I got a new web video made for 1st Oregon Exteriors. It’ll soon be embedded on the home page, but I thought I’d give you a sneak peak here. I hope it lets you know how much we really do care about doing a good job on your home!
Are you ready for a free estimate for your next siding, windows or painting project?
P.S. We also made a new video for our Portland roofing company, Roof Life of Oregon. Have a look at our Roof Life of Oregon video when you’re done here.
I have watched the siding business from the front row for 13 years. I’ve found it interesting to watch which siding works and which siding fails in Portland’s unique weather. Obviously, the OSB type siding failed. (OSB includes LP, Masonite, Weyerhaeuser siding products.)
At 1st Oregon Exteriors, we don’t install vinyl siding…and I’ll tell you why.
When your home was built, just after the framing went up, they installed your roof. In new production type homes this roofing service is given to the lowest bid roofing contractor in town. (Over at Roof Life of Oregon, we never bid on new construction because we can’t bring ourselves to cut those kind of corners.) Unfortunately for home owners who need to replace their roof, a lot of replacement roofing contractors follow the same line of thought. Sell the re-roof for a cheap price and then cut every corner in the book. Fast is the standard rule for these guys, and most times, important details are overlooked for the sake of the almighty dollar.
This one concept is very important for you to realize, as it is a mistake made over and over by the vast majority of homeowners. It ends up costing them more than they could ever imagine. It reminds me of a saying by a great man named John Ruskin who said “Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort.“
Have you ever noticed that one or two of your exterior walls just look worse than the other sides of your home? They look beat up, they’re rough, and they won’t hold paint very well. When the wind and rain come, a drip may even appear in your windowsills. If there is a drip coming all the way through to the inside of your home, imagine what’s going on inside your walls.
Mold, mildew, and dry rot are not to be taken lightly and should be a major concern in Portland. Some of our largest repair jobs are the result of improperly flashed deck attachments and improper window installation. It costs soooo much less to do it right the first time than it does to come back and fix a disaster. The handyman from down the street, or the contractor who operates out of his mobile office (pickup truck with a ladder) may have a lower bid, but are you qualified to check his work and make sure his weatherization efforts are up to par?
One of my favorite things to do is to help customize your home’s front entry. Today, homeowners have two entrances, your everyday garage entry and your more formal front entry. Both represent your personal style and give a sense of who you are to all those who come to visit.
When a housing sub-division is developed and built, a lot of attention goes into planning the general layout. The plot lines, general public services, school districts, transportation and of course: location, location, location. These are of the utmost importance because that is what tends to attract the buyers. As a general rule, a sub-division of homes tends to have an overall pleasant appearance but the individual homes lack the uniqueness that most of us really want. That’s where 1st Oregon Exteriors comes in. If you live in the greater Portland Area and have a desire to improve your home’s curb appeal, making it unique, we have some amazing ideas for you that can really add some curb appeal to your home. Let’s talk!
Here is a homeowner that we have had the privilege of serving:
The Shelton’s wanted to remove their leaking EIFS type siding (synthetic stucco). Fixing the dry rot that often develops behind EIFS is just standard procedure. As we talked about all the options to making their home exceptional in their neighborhood, we decided to use stone, beveled cedar siding, custom wood window trim and some really nice garage doors.
Some of the neighbors watched us as we customized the Shelton’s home. One had a beautiful home with a very normal but boring 3-car garage. We consulted and decided that the garage was a prominent and permanent feature of the home, but by adding brick pillar bases and then accenting the arches with clear cedar and Hardi Shingles and blending textures and types ended up giving a really classy upscale welcome to their guests. We balanced the garage entrance enhancements by accenting a large bay window in a similar way. The end result was accepted with smiles of appreciation and sense of uniqueness. It was tasteful and fun to come home to. Oh yes, the guests will love it too!
For twelve years straight, we have done this kind of creative, very fun stuff in Portland. And we have become quite good at it. If you’re thinking that your home could use a little 1St Oregon attention, we can help. Give us a call at 503-925-0124, or request an estimate by filling out our form.
What are the types of siding that I need to worry about, and how can I tell what it is?
Let’s face it; most people really don’t care about their exterior siding until it fails, allowing water into the walls of your home. You may discover siding failure when you go to paint your home and you find that you can push your finger right through your siding or trim! And if you have wood windows, Portland’s legendary weather always proves to be too much for the exterior sills and trim.
After you make these discoveries is when you want to figure out what went wrong, or how to make it right.
The really good news is you don’t have to know what happened, or what went wrong. Just call us, and we will look at it for you and give you a solution at absolutely no cost.
If you’re the type of person who would like to know the types and kinds of defective siding here in Portland, Oregon, here is a simple breakdown:
In an effort to replace real cedar siding, at least three companies made Oriented Strand Board or (OSB). They made it out of wood chips and fiber and steam pressed and formed it to look like wood. Between the years 1990 and 2000, thousands of Portland homes were sided with OSB type siding. The most popular siding used in Portland, Oregon was made by L.P. (Louisiana Pacific). It was the first to the market and a lot of builders switch to it from cedar. (It saved them a lot of money and it met the wood siding requirements of the neighborhoods). Right behind L.P. was Weyerhaeuser and Masonite products with very similar products.
All of these products came with a 25-year warrantee, but within 3-5 years, the boards started to swell, absorb water and develop mold and mildew within the boards. All of these types of siding need to be removed and replaced as soon as possible.
The two other types of defective siding you will find in Portland is Masonite’s imitation stucco board. It starts out with a hard outer shell and then quickly softens and begins to rot. 50% of the problem is the product and 50% in due to poor installation. A lot of Tudor style homes built in the last twenty years used this stuff and it is bad news.
Another type of siding in Portland is called EFIS. (Exterior Finish Insulated System). Some call it “Fake Stucco.”
It looks great and you can make some really amazing accents and facades on your home, but when it fails, it will cost you a ton of money to fix or replace. The biggest areas of concern are the window trim accents, transitions between floors, and doorways. They crack out and leak; we have too much water here in Portland for this type of siding.
I hope this information is helpful and I look forward to serving you.
Do you have questions about your siding? Call us, or leave a comment below…
