Looking for ideas and inspiration.

Here is the front of my house (in Colorado). This side gets blasted with south facing sun. I'm at 9000+ ft. elevation so the UV is intense. The original siding is redwood, and requires re-staining every 3-4 years (the front is several years overdue and will require some prep-work if I re-stain). The other three sides of the house (also redwood) are easier to re-coat as I can more easily reach with rolling scaffolding via a wrap-around deck.

The peak of the front of the house is about 28 ft tall, and it's not something I enjoy accessing from a ladder. I am looking for lower maintenance options. I was thinking of keeping some of the redwood (from a cost savings standpoint), but replacing the siding at the top since its hardest to reach.

Do you guys have any suggestions? If I just replace the siding at the top, where would be a logical place to transition to a different siding material (below or above the trapezoid windows?). Would it look strange to have three different siding materials on the front of the house? I was thinking of also also replacing the siding at the garage level with faux stone. Any suggestions on materials? I know Hardi has a factory painted siding that should last longer than coating applied at the job site.

https://i.imgur.com/cgLHNnp.jpeg

We have the same issue, looking at hardie. We had the chimney done in hardie more than ten years ago and it looks like it was done yesterday. Full Texas sun. Meanwhile, we've repaired and repainted the North and South sides twice and they are looking like they need attention again.

The Hardie Color Plus products are warrantied for 15 years I think. I don't know that it applies to fading, but the manufacturer says it is UV-resistant and will last longer than paint. If you're looking for a DIY job, Hardieplank is a great option and pretty easy with a set of gecko gauges.

Thank you for the suggestions. From an aesthetics standpoint, do you think three different siding styles (rock at garage level, real redwood in the middle, and then some sort of hardi on the top) would be too busy? Obviously if I did Hardi on the top and kept the redwood, I would want to pick something different than lap siding.

teflonman said:

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Thank you for the suggestions. From an aesthetics standpoint, do you think three different siding styles (rock at garage level, real redwood in the middle, and then some sort of hardi on the top) would be too busy? Obviously if I did Hardi on the top and kept the redwood, I would want to pick something different than lap siding.

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I personally wouldn't go with more than two contrasting styles, but it's not my house. Here is an example of three mixed styles, and I think it's just a lot:


However, I think you could make it look better if you create a clearer separation like this, but your windows are probably in the way.

I used Knotwood on my house during a remodel and addition. It's a powder coated aluminum. Been very pleased with it.

If you want to keep a natural look or prefer to use natural materials, I'd look at either linseed oil paint or a linseed oil/pine tar mix.

It's not going to be maintenance free, but it's much easier than your normal paints, just rub some raw linseed oil every few years and it'll stay fresh and protective. The linseed oil reacts really well with UV (it will actually discolor if it DOESNT get Uv). It's a little more expensive than regular paints but it's been known to last as long as 3-4 normal paint cycles. Most any color will be mixed with zinc oxide, which will give you a similar metallic protection to lead, without you know, lead poison. I've always seen LO paint described as gore tex for wood, since it repels water but let's any water that DOES get in evaporate out.

Pine tar has been used on Norwegian stave churches north of the arctic circle that have been around for hundreds of years. It's also used for wooden boat preservation. NC is the Tar Heel State because of the pine tar industry for the Navy and merchant sailing ships back in the day. It works really well in tough, humid, wet environments. You can add certain pigments or a zinc oxide additive to that mix if you want.

I could go on and on about both of these options. I'm a fan of both. Let me know if you you'd like to hear more. I think hardie board looks pretty good but I'm always suspicious about the new best thing in construction materials. Even without the asbestos that Hardie used to use, it has the markers of one of those building materials we look back on in 50 years and say "oh that's why everyone started getting silicosis" or something. Probably an irrational fear I know, but I like staying natural if possible.

Don't have any advice, but how do you like living there? Pros and cons? What are the winters like?

I'd like to end up there one day and have been thinking of seriously looking at property in the next few years, but need to convince the wife.

There is a lot to say.....not sure if you are looking rural or closer to a city?

I've seen a lot of people buy a plot of land out here thinking some day they will build a house, however if you are rural you better first account for the infrastructure cost (well, septic, electric, road). You can spend $100k+ easily before you have even started thinking about the house. Obviously that advice applies to any rural location, but those infrastructure cost are probably higher in Colorado than in Texas.

Accounting for that, it's generally cheaper to buy an existing house (and remodel it) than build.

Steep Rugged Terrain - While there is a lot of beautiful land out here, a lot of it is may that usable. The land grades aren't that obvious from photos, so better to see it in person.

Winter - Unlike Texas, there is a lot to think about here. Is your driveway shaded during most of the winter? (ice and snow wont melt). Do you have a steep driveway? (you may not be able to leave for a while after storms) Does your house get much south facing sun? (will affect your heating costs). This doesn't matter that much if you are on the front range (or a warmer area of the state), but it matters a lot more at higher elevations.

Cost of Living - Property taxes are generally cheaper (and they only reassess every 3 years instead of every year), but you have a 5% income tax.

You've got a natural visual breakline above the garage at floor level. I could see this looking good with a hardi shingle look above the line here. Garage level could stay redwood for now to tie in with the rest of the house. But then new siding above could be a complementary color but different texture.

teflonman said:

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The other three sides of the house (also redwood) are easier to re-coat as I can more easily reach with rolling scaffolding via a wrap-around deck.

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Really like the natural look you currently have, and I'd love to have a redwood house myself. I'd just get a bigger scaffold (non-rolling with an attachment point the house halfway up for something that high) and maintain the redwood more comfortably. might even be worth renting every 4 years if you don't want to store it.


As far as the bottom, don't go with the rock-look unless the stones will appear to be 12"+ boulders. If you can make it look like this, go for it:

Otherwise, I like how it looks now, and that's the easy part to maintain.