When you picture wood siding on a home, what comes to mind? For some people, it’s the rounded timbers of a log cabin, while others (surprisingly) think of plain plywood boards. We’re happy to say that wood siding doesn’t involve either of those things — although those log cabins are pretty cool.
In reality, wood siding offers a lot of benefits for your home.
The Truth About Wood Siding
Wood Siding Comes in a Lot of Styles
If you want your home to stand out from the neighborhood crowd, wood siding has plenty of styles to help.
- Clapboards: These are long horizontal pieces that slightly overlap each other. The more popular woods used for this style are redwood and cedar.
- Rectangular Planking: This style is typically used for more modern homes and is similar to clapboards, except that the boards here don’t overlap.
- Shingles: Wood shingles are cut uniformly by machines and are applied to your home from the ground up so they overlap with each other.
- Shakes: Similar to shingles, shakes are small and overlap on your home. The main difference is that the pieces used for shakes are hand-split so they vary in size.
- Vertical Planks: This style features non-overlapping wood and is mostly popular with gothic revival-style homes.
Wood Siding is a Good Insulator
Remember those log cabins we mentioned? There’s a reason you see them a lot in cold areas. Wood is a natural insulator so it can help keep heat inside your home during the winter, helping lower your utility bills in the process.
Wood Needs to Be Maintained
It’s the one major catch to wood siding — wood needs a bit of maintenance. Every few years, you should repaint and reseal the wood in order to keep it in good condition. The upside to that is, if it’s maintained properly, wood siding can last a lifetime!
To find out if wood siding is a good choice for you and your home, contact JM Roofing & Siding today for a FREE siding estimate!