiently, minimizing disruption to your daily life and ensuring the project is completed within a reasonable timeframe.

When selecting a masonry contractor for your brick mortar repair, consider the following factors. Look for contractors with extensive experience in brickwork and mortar repair. Check for licenses and insurance to ensure they are qualified and protected. Review their portfolio and ask for references to gauge the quality of their workmanship and customer satisfaction.

Additionally, a reputable masonry contractor will provide a detailed estimate outlining the scope of work, materials, and associated costs. They will also offer warranties or guarantees on their work, providing you with peace of mind and assurance in the quality of their repairs.

In conclusion, Chicago brick mortar repair is essential for maintaining the structural integrity and aesthetic appeal of masonry structures. By hiring a professional masonry contractor, you can ensure that your brickwork is restored to its original condition, safeguarding your investment and enhancing the beauty of your property.

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Wall Protection System

Only Foam Products provides the needed support with a custom shaped foam cradle. The result is an exterior wall system that looks like freshly painted wood and gives maintenance free performance. Most installers nail a thin flat piece of foam board on your house before they install. You will probably be told by these installers that this thin flat ‘insulation board will help you with your energy bills. They will usually say this in a very convincingly way and with a ‘straight’ face. We install a thick sheet of ‘contoured formed’ insulating e.s.p. foam behind each piece. The thicker insulation that we use is shaped to match the same contour. The insulation completely fills the interior of the wall plus it has another 1/2″. The Premium creates a completely solid Wall Protection System. The insulation is now solid to the touch. You cannot push it in. The thin straight board foam backing which is used by other installers leaves the wall hollow inside and the wall can be blown in or pushed in. With our System, insects, bees, dirt and wind are blocked from getting in your walls. This is because all the seams are solid and cannot be pushed in. We gain an additional 4 to 5 R-rating with our Wall Protection System. This means that we can increase the insulating value of the walls in an average house by 25 to 30 percent over what it is now. Unlike most insulating products that are used, Premium Insulation allows moisture to escape from the inside of your home. The thin straight insulation board used by other installers can trap moisture inside your walls. Moisture running down inside your walls can create mold, mildew and breeding areas for insects. Moisture trapped in your walls can eventually bow and warp structural members of your house and can lead to rot and decay. It has the highest permeability rate that we can use in a wall insulation system. This high rate pf permeability allows moisture to ‘wick’ itself to the outside of your house without the insulation losing its insulating and sealing qualities. We use the best  that is available. The Grand Sierra  is the thickest and strongest siding that Alcoa has to offer. The vinyl is thicker. The Grand Sierra is .046 thick. The Grand Sierra has the deepest profile of any available. The  profile extends out a full 3/4 of an inch. Most barely make it to a 1/2″ profile. This deeper profile is extremely attractive and gives us a thicker ‘contoured’  with even more room for our formed insulation. The Alcoa Grand Sierra is deeply engrained with a wood-like texture. Because it is thicker that most, the textured effect is very realistic. Especially when compared to the thinner vinyl used by most of the other siding companies. The Grand Sierra has a double nailing hem. This stronger nailing strip means that the Grand Sierra is designed to withstand winds up to 190 miles an hour. Our ‘Wall Protection System’ is
All  walls are contoured, but the backing behind it is usually flat. The result is hollow spaces between the wall and the backing. These unsupported spaces make the siding vulnerable to dents and cracks when struck by airborne objects such as hail or errant rocks, balls or toys. By eliminating the gaps between wall and backing, It increases impact resistance by 300% while reducing unwanted airflow. The insulating capability of your exterior walls is maximized. Tests show that offers three times the insulating ability of other foam backing. Heating and electric bills can be significantly reduced. In addition, the sound deadening quality of exterior walls is greatly improved. The Window Replacement Company uses  Premium Insulation with Grand Sierra and  Lake Forest . Warm-Siding is a division of The Window Replacement Company of Virginia. The Window Replacement Company has been serving the Northern Virginia area including the counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, Clarke, Frederick, Warren and surrounding areas since 1983. The Window Replacement Company of Virginia was established in 1983 primarily as an installation company and has operated successfully over the years, expanding into product sales. Expanding into direct home sales has given us more control over the quality of our products and allows us to offer a much lower cost to the homeowner. The individual that presents and completes you sales contract will be available for your installation. There will be no misunderstandings between the ‘sales staff’ and the ‘installers’. We have learned by experience which Products are the best in quality of materials, construction and service. We have chosen only the best of each product to put on your home.
Products Installed by The Window Replacement Company of Virginia come with a Manufacturer’s Lifetime Limited Warranty.
The Window Replacement Company will be happy to help with your financing needs. We accept American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard. As a partner with The we offer many financing plans. With your permission, we will take full charge and responsibility of your home improvement project. We will take time to listen to what you wish to do with your home. We will point out improvement options that we are aware of. We will never lose sight that it is your home and your decision for what works best for you and your home. We will prepare and fully explain an itemized list of charges so you will completely understand the pricing for your project before you sign a contract. We will explain our ordering and installation process and the amount of time needed for each installation so you will know what to expect and when. We will schedule your project with you at the time of signing the contract so we can arrange an installation date that works best with all persons involved. We will return all calls and correspondence promptly, keep all appointments and do our very best to always be on time. If we have been detained, we will show you the respect of calling and letting you know. We will do our best to perform our job well, professionally, courteously and on time. We will never ‘lose sight’ that it is your home that you have allowed us to work on, and we will always work towards showing you and your home the respect that you deserve. You can choose from an assortment of financing tools to help you with your home improvement needs. With our relationship with the Lyon’s Financial Services we can handle all the arrangements for your home improvement loan in the privacy of your own home. Thanks to our flexible lending guidelines, Lyon’s Financial Services is able to make loans to almost any kind of borrower. Our flexible program features include:
We can help you consolidate your high interest credit card balances in with your home improvement loan. 
We can arrange an equity loan that will allow you to deduct interest payments from your taxes (Unlike the interest on you present credit card payments).
Get rid of your current credit card balances. Your interest rate should be lower resulting in lower monthly payments. Your interest payments can be tax deductible. You can start enjoying your home improvement results sooner and be able to deduct interest payments from your yearly taxes! Please call for a no obligation review of what we can do to help you with your home improvement and financing needs. The Window Replacement Company will be happy to help with your financing needs. We also accept American Express, Discover, Visa and MasterCard. Sorry, we do not offer any specials, discounts or gimmicks to get you to sign a contract. We believe that when a company discounts its original price to get you to sign a contract, they were overcharging you to begin with. We believe that when a salesman comes down in price he is basically admitting that he was trying to see how much extra money he could get from you. Most of the companies that practice this type of sales technique split the overcharge with the salesman. We don’t play games with your money. We present our best price the first time. We offer fair, pre-printed prices for the services we provide. Also be prepared, our prices are non-negotiable. We promise not hassle you with annoying and insulting sales gimmicks and deals, please do not hassle our sales staff for any discounts. Please call us for a free estimate. Our prices do not change with every contract we prepare or every time we walk up to a homeowners door. Try not to be taken in by the sales gimmicks and promotions that are constantly being offered by so many of the other Home Improvement companies. Here are a few good examples of bad offers, specials, deals and ‘other stuff”… Discount if you buy today. I am sure you have heard this routine before. The salesman can “only offer this discount if you buy right now”. The discount coupon that can only be used today routine. Our costs at The Window Replacement Company do not ‘mysteriously’ go up over night, so the prices we quote you will not increase either. The bid you receive from us will be straight forward, itemized and good for thirty days. Let me call my sales manager and see if we can do any better. We hear this one a lot. You would think that the sales agent would know if he could do any better before he came knocking on your door. I have had this one pulled on me every time I bought a car from a dealer. (I apologize to all the ethical, honest car dealers out there. We are both in the same boat. There are so many ‘bad apples’ out there and we are both prejudged because of the business that we are in.) Your house is perfect for a model home in this area
We are offering you a discount because we need a sample house in this area of town. Usually the ‘Sales Manager’ calls back with this offer. This ploy is usually used after all the other gimmicks have failed. There was a mistake made when adding up you costs.
The sales Manager calls back the next day explaining that his salesman made a mistake in computing your cost. Now the contract amount is considerably lower. On top of that, now the sales manager starts brow beating you as to what will it take to ‘close’ this deal. You will find that our sales staff is capable of using adding machines, calculators and common sense when preparing your proposal. You just won the ‘ Zip Code’ lottery! Your zip code just came up in a sales promotion campaign so now you qualify for a special discount just for you. This is a call back after some of the other gimmicks have not worked.
Let us put a sign in your front yard. If you let them put a yard sign up they can come down in price because of all the ‘great’ advertising it can give them. Usually they ask for a period of one to two months. Actually, yard signs are a good thing if they are used properly. We put up a yard sign when they crew arrives to work on your home, and we take the yard sign down when we leave that day. We do this so the neighbors can see who is working on you house and possibly going in your home. I am always amazed that a truck can pull up to someone’s home, take what they want, and not be noticed. By putting up a yard sign, at least it gives the neighborhood something to record and hopefully to check up on. I got the deal of the lifetime !! We have had homeowners tell us that they saved hundreds of dollars and got a much better ‘deal’ from some other company. The homeowner was upset with us because we wouldn’t budge on our price, and the other company came down in price a number of times. Most of the time when we compare ‘apples to apples’ we find that our original estimate was a better buy and a much better choice. There are many things to be considered when investing in your home. Salesman going for the quick sale usually do not educate the buyer as to the levels of window quality or services available. By the light of day, and not being pressured by a salesman, many homeowners have realized that they did not make the right choice. In the first three days of their contract they can use the contracts ‘recession clause’ and cancel. Unfortunately, after the first three days of their contract, we can’t help them.
And it doesn’t stop there…
We hear outrageous claims as to the ‘R’ value and insulating properties. However, the information never is in writing nor is it left with the contract. We have heard of many salesman that actually will not come to the homeowners house to give a presentation unless both the homeowners are present. This is because the salesman has a whole bag of tricks to use to get their contract signed. They know they can’t use the same tricks twice because one of the homeowners is not there the first time. It has been reported to us that some salesman are pressuring the homeowners to ‘waive’ the three day rescission clause. The salesman claim the rescission clause is not needed and it only holds up the window delivery. In fact, the salesman knows that by the light of day their ‘great deal’ might not look so good, and they want to take away the homeowners chance of changing their mind. We have heard of guarantees and warrantees that stagger common sense. We are constantly getting calls from homeowners that bought from some other company a few years ago, and now can not find their contractor or manufacturer. Unfortunately their ‘great deal’ only lasted a short time, and now they are back right where they started. The Window Replacement Company Reassurance. The Window Replacement Company has been in Home Installations since 1983. We are very good at what we do. We invite you check on our unblemished record with our Virginia General Contractors License, our Business License, and our Chamber of Commerce memberships. We are very proud of the service we provide and we intend to continue with great service for a very long time.
We might lose a few sales to these ‘quick sell’ operators, but we usually do not lose the smart buyers. They are trusted by more consumers than any other exterior products manufacturer. In fact, they have been a leader in  low-maintenance exteriors for more than 20 years.
Vinyl is one of the toughest, most durable man-made products. It is virtually maintenance-free, looks new for years, increases the value of your home and offers impressive advantages. Compare the Performance. Won’t rot, peel, chip, flake or blister. Resists termites and other wood-boring insects, mildew and fungus. Won’t dent, rust, corrode or absorb water. Eliminates scraping and regular repainting. Cleans easily with soap and water. Alcoa has the experience, the quality products, the low maintenance , the range of colors and the designer accessories homeowners want. Choosing vinyl or aluminum gives you a more attractive home, cost savings, reduced maintenance and increased value. With Alcoa’s products, you get the natural beauty and warmth of wood, without the maintenance hassles. Alcoa’s newest products include premium performance and Long Mantels for use on lengthy areas like garage doors. When used with Alcoa’s designer accessories, your home can have the look you want. Lake Forest Premier®. Lake Forest Premier brings the warmth and richness of stained cedar to life with dramatic color and a subtle texture and graining. delivers the crisp beauty of freshly painted cedar clapboard with a low-gloss, cedar grain finish and superior strength and stability. In fact, Alcoa has been a leader in low-maintenance exteriors for more than 20 years. Vinyl is one of the toughest, most durable man-made products. It is virtually maintenance-free, looks new for years, increases the value of your home and offers impressive advantages. Compare the Performance. Won’t rot, peel, chip, flake or blister
Resists termites and other wood-boring insects, mildew and fungus. Won’t dent, rust, corrode or absorb water
Eliminates scraping and regular repainting. Cleans easily with soap and water. Alcoa has the experience, the quality products, the low maintenance , the range of colors and the designer accessories homeowners want. Choosing Alcoa vinyl or aluminum gives you a more attractive home, cost savings, reduced maintenance and increased value. With Alcoa’s products, you get the natural beauty and warmth of wood, without the maintenance hassles. Alcoa’s newest products include Grand Sierra™ premium performance and Long Mantels for use on lengthy areas like garage doors. When used with Alcoa’s designer accessories, your home can have the look you want. brings the warmth and richness of stained cedar to life with dramatic color and a subtle texture and graining. delivers the crisp beauty of freshly painted cedar clapboard with a low-gloss, cedar grain finish and superior strength and stability.

