Go into an established neighborhood and check out the homes. Those that have been around for decades look like homes that have been around for decades—peeling paint, warped boards, faded siding. But those that have been constructed in the last ten years or so just look new. They’re not fighting the battle of time and outside forces as much as their predecessors do. Why? Different application? Different paint? Different building materials?
Yes. And no. The truth is that home exteriors have changed significantly in the last 10-20 years—newer materials, updated techniques, and enhanced technology. Here’s why this is essential to understand if you’re thinking about your home’s exterior, whether you’re maintaining it, putting it on the market or seeking an upgrade.
What’s Actually Changed
There haven’t been many new developments in exterior products besides improvements made over the years. For example, vinyl cladding was often used in the 1970s and 1980s and has gotten a lot of bad press for cracking, fading, and appearing cheap. Sometimes, that’s warranted. But the vinyl of today is more than the vinyl of 40 years ago. New manufacturing processes developed UV inhibitors into the body of vinyl (not just a painted-on surface) for color retention while impact resistance boasts improved rated protection so that the siding doesn’t fade to washed-out whiteness when left exposed to sunlight.
Weatherboards are now made from fiber cement to withstand rot, bugs and fire better than previous timber weatherboards while timbre now boasts paint finishes that last 3-4x longer than painted-on paint jobs due to factory applications as opposed to homeowners who (still) have to scrape down their painted exteriors every few years.
But this is how homeowners have always understood their options—as tried and true recommendations based on what their parents had and what was good enough back then. Scraping your paint every three years was just necessary. Vinyl would start to look cheap within a year—and it did.
Why Installation Makes A Difference
But who talks about installation? What goes where? Not much. But poor installation, even with the best products, renders sub-par results. And installation has changed.
Modern exterior application systems include moisture barriers, ventilation cavities and drainage planes. Water (the enemy of any structure) can escape rather than be trapped behind your siding creating mold, rot, and serious repairs.
Older installation efforts consisted of just nailing boards or siding to a frame with tar paper behind it, if that, but nothing substantial to keep moisture at bay. Thus, window trim rotted because moisture had no way to escape; corners caved because rain got in. Companies like Formplex have adapted their installation needs for modernized principles of building science as well; thus, even newer applications last longer than when comparable older materials were installed.
The spacing of boards or siding, fastening techniques, flashing details contribute to how a system remains successful over time. A good product, properly installed—which has been shown through installation standards of quality—can exist for a lifetime even if it’s mid-range; a premium product that’s poorly installed will get tossed out fast.
Maintenance Has Changed
Low maintenance essentially meant that you wouldn’t have to do major work beyond three years instead of five to seven without expectation. That’s not much of a threshold.
Nowadays, legitimate exteriors require almost zero work other than minimal cleaning for up to 20-25 years. Not “minimal” maintenance—actual minimal maintenance.
This changes the budget argument significantly. Yes, advanced siding options will often cost more up front than timber weatherboards or cheap vinyl sold by the square foot; however, taking into account standing on ladders for weekends doing busy work, repainting every few years, and generally limited repairs or siding which has been damaged by minimal weather conditions changes the math.
When getting quotes, it’s all too often someone sees $8,000 vs. $12,000 and picks the cheaper one without thinking of what’s worth it for the next fifteen years, costing $3,000 every three years without realizing where the initial savings all went.
Energy Performance
Energy efficiency isn’t a thing most older houses understood. A little insulation here or there in the walls in addition to whatever was being done before in the ceilings—but no. The exterior was meant only as protection/appearance factor for the frame.
Nowadays, many insulated cladding options boast insulation backing or air gaps that facilitate thermal performance better than non-composite walls. It’s not going to win Passivhaus status however it will help your heating and cooling costs.
Some articles note a 15-20% decrease in energy costs with insulated exteriors compared to single-layer ones. This doesn’t add up to much at first glance; however, times that by twenty years it’s significant enough.
Plus there’s comfort—which doesn’t show up in energy bills. Rooms once freezing in winter or burning in summer become acceptable temperatures because the thermal envelope operates better against heat transfer.
What This Means for Your House
If you’ve lived all your life in your home or continue to live in a home built with its original exterior from twenty plus years ago—even if it’s well-maintained—it means you’ve owned an investment with systems which aren’t applicable to manufactured advancements. This doesn’t mean you have to re-clad your home tomorrow; however, it does mean you don’t have to maintain it as much unless you’re making things brand new again.
When faced with additional paining or patching boards crumbling one should get some quotes on modern upgrades since the gap between “maintain” and “upgrade” has shrunk significantly.
The other component is that any exterior work is disruptive. Scaffolding, accessibility concerns—if you’re going to go through that hassle for your own enjoyment at some point down the road—you might as well tackle it now for your future self’s sake.
The Bottom Line
Times have changed tremendously concerning home exteriors over just two decades—which surpasses those before our parents owned houses and struggled through their wearings due to laborious effort—including quality application options which boast better materials, less maintenance woes and energy performance.
If you’re struggling with questions about your exterior—putting it on the market or maintaining it—understand that what’s possible today is light years ahead of where decisions were made based on 1995’s findings—and home exteriors should protect your biggest investment from elements more than they ever had before.
