Architectural Question

[mmausse]

Attention all architectural, building, historical, and decorating guru's:

I have a 30-yo Cape Cod home - white with black shutters, modelled after "Chowning's Tavern" in Historical Williamsburg, VA. It has 6 dormer windows and it has bead-board siding that is made of Masonite - 7 inch boards with 1 inch coping under each. My house is solidly constructed except that the people I bought it from did not take care of the Masonite siding and it has feathered or peeled away. Painting is not an option because of the damage to the Masonite. You can't sand Masonite like wood. So my options are to side it:

a) Vinyl is no longer an option - it is seamed and due to the southern exposure the front gets, none of the estimators would offer a warranty beyond 10 years. Plus, it doesn't look the same as the historical version. Strong winds make it wave at you too. No rigidity.

b) Aluminum siding with a vinyl face is prohibitively expensive though it does provide the rigidity and no seams. But it dents.

c) Brick over the Masonite - also terribly expensive. Unless I choose a brick veneer made of concrete.

d) Put a stone veneer over the Masonite. Now I have looked into this and it can be done for the same price as the vinyl, BUT my family is saying it will look terrible on a Cape-Cod home. I love the stone houses that I see in the historical sections of my town and neighboring towns.

MY question to all you "buffs" out there - will a stone-faced Cape-Cod still be historically and esthetically proper/correct?

 

[emmagata]

Originally posted by mmausse

MY question to all you "buffs" out there - will a stone-faced Cape-Cod still be historically and esthetically proper/correct?

I've watched a lot of "This Old House" and they've done a lot of work up New England area but I don't recall seeing a Cape with a stone face.

A product you might want to look into is (I don't no the cost though) is hardiplank.

http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/prodcomp/default.php

 

[mmausse]

I've looked at the hardiplank you mentioned. It costs more than the steel siding (which was $50K BTW) - the hardiplank was $62K installed and STILL needed to be painted every 5-7 years. I was looking for something that get away from the painting - i.e. low maintenance. Hence the stone or brick veneers.

 

[RUDisney]

Have you looked into the sprayed on vinyl? It goes on like paint and is guaranteed for something like 20 years. It goes over the wooden clapboards or over existing vinyl or aluminum siding.

My house is quite large and the estimate to paint that, plus the railings on our deck was $16,000. We didn't do it only because I don't know how long we will choose to live in this house before we find another. We're not looking, but sometimes the right thing comes along when you least expect it.

 

[mmausse]

The sprayed on vonyl isn't recommended because it tends to "trap-in" moisture. Definitely not a good thing.

I guess I've made up my mind, sort of, about using either brick or stone. I'd like to use the stone but not if it is not "historically" accurate. I've seen brick Cape Cods - I need to know if there are Stone-Faced Cape Cods?