It is hard to believe early settlers arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs, and hunting rifles. They did not have the types of siding available nowadays. Therefore, they built simple cabins with logs instead, that they harvested from vast natural woodlands growing everywhere.
They positioned this simple cladding horizontally, and notched the corners together without using nails. Where air leaked past through gaps between rough-hewn edges, they stuffed in grass, leaves and anything else they could find. Our different wall cladding types evolved from this simple idea of closing in wood frames with prefabricated parts.
The Types of Siding Most Popular in Calgary
We generally use one of three types for construction, or renovations. These are vinyl, fibre cement, and engineered wood siding. All are reliable products when installed correctly in the right applications. We discuss these in more detail in this post.
Before we start though, we should like to mention building paper first. Good building paper is essential to seal joints between siding, and windows and door frames. Hence, we insist on replacing it whenever we fit new cladding. This is essential regardless of the types of siding we use.
Vinyl Siding is a Popular Weatherproof Choice
The colour is in the product, so vinyl is virtually maintenance free. Moreover the design possibilities are endless, and products by Gentek and Royal are quick and easy to install. It is also simple to clean and repair. Finally, it achieves the stripped effect of old log cabins in a universally effective way. Call it classic Canadian if you like.
Fibre-Cement for Realistic Wood-Effects
Fibre-cement is the second of the types of siding with which we work. It is a blend of cellulose fibres, cement and sand, and can be supplied plain or with a wood-effect texture impressed.
We can install it from a range of colours as supplied standard by James Hardie, or we can fit it raw in overlapping rows so your decorator can tint it to any colour you fancy.
Going Green With Engineered Wood Siding
We have noticed a steady uptick in requests for Kaycan engineered wood siding. Natural wood has a genuine feel of its own, and is infinitely renewable when taken from commercial forests. It also has a warmth and beauty about it that harks back to those early log cabin days we mentioned. If you would like to know more about the potential of the types of siding we trust, give us a call and we will arrange to meet at your site.