If your home is in the historic district, can you renