Siding Mock-Up

You may recall that I mentioned before that we are going to be getting new siding this spring. Yes, it is finally happening! My mom's cousin Bill is our wonderful carpenter and he says siding is his favourite job. We'll see if he still feels that way after he is done with the bungalow!

Anyway, right now we are just waiting for the siding to come in. Bill ordered it and we expect it in about another two weeks. I think Bill is planning to start deconstruction next week, weather permitting of course. We will be recycling the heavy-gauge aluminum siding, not only because it is the right thing to do, but we may get a bit of money back. That would be a nice bonus.

We will be getting brand new James Hardie siding. I know it is more expensive than vinyl, but I'm against adding anything plastic to my house if I can help it. I also think it will pay for itself in the long run. See yesterday's post regarding the hail damage!

The bottom half of the bungalow will be getting lap siding in Mountain Sage. I honestly don't know what we settled on. Beaded, not beaded, smooth or wood grain. Doesn't really matter. I like them all. That may surprise you that I don't haven't agonized over every detail. It surprises me. Maybe I'm growing, letting go of control. Maybe I trust that it'll turn out beautifully no matter what. Maybe I'm just too tired. Probably a bit of all those!

The top half will get the straight edge shingles in Heathered Moss. Normally I like a randomized look, but after living with my first mock up for a while, I decided I would prefer the straight edge over the staggered shingles for the bungalow.

All trim that will be replaced, or newly created, will be in Artic White. There will be a "belly band" around the middle of the bungalow, dividing the shingles from the lap siding.

We are also going to add knee braces. Yup. I don't really know if my house originally had them or not, but I like the way they look. Some houses in my area have them, some don't. We already have some supporting the little roof overhang over the side basement door, and supporting the kitchen window. Just for my piece of mind, Bill is going to install real, structural knee braces under the dining room window overhang. It does sort of dip down there, and while I suspect that happened a long time ago and the house is now stable, I'd still feel better with some support there. Plus they will look cool.