Facade Appearance is everything: Upgrade your home's exterior and its resale value will rise
By Carrie Oleynik
Originally Published in The Daily Record's Maryland Distinctive Properties, February/March 2007
They say that it's always important to make a good first impression. Now that concept applies to your home. Thinking about selling your house? Are you ready for your next home-improvement project? If so, replacing the facades and exterior siding may be the most cost-effective answer. Remodeling Magazine reported in a recent survey that out of all remodeling improvements, siding replacement has the largest percent of its cost recouped, with 92.7 percent for siding replacement with fiber cement and 89.6 percent for siding replacement with foam-backed vinyl.
And when it comes time to update exterior siding, the possibilities are endless. Among the most popular choices is basic vinyl siding. Tom Fichtner, president of Fichtner Services Central Inc., said that the basic vinyl product costs $2.50 to $3.50 per square foot.
"Vinyl is very popular because it goes on quickly and is maintenance free," he said. "For people that want their houses to look nicer, the curb appeal of the house is so much stronger with cement board siding."
According to Fichtner, cement board siding is the best value on the market. He said that the material has a hardy plank and comes pre-painted and pre-finished.
"When it hangs on the wall it comes with a 15-year finish warranty," he explained. "It looks better than vinyl; it's rigid, heavy and solid."
Fichtner added that while this type of siding ranges between $5 and $7 per square foot, the price increases depending on added options. An important key factor in pricing also relies on how the house is built. If a house has a lot of angles and small house spaces, a lot of cuts will have to be made when adding new siding. For those houses that have big open walls, the product application process is much easier because going in and out of corners is no longer a concern.
Requiring more maintenance than cement board, another popular option is cedar siding. Running from $8 to $9 per square foot, cedar siding also comes pre-finished with an expanded warranty on the finish.
"Over time, cedar siding won't look as clean or stay in as good of shape as cement board will," Fichtner said. "A lot of waterfront homes in the area have cedar siding.
"To have cedar siding on the house makes the house look that much more authentic."
Similar to cedar siding is CertainTeed's Cedar Impressions line. Fichtner said while each square foot costs $2.50 to $6.50, or even $8, the material looks really nice, just like real cedar shingles.
Barbara Dennis, director of marketing of CertainTeed's Siding Product Groups, said that along with Cedar Impressions, Northwood is another premium product option.
"Cedar is exploding in popularity because people like it," Dennis explained. "It looks different.
"It is virtually seamless because of the way the products are fastened together. With vinyl siding, you can see the seam."
In terms of the accessories available for homeowners to get their houses to look like wood craftsmanship, CertainTeed offers a Vinyl Carpentry decorative trim and Restoration Millwork, a cellular PVC trim. These accessories are made with injection-molded polypropylene, meaning a slower production process than extruding vinyl siding. These factors combined translate into a higher-end product.
Dennis said that while accessories can add on to the value, color is another important aspect. "People have gotten braver about using darker colors because technology has gotten better," she said. "Colors used to fade easier, vinyl siding weathers better than it used to."
While many façade and exterior siding products have been available for quite some time — like Cedar Impressions which has been out since 1990 — expansions are being made in the industry with the types of profiles and shapes that are becoming available.
Among the most popular of trends has been the development of the Internet, providing homeowners with the means to find information about various upgrades.
"Homeowners are learning more than most of the contractors," Dennis explained. "Contractors tell us all the time that they will call a homeowner and the homeowner has researched the product on the Web and know more about it than they do.
"Before the Web, the contractor knew more."
As homeowners put their houses on the market year-round, fall and spring tend to be the busiest times of the year in terms of making siding and upgrades to the façade of the home. While people vacation throughout the summer, during the fall homeowners tend to want projects completed before the cold winter months hit. Dennis suggested the tendency for people to do spring cleaning as a reason why upgrades are made before summer hits.
Fichtner emphasized that regardless of the time of year, upgrades are made hand-in-hand with a homeowner's priorities.
"It all boils down to what importance homeowners and builders put on the exterior of their house," he said. "When people move into a home, as the siding gets older they care what the siding looks like."
