Siding and Roofing at NHND to the Pond

Hardi clapboards below & shingle above

The New House Next Door to the Pond has it's "clothing" on! The exterior roof and wall sheathing are being covered up with the final, finish materials. After the windows were installed and all the sheathing was taped and sealed, the exterior trim was installed. This is Hardi trim in the color "Cobblestone". It looks like wood and is installed like wood, in most instances, but it is made of cement, like the clapboard siding. This material is durable, sustainable, fire resistant, rot resistant, and the color is factory applied, so no painting in the field is necessary. The color for the Hardi clapboard siding and staggered shingle panels is called "Deep Ocean".

North (Back) Elevation

These clients like the look of Craftsman style Bungalows and therefore, I designed the exterior details to mesh with that style. We have lots of trim - around windows and doors, at corners and along the top of the foundation (skirt board), along the top of walls (frieze boards and verge trim) as well as some horizontal trim bands in gable ends separating clapboards below from shingles above. The trim is a light color (which calls attention to the details) and the body of the house is a dark color (allowing the building to blend into its natural, wooded setting). Other Craftsman type details that will be incorporated are framed panels, boxed porch post bases, double posts, and brackets. Other craftsman type details were dismissed early on in the design process (like open rafter tails) for reasons of excessive labor costs and maintenance-difficulty over time.

Master Bedroom Wing

The dark window exterior cladding color and the metal roof material selection both lend a more contemporary and up-scale feel to the look of the exteriors. The stucco foundation parging color coordinates with the other exterior colors.

Back Side of Garage

A metal roof is a "forever" roof - and choosing materials that have a super long useful life (and are easily recyclable if/when they are at end of life, or the scraps during construction ) is one way to build sustainably. Asphalt shingles, the other common roofing material in this area, are made from petroleum- a non-renewable resource with myriad of problematic issues environmentally and otherwise - plus they need to be replaced after a few decades, usually, and are not recyclable. Soon we will be talking about the spray foam insulation, and of course air-sealing and insulation such that a building uses as few resources to heat/cool the space inside is another very important way to build sustainably.

Detail view to to see color palette

Now that the cooler weather is here and winter is on the way, the exterior work is (mostly) done. The trades (plumbers and electricians) are working on their rough installations inside, then the cavity insulation and the interior finishes!