Pine T&G soffits vs. painted cement panel soffits for covered porch?
thinking99
3 years ago
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Sidings - Concrete Fiber Board vs. Cedar
Comments (9)We have had hardieplank on our house since 2005. It was the pre-primed hardieplank and we painted it after it was installed, so I can't speak to the durability of the Hardie factory finish. But as far as our siding goes, there has been no problems with peeling, swelling, or any other issues - except for being slightly dirty, the paint looks as good as the day we painted it (wish I could say the same thing for the wood trim on the eaves). We get snow here as well, though not usually high enough for long enough that it would sit high against the siding for weeks on end. But we do get snow and haven't had any issues. As far as installation, Hardie had a few specific instructions that are apparently ignored by a lot of installers. You want to make sure they prime any cut ends -- our contractor just kept a quart of cheap primer next to the saw and as soon as he'd cut a board, he'd slop some primer on it. Also, any butt seams (where two boards join together to make one "long" piece) should not be caulked but rather should have a piece of flashing behind them to keep water out of the seam - our guy used small pieces of aluminum. Finally, you need to keep the hardie several inches off any rooflines (of porches, etc.) -- I think at the time the guideline was 2". And yes, this does look a bit gappy and it would look better lower, but as our contractor said, you can have it lower and rotting and no warranty since you installed it wrong or you can have it higher and have it be fine. We opted for the latter and I don't even really see the gap anymore. We used a rainscreen behind our hardie for other reasons (our house was being resided as part of a mold/stucco remediation and we knew the wall cavities weren't fully dry yet so wanted to provide as much airflow as possible), but I'd imagine that that also provides extra protection against any kind of moisture issues. If your cottage is small and you are concerned about snow, that might be something to look into. It didn't cost much to add and would provide extra protection against any moisture issues. I'll link to the whole story of our house below if you're interested. There are some pics of the siding install, the rainscreen, and the finished product. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Our house...See MoreHelp with screened porch
Comments (23)All good advice regarding flush vs step down. Having said that and having had both, I'm ok with the step down as long as it's only one or two steps. This depends on the site conditions but there may be advantages to having your house entry raised if the area has any moisture or flood potential. Without budgetary constraints, I prefer wood although you will have to re-varish, re-oil or re-paint as part of on-going maintenance. I prefer recessed on dimmers, combined with ceiling fans and lamps for ambient lighting. The recessed sets a more peaceful mood IMO similar to soffit lighting indoors. If your doors don't come with screens then you can retrofit disappearing screens. I'd actually prefer those as I don't like to look through screens all the time. Depending on what part of the country you're in, bugs can be a problem even with screened/glass panels as most porches are not super sealed so the additional disappearing screening to the house seems to make sense or simply select another slider or French door option. Azek is a good composite product but I'd prefer brick, stone or textured porcelain flooring. I'm all for recycling plastics but would not want to walk barefoot on plastic for health reasons. Aluminum rails tends to look modern so if your style is not then perhaps you'd be happier with marine varnished wood. Although your contractor would much prefer to work while his/her business is slow, be careful about the concrete temp concerns mentioned above. Follow your instincts as even the best contractors require monitoring and need you around for answers as these projects always involve an unexpected concern or two. Whether you go with a peaked or flat roof, I'd be tempted to add skylights to see the stars at night and to bring to natural light at all times. I'd be reluctant to use a flat roof in most parts of the country as pitched roofs have many advantages. I think the ceiling is just a matter of your aesthetics however. We installed a glass roofed sun-room on one of our favorite homes and I can't tell you how much we enjoyed looking at the sky day or night. If I were designing another porch addition, I probably repeat that project which had 3 distinct sections: a step-down glass slider room with screens for the area off the kitchen, the glass temperature controlled sunroom extending and flush with the family room and an open area off the library so each section had a different feel and use. Enjoy your project....See MoreBest material for a covered porch flooring
Comments (9)Hi Mags438, Well, Ipe can be the answer but its always about how much maintenance is too much maintenance for you. Typically, Ipe in a very well covered porch will do wonderfully. Yes, Ipe is rot, termite, mildew, resistant but not fully maintenance free. Then again, how many products truly are maintenance free? The t&g look you're looking for is wonderful and it is meant to be used for a well covered porch. This means that almost no sun gets on the deck, no rain or snow either. This will minimize any movement allowing you to have the t&g without any buckling. Now, if the porch will be well covered it means that Ipe won't suffer from the harmful UV rays that fade out the color. Your results will be like dancingsams's porch a coat of oil perhaps every 4 years, maybe less. Maintenance will be required such as sweeping it, and maybe washing some spots if there are stains. Sanding might be limited to only any deep scratches made but it isn't necessary for the day to day maintenance. Attached are a few pictures of some porches that have used our woods: Ipe, and Cumaru. I hope that you find your solution and your project turns out terrific....See MoreToo much pine... planning on painting. Need your advice!
Comments (99)There is no chance of us redoing the floors. They were done only a short time ago and are of good quality. While I may not have chosen them myself, we do like them and they work with the ceiling and will be great for not scratching from sand brought in on bare feet. Cabins in our area come at a premium. The square footage cost is 5 times that of the square footage cost to build our home again and they often go into bidding wars. So you can understand that we have a very limited budget to make it our own after the purchase. That's why we feel so fortunate that the previous owner looked after things so well and took pride in maintaining their vacation property so that we're at least not having to put money into maintenance issues. Most properties we had looked at had a ton of maintenance issues to contend with first. Since the floors and ceiling work well together, that's why we thought painting the walls for a more lake house look and addressing the kitchen cabinet fronts to "demodernize" them were our best options to start for our three season get away. We will definitely put one good sized area rug in the living area, but with everyone coming up from the dock/beach all day long, a ton of rugs won't work well. If I paint, would SW Alabaster work in the living/dining area with the warm wood ceiling, fireplace and northwest daylight? Or do you have other suggestions for a paint color? And do you like the rugs in my links? jjam you said go light. They're light with a touch of navy, but washed out vintage like. I've attached the links again below. What do you think? Thank you to everyone for trying to make this an extra special place for my family... Possible rug? Another possibility? Rug with soft colors - have one in my home Much lighter than appears in picture...See Morethinking99
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