The original 1004 Central was sided in cedar shake shingles. As was the case with most of the material in the original structure these were far from salvageable. Once again we had to start anew and selected Hardie siding and whiteboard in a board and batten configuration to side the new 1004 Central.
Why Hardie?
It could easily be argued that, since we are in Washington of all places, we should have stuck with cedar siding. It’s a natural, local material, created from trees that sequester (store) carbon as they grow. Even better would an FSC-certification, which ensures the wood comes from a forest where sustainable management and social equity are taken into account.
We chose Hardie, a cementitious siding product, in large part because it is more durable than wood and requires less maintenance. Important to note, however, is the fact that cementitious siding does have a higher embodied energy level given the energy-intensive manufacturing process. For our purposes the durability aspect was a very important consideration. Additionally, we were able to dispose of the Hardie siding scrap at Recovery 1 where it is diverted from the landfill.
Siding going up on the house – first the boards (Hardie), followed by the battens (whiteboard)
The house – sided and painted. The trim has yet to be painted but yes, the house is white, all white.
On the south side of the house where the daylight area of the basement is located we needed to do something to cover the exterior insulation. We selected a parge coating, similar to stucco. The remainder of the basement is at or close to grade and needs only skirting.
Parge coating being applied
What’s With the Garage?
The new 1004 Central is a recreation of the classic farmhouse we were sad to tear down just 8 months ago. The newly built garage is the “barn.”
We selected metal (steel) siding for the garage. Steel siding contains at least 60% and up to 90% recycled content and can itself be completely and easily recycled. Like the cementitious product used on the house, steel siding tends to last a long time.