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Walk and Caulk Your Home’s Exterior

Caulking was not created for bathrooms alone. If you’re interested in weatherizing your home and need to keep the cost of doing so to a minimum, buy some fresh caulk and get the cobwebs off your caulk gun. There are spaces and gaps all over the exterior of your home that are just waiting to be filled – and you might just be surprised at how many you find – according to Andy, Chicago Exterior Painting Contractor. Grab your caulk gun and take a walk outside.

First, take a look at all your utility lines. Electric, telephone, cable and satellite all require utility lines to tunnel into your home. Holes are drilled into your home that let your utility lines in along with unwanted cold air. But that’s not all. The passageway for gas pipes, water pipes and sewer pipes are harbors for subways of air loss to run through. Remember that there will be more than one entranceway for many of these utility lines and pipes. Find the exterior entranceway for all of your utility piping and wiring, and caulk the gaps closed.

That’s just the beginning. Now you’re going to look for exterior electrical fixtures to seal. Exterior light fixtures usually need some caulk around the base. Exterior electric receptacles need caulk around the box, even though they have a gasket between the cover plate and the electrical box. Dryer vents, fans and roof vents can always use some caulk around the edges to seal things up, and you’ll probably need some caulk to tighten up the seal on your air-conditioner.

Modern electricity isn’t the largest culprit to induce air loss. Take a look at your windows, then grab a ladder. Old peeling caulk needs to be removed and replaced. You can cut the old caulk with a utility knife to get a good start on a strip. Pull the old caulk off gently and dust off the area. Prime the area with an exterior primer, and make sure you prime the nearby exposed wood. Once the primer dries, you can re-caulk the area. After you have re-caulked the window area and the caulk has dried, you can brush on a coat or two of paint. Once you’ve caulked the window edges and frames, do the same for door frames.

If you have any extensions on your house, such as a deck, front porch, or an added on room, take a look at where the joint meets the main house – you might be able to squeeze some caulk in there. While you’re at it, look where the house siding meets the foundation and see if there isn’t room for caulking improvement. When you get off the ground, look around at all of your siding. Wherever a joint meets a stone or brick wall, at corners, or where two different sizes of siding meets – check to see if there’s room to caulk. You might as well caulk up any nails and scratches in the siding since you’re in the area.

Once you take a look around you might feel your house is no more than a window screen holding the heat in, and the job may seem overwhelming. Rest assured that if you fill your exterior gaps with caulk, you’ll fill your pockets with energy savings. Just use your anger at the cost of your heating and cooling bills to motivate you to get the job done – you can’t do any harm with a caulking gun.

Atomic Painting, Inc. – Chicago Exterior Painters.

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Patch a Crack in Your Vinyl Siding Using Kindergarten Skills

A crack in vinyl siding that took five seconds to make can turn an admired professional siding job into a wall that makes you cringe. By using basic kindergarten skills, you can patch the crack in your vinyl siding and go back to admiring your sleek uninterrupted siding job. All it takes is a little bit of cutting, a few brushes of glue, and some sneaking around.

To fix the crack in your vinyl siding, you start with sneaking around your home to find a scrap piece of siding. If you’re lucky, you might find some leftover vinyl siding in your garage from the original installation. If not, it’s time to take a walk around the outside of your home and look for a good hiding place. You won’t need to hide in the bushes (unless the crack in your vinyl siding is really bothering you that much), you just have to look for a good piece of siding to cut and steal.

Your goal is to snip off a piece of vinyl from a spot that nobody can notice, and use that piece to patch the crack that passerbys are gaping at. Make sure you measure the crack before you start cutting the patch. The patch that you are cutting off should be as long and wide as the crack you are fixing. If the crack is thin, make sure your new patch is at least an inch wide.

You don’t need any fancy tools to cut siding, just a sharp pair of scissors and a strong hand. Tin snips or a strong utility knife work just as well. A saw can be used, but will make your edges rough. If the piece you are using as a patch is dirty and grimy, simply wash it with water and detergent. While you have the sponge out, wash the vinyl with the crack as well so the glue will adhere. Don’t use a wire brush or a hard scrubby because it can scratch the vinyl.

You need kindergarten skills to clean and patch your vinyl, but you can’t use kindergarten products. Elmer’s glue might work for paper crafts, but it isn’t going to work for your vinyl siding. You need PVC cement and PVC primer-cleaner. If you don’t already have some tucked away in your workshop, you can buy some at a local hardware store. PVC cement is also referred to as pipe joint cement, the lingo will depend on the salesperson. The primer-cleaner and the cement usually come together.

After washing the vinyl, dry it off and apply the PVC primer-cleaner on the patch and on the vinyl siding it’s being attached to. Then just put the PVC cement on the patch and siding, put the patch into place (making sure that it covers the crack), and hold it together for at least 30 seconds. By then, the cement should harden. If you feel it slip, the cement isn’t dry, just move it back into place and hold it tight together a little longer. Once it’s stuck together, your crack is now patched.

Go ahead and reward yourself with a gold star and thank your kindergarten teacher for helping you perfect your cut and paste skills. Enjoy a night of relaxation after all of your hard work, and watch the passerbys get jealous of your perfectly sided house.

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Exterior Gutter Maintenance for Year Round Protection from Water Woes

After gutters guard your home from moisture mayhem for many seasons, they begin to look a little war-torn. And when your gutters start looking war-torn, your house will look worse. Sagging, rusty-looking gutter pipes overstuffed with leaves that drip with staining dirty water do nothing to add to the aesthetics of your home. If you’re not one to worry about what the neighbors think, keep in mind that if you don’t maintain your gutters, the condition of your house will start deteriorating from the outside in. Moisture problems will start seeping in, bringing in contagious mildew and rot with it.

Maintaining your gutters should be a part of your yearly maintenance plans. If you’ve ignored your sagging gutters for a few seasons, it’s time to get up on your ladder and bring your gutters back to life.

The first thing you need to do is clean your gutters. Use your hands and a putty knife to wipe out all the leaves and twigs that have accumulated over the years, and rinse the pipes and downspouts out with a garden hose. Once it’s cleaned out, you can take a look at the damage.

