About Exterior Wall Siding
Exterior walls have the task of keeping nature's extremes at bay and creating a good first impression of your home. They must reject rain, wind and cold in the winter and block excess heat in the summer.
Notes on Exterior Wall Siding**
Painting & Staining: Moisture in a wall cavity can dampen the siding resulting in rot and mold. Paints and stains can prevent moisture from getting into your wall cavity but conventional paints can have high VOC and dangerous emissions. To greatly improve air quality and avoid toxic emissions from paints and stains, use paints and stains that are non-toxic with low- or zero-VOCs.
Air Leaks: Air leakage in the wall cavities can dampen siding resulting in rot.
| Brick |
Fiber Cement |
Straw Bale |
Wood |
Wood Composite |
Brick
Widely used and is an excellent siding choice.
What Makes It A Green Product
- Brick is fire-safe and virtually maintenance-free when installed properly.
- Extremely durable and can have a life-expectency of 100 years or more
- Salvaged Brick is available.
Negative Environmental Considerations
- Brick tends to have one of the highest embodied energy debts of exterior siding alternatives because of the water and air pollution generated during the extraction and manufacturing processes.
Fiber Cement Siding
CSI Division: 074646 | Residential Category: Fiber Cement Siding
A composite of cement and wood fiber textured to look like wood. It can be painted and is available pre-primed.
What Makes It A Green Product
- Fiber-cement is resistant to moisture, rot, buckling, fire, termites, salt spray and most harsh weather conditions offering greater protection from the elements than other siding options.
- Fiber-cement siding products have very long expected lifetimes, with most products carrying a 50-year warranty.
Negative Environmental Considerations
- There are various pollution problems associated with manufacturing cement due to the use of Portland cement. To reduce pollution, substitute alternatives such as fly ash and slag for Portland cement.
- Care must be taken when cutting fiber cement to avoid inhaling potentially dangerous particles.
Straw Bale
Straw-bale construction has been around in the United States since the turn of the century. Straw bale construction is composed of baled straw from wheat, oats, barley, rye, and/or rice in walls covered by stucco.
This thick wall system (not to be confused with hay bales, which are made from living plant material) is durable, inexpensive, and fire- and pest-resistant
What Makes It A Green Product
- Straw is a renewable resource. It is a waste product and is in plentiful supply.
- Straw bale construction offers simplicity and great versatility.
- Employing straw bale construction helps avoid the damage and sever air pollution caused when farmers burn straw in the field to clear it for replanting crops.
- Extremely energy efficient and has superior insulating qualities.
Negative Environmental Considerations
- During the building process, straw must be kept dry or it will start to rot from the inside causing both structural problems and strong odors.
Wood
CSI Division: 074623 | Residential Category: Wood Siding
Widely used as siding on houses. The best wood sidings are highly durable close-grained heartwood western red cedar, redwood or cypress.
What Makes It A Green Product
- Wood should come from properly managed forests or be certified by a third-party organization. Certified wood is widely available.
- Recovered and Salvaged wood is widely available and should be used provided all appropriate documentation is presented.
- Has one of the lowest embodied energy depts as very little waste is produced in the wood manufacturing process.
- Wood is a biodegradable material.
- Wood is highly durable.
Negative Environmental Considerations
- Unfortunately much of the heartwood red cedar, redwood and cypress sold on the market comes from old-growth forests. Any wood that comes from old-growth forests or isn't properly managed is not environmentally sound.
- Often requires regular maintenance of paints and sealants to ensure full life cycle. Low-emitting paints and sealents should be used to avoid negative environmental impacts.
Engineered Wood Composite Siding
CSI Division: 074643 | Residential Category: Composition Siding
Instead of using lumber to make siding, sawdust and wood chips can be glued together to form a wood composite siding product.
What Makes It A Green Product
- In terms of the wood resources, these products are a great alternative to redwood, cedar, or cypress siding.
- If virgin lumber is used it should be from sustainably harvested sources, otherwise it should be from salvaged or recovered wood.
- Low- and no-VOC adhesive binders should be used.
- Should not contain urea formaldehyde
Negative Environmental Considerations
- If rainwater soaks into the composite material and freezes, it can significantly shorten the product's lifespan.
- May be more difficult to recycle due to the binders used during manufacturing.
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