The siding that covers your home is an essential part of adding both to the look of your home, as well as its durability and good condition over the years. Choose the right siding, have it properly installed by a reputable contractor, and take care of it, and it’s quite likely that your home’s exterior condition will outlast the amount of time you live in it. Choose poorly, and you may have an expensive mistake on your hands that you will spend a lot of time maintaining and repairing.
One new arrival on the scene of home siding is a style and technique known as lap siding. So what is it and what can it do for your home?
Tradition Meets Technology
Lap siding gets its name because the boards or planks that make up this type of siding are designed to overlap each other. Once one piece of lap siding is laid down, the next piece that goes on top will slightly overlap its bottom with the section under it.
This not only creates a more pleasing look but helps with the practical considerations of water management, as rain and other moisture now runs down and over one piece to the next, rather than staying in place or penetrating the siding.
Of course, this design technique is old and well understood, which is why it is so popular in roofing applications. Where lap siding gets its modern-day shine is from the innovations in materials research that led to this new construction component.
New Composite Materials
A common composite material used in the more popular types of lap siding, like James Hardie siding is known as fiber cement. Fiber cement takes the durability of older siding materials such as stucco, which could last for 50 or more years, and “strips out” the weaknesses of such materials, like a vulnerability to moisture and high humidity.
In addition, fiber cement is both flexible and configurable. Not only can products like James Hardie lap siding come in the traditional lap siding look, but they can also have a range of different colors—so you don’t require paint—and they can even come in different textures. If you prefer to mimic the appearance of wood grain for a more traditional look, you can have that. However, if you’re happier with a modern, smooth appearance, you can have that as your choice of lap siding as well.
Easy & Efficient
One of the best parts about choosing lap siding is that homeowners will not only get a siding that is comparatively fast and easy to install, it will also be low maintenance, and provide years of protection and added insulation for your home.
By choosing to go with something like James Hardie lap siding, homeowners also benefit from lower heating and cooling costs. More heat is retained in the home during the winter, and the cool air from the AC doesn’t leak out as much in the summer.
Let Us Install It On Your Home Today
If your home could benefit from increased protection, energy savings, and even increased property value, then consider getting lap siding for it! Siding & Windows Group has the experience and qualifications to quickly and efficiently install James Hardie lap siding on your home! Just reach out to us for a free siding consultation!