What Are the Benefits of Using Engineered Exterior Products When Building a Home?
Today, homeowners have an unlimited choice of materials to use when finishing the exterior sections of their new homes. They can use natural products like hardwood or they can use engineered (manufactured) products like faux stone. This article discusses some of the benefits you can get when you use engineered products as finishes for your new home.
Better Fire Resistance
Many homeowners would like to use natural wood as an external finish, but they are wary of the fire hazard that wood presents. Homebuilders have a solution that can address the need to have the beauty of wood without facing the risk of fire outbreaks; that answer is fiber cement. Fiber cement refers to an engineered building material made from cement and wood fibers. This product is excellent for use as a siding since it looks like wood but is fire resistant due to the cement in it.
Better Paint Adherence
One challenge that homeowners face is the need to paint their wooden trim boards frequently (for instance, every 3 years). This is because wood absorbs water, and that causes the paint to degenerate and peel off. You can avoid this problem by asking your homebuilder to use an engineered finishing product called cellular PVC (polyvinyl chloride) external trim. This product is plastic, just like your water pipes. It can be used on your trim boards, and you won't have to do any painting for a long time. This is because this product does not absorb water so your paint will not deteriorate at the same rate as paint on wood.
Lower Cost of Support Structures
Natural products like slate require an elaborate support structure to hold their weight. For instance, you need to have frames with small spaces so that the individual slates can be attached on those supports. This raises the cost of materials to such an extent that some people are unable to afford using those natural materials. However, the engineered products allow you to construct your new home without "breaking the bank". This is because products like polymer based synthetic slate are not very heavy so a less costly support structure will suffice to hold them. The result is that you will have a roof visually indistinguishable from slate, without incurring prohibitive costs for it.
Talk to your homebuilder so that you use some engineered products as external finishing for the new home you are planning to build. You will enjoy the benefits discussed above. For more information, contact a professional such as Overland Homes.