Take a look inside the trough at the joints between connecting pieces. You don’t want water dripping through these joints instead of being fully focused on the diverting downspout. Fill the seams with a caulking compound – you’ll find some labeled as “gutter seal” at the hardware store. After you clean and dry the seam area, squeeze on some caulk and smooth it in. There are also aerosol sealers on the market that can make the job easier.

If you have rusty galvanized metal gutters, you can fix up the rust holes with a few layers of foil paper and roofing cement. Scrub the area clean with a wire brush, then liberally brush on some roofing cement. Then press on some heavy-duty foil paper. Apply a second layer of roofing cement over that piece of foil paper, press on another sheet of foil paper, then add the last and final layer of roofing cement over the second piece of foil paper. Smooth out the final layer with a putty knife. If you have wood gutters, you should be treating your wood with a preservative every five years.

If it’s been a particularly windy fall or heavy winter, you might have ended up with sagging gutters. Basically, you just need to push them up and snap them into place. Remove the hangers or spikes that are keeping your gutters up. Snap the gutter back up to its original height, then refasten the hanger or spikes to keep the gutter pipe in its proper position. If your gutters are supported with hanging brackets, you might just need to loosen the bracket, reposition the gutter pipe, and tighten the bracket back up. Inspect your gutter line for broken hangers, brackets or spikes and replace any that look like they’ve had a rough season of holding things up.

If you don’t have a screen or leaf guard on your gutter covering the water trough, now is the time to put one on. You can fasten on a homemade screen, or buy easy-to-install mesh guards or aluminum leaf guards. The aluminum leaf guards are more costly, but they are angled so leaves fall to the ground instead of collecting on the wire mesh.

Plan on a dry day or two after the autumn season to get your gutter work done. Keeping your gutters from entering a war-torn state will keep your house from being a constant battle to repair. Gutter maintenance is time consuming, but by investing only a couple days a year, your gutters will work year-round to guard your home from water woes and moisture mayhem.

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Home Siding Options: Masonry Siding

Masonry siding is a more “expensive” and “elegant” choice compared to the other types of siding. It is rarely used in the middle-class communities and more commonly seen in “upper” class homes. Masonry siding can fit to the personality of the owner, stucco, stone, and brick being just some of the choices you have to choose from.

Masonry siding may be a right solution for homeowners who would like to have either a beautiful old-looking house or a contemporary-style. The wide variety of color options available allows you to create a house from your dream. The durability of Masonry siding is ridiculous, lasting up to hundreds of years. At first glance, Masonry siding is quiet expensive. Yet, when you take into consideration that the siding should last all of your lifetime and probably most, if not all of your grandkids’, Masonry siding is very cost efficient. It might cost a lot now, but in the long run you will never have to replace it. Just make sure the choice you make you enjoy, because more than likely you’ll be sticking with it for the rest of your life.

One thing to keep in mind though, is to use the right kind of Masonry depending the area you live in. For example, Stucco does not do well in an area of a lot of rain, and brick can lead to overheating a house if you live in a very warm environment. Remember to take such factors into consideration when purchasing your masonry siding. And most of all, try and put your personality into it. Masonry siding is the best type of siding where you can truly express yourself. And for the type of money it costs, and how long it should last, you should definitely muse over your decisions before making your choice. For after all, this gives a new meaning to a “long-term investment”. Best of luck on choosing the Masonry siding that fits you best!

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Home Siding Options: Metal Siding

The first types of metal siding were popular as an alternative to wood siding. It was mentioned in the previous articles that wood siding requires high maintenance. Metal siding could save time and money because it is quite cheap and very durable but it is not recommended for home owners because of its look and it is very noisy. It is the first choice for any kind of industrial buildings.

Metal siding is very prone to denting, hail damage, extreme heat and rain and it is a good option in the places where houses are exposed to the salt and moisture especially ocean areas. So who may prefer this type is siding? It is not to everyone’s tastes. Those looking for siding that looks “elegant” or “beautiful” might consider looking elsewhere. Yet if you’re the type of home owner looking for durable, long lasting, and very cost efficient siding, Metal siding the way for you.

