By Ashley Douglas, Reconstruction Experts, Inc.
As our communities age, one of the major capital expenditures that needs to be planned for is the exterior façade of your building envelope assembly. The simple definition of building envelopes is the assemblies that separate the interior from the exterior of the home. These assemblies include things like doors & windows, roofs, floors, foundation, insulation, and the exterior façade. In this article, we will be primarily discussing exterior façade which includes stucco, metal, stone, and siding products.
If the exterior facade of your home isn’t properly maintained, you will begin to see signs of serious damage that will result in costly repairs. Some of these signs include:
- Staining of interior walls and ceilings
- Water-damaged insulation
- Water-damaged soffits and sills
- Peeling of wallpaper
- Stains and dirt along window tracks
- Mold
- Stains alongside AC units
- Rust marks
- Spalling brick
- Cracks that go through the masonry and mortar
- Discolored stone or masonry
Ideally, you’ve already looked in your CAI Membership Directory and hired a reserve study company to plan and budget for your community’s long-term maintenance. If you’re behind in the financial aspect of that plan, you can also consult with one of the qualified banking partners in our industry to inquire about a loan to fund an upcoming project.
Once your plan for funding is established and you begin to look at ways to make efficient use of your community’s money, we want to highlight a product that we believe is a good investment to make into your exterior façade.
LP is a manufacturer of various building envelope products and their Smart Siding line is something we recommend to communities often when they’re considering an upgrade. The LP Smart Siding products are manufactured using their proprietary Smartguard process which produces one of the most durable lines on the market. This durability allows them to provide an upgraded warranty, along with the cost benefit of a longer-lasting product that won’t need to be replaced as often.
Along with functionality, LP Smart Siding comes in 16 different pre-finished colors so you don’t need to paint with installation. There are also various styles available that mimic a cedar look giving a great aesthetic.
Lastly, and the main reason we recommend this to our clients, LP Smart Siding is easier to install providing efficiency in cost to you as the customer. The siding comes in longer pieces resulting in less time cutting and integrating seams. Furthermore, with less seams comes less waste factor leading to less overall materials costs for the installation of the product. When installing any product, there is a certain factor given to “waste” during install. This waste is a result of breakage during installation, and with a more durable product requiring less seams, the cost savings are tangible for you as the homeowner.
There are many different products to be considered so we recommend doing your research and talking to a trusted contractor to see which is best for your specific needs, but if you’re looking to make upgrades to a building or even a single elevation or side of one building at a time, we love this product for our clients.
Ashley Douglas
Colorado Regional Vice President
Reconstruction Experts, Inc.