Originally Published in The Daily Record's Maryland Distinctive Properties, February/March 2007
They say that it's always important to make a good first impression. Now that concept applies to your home. Thinking about selling your house? Are you ready for your next home-improvement project? If so, replacing the facades and exterior siding may be the most cost-effective answer. Remodeling Magazine reported in a recent survey that out of all remodeling improvements, siding replacement has the largest percent of its cost recouped, with 92.7 percent for siding replacement with fiber cement and 89.6 percent for siding replacement with foam-backed vinyl.
And when it comes time to update exterior siding, the possibilities are endless. Among the most popular choices is basic vinyl siding. Tom Fichtner, president of Fichtner Services Central Inc., said that the basic vinyl product costs $2.50 to $3.50 per square foot.
"Vinyl is very popular because it goes on quickly and is maintenance free," he said. "For people that want their houses to look nicer, the curb appeal of the house is so much stronger with cement board siding."
According to Fichtner, cement board siding is the best value on the market. He said that the material has a hardy plank and comes pre-painted and pre-finished.
"When it hangs on the wall it comes with a 15-year finish warranty," he explained. "It looks better than vinyl; it's rigid, heavy and solid."
Fichtner added that while this type of siding ranges between $5 and $7 per square foot, the price increases depending on added options. An important key factor in pricing also relies on how the house is built. If a house has a lot of angles and small house spaces, a lot of cuts will have to be made when adding new siding. For those houses that have big open walls, the product application process is much easier because going in and out of corners is no longer a concern.
Requiring more maintenance than cement board, another popular option is cedar siding. Running from $8 to $9 per square foot, cedar siding also comes pre-finished with an expanded warranty on the finish.
"Over time, cedar siding won't look as clean or stay in as good of shape as cement board will," Fichtner said. "A lot of waterfront homes in the area have cedar siding.
"To have cedar siding on the house makes the house look that much more authentic."
Similar to cedar siding is CertainTeed's Cedar Impressions line. Fichtner said while each square foot costs $2.50 to $6.50, or even $8, the material looks really nice, just like real cedar shingles.
Barbara Dennis, director of marketing of CertainTeed's Siding Product Groups, said that along with Cedar Impressions, Northwood is another premium product option.
"Cedar is exploding in popularity because people like it," Dennis explained. "It looks different.
"It is virtually seamless because of the way the products are fastened together. With vinyl siding, you can see the seam."
In terms of the accessories available for homeowners to get their houses to look like wood craftsmanship, CertainTeed offers a Vinyl Carpentry decorative trim and Restoration Millwork, a cellular PVC trim. These accessories are made with injection-molded polypropylene, meaning a slower production process than extruding vinyl siding. These factors combined translate into a higher-end product.
Dennis said that while accessories can add on to the value, color is another important aspect. "People have gotten braver about using darker colors because technology has gotten better," she said. "Colors used to fade easier, vinyl siding weathers better than it used to."
While many façade and exterior siding products have been available for quite some time — like Cedar Impressions which has been out since 1990 — expansions are being made in the industry with the types of profiles and shapes that are becoming available.
Among the most popular of trends has been the development of the Internet, providing homeowners with the means to find information about various upgrades.
"Homeowners are learning more than most of the contractors," Dennis explained. "Contractors tell us all the time that they will call a homeowner and the homeowner has researched the product on the Web and know more about it than they do.
"Before the Web, the contractor knew more."
As homeowners put their houses on the market year-round, fall and spring tend to be the busiest times of the year in terms of making siding and upgrades to the façade of the home. While people vacation throughout the summer, during the fall homeowners tend to want projects completed before the cold winter months hit. Dennis suggested the tendency for people to do spring cleaning as a reason why upgrades are made before summer hits.
Fichtner emphasized that regardless of the time of year, upgrades are made hand-in-hand with a homeowner's priorities.
"It all boils down to what importance homeowners and builders put on the exterior of their house," he said. "When people move into a home, as the siding gets older they care what the siding looks like."