Another alternative is aluminum siding. This type of siding is often used on trailer park homes, and is a far cheaper alternative to metal siding. The big issue with aluminum siding is that the color seems to dull significantly over time, and it has durability issues over the long haul. Back in the 50’s and 60’s it was a very popular alternative, yet over the years its drawbacks were exposed and Aluminum siding quickly went out of style. Yet in tough economic times like this, aluminum is still a viable option for the desperate homeowner needing to urgently replace their siding. After all, it could be replaced later on in better days.

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Home Siding Options: Wood Siding

Shingles, machine-cut square pieces, come in a variety of patterns and colors. They are placed from the bottom up, so each layer overlaps the one below it and are a very good way of protecting your home. Wood shingles have been popular from the last century as siding for middle class homes, especially in the last thirty years. Due to the large variety of colors and textures, wood siding allows your creativity to flourish. Wood shingles also offer the ability for easier replacement than something such as metal or stone siding.

As well as the clapboard siding wood shingles are very high maintenance, it means that the potential homeowner of the wood siding house is obligated to take care of regular painting and caulking to protect siding from pests. Also watch out for poor drainage. Poorly routed drainage may lead to water flowing down the side of your house, ruining the shingles. Other reasons for bad shingles would be a poor product, owner not paying attention to maintenance, or bad installation by the product. Such things makes wood shingles a risky investment, yet, the exquisite look wood shingles give off should make it worth the effort.

The most popular types of wood siding are wood shingles and the wood clapboard siding. The clapboard method as the oldest technique of house siding installation doesn’t require much knowledge and professional skills. The planks are attached to the building from the base (above the foundation) to the roof line. An advantage of wood siding – it offers insulation, a disadvantage is that it is not low maintenance. Wood Siding, if installed properly, should be able to last a lifetime. If your wood siding turns out to be defective, then its probably your fault or your contractors. If your wood siding seems to be defective, contact a third party to inspect the siding for you.

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Benefits of Vinyl Siding

Vinyl siding is an interesting and popular alternative to painting a room for people who are looking to improve the appearance of their home. Vinyl is very cheap and will last you a long time. There are certain advantages and disadvantages to Vinyl that one should know about though, before choosing it as an option.

One of the greatest advantages of vinyl is its durability. Vinyl siding should last you a very long time and is easy to maintain. It is capable of withstanding extreme weather, and is very easy to clean. More modern versions of Vinyl are even stronger than the older versions, adding more bang for the buck. Vinyl siding also copes very well with sunlight without losing any of its color.

Maintenance on Vinyl siding is extremely easy. The side never needs to be painted and it should never fade because of sunlight. All that is needed to maintain vinyl siding is washing it, for occasionally it might get dirty. Yet after washing it, it should look just like new. Not only is it easy to maintain, it is also very inexpensive and cost efficient. Unlike paint, which constantly requires new layers every few years, Vinyl siding should last you an absurdly long period of time without ever needing to be replaced.

Vinyl siding can be found in many colors, textures, and designs. This gives a house owner a lot of options to find a style that fits just their taste and goes well with the rest of their house.

Yet, there are some negatives to Vinyl siding. It is more expensive to replace incase it does get ruined, such as in very severe weather conditions. In some cases it could turn out be less durable than even wood. And if a part of the Vinyl siding gets damaged, you’ll be forced to replace the whole panel. Another concern is moisture. Vinyl can be a trap for moisture. If moisture gets in between the panels, mold begins to grow. This would entail you to have to replace all the panels, again, costing you money.

Yet all in all, Vinyl siding, excluding freak accidents of weather or poor maintenance, is very cost effective. It looks good, it’s easy to set up, and is a great alternative to painting. So if you’re looking to remodel your house, or maybe just a room, in the modern day and Age you should consider Vinyl Siding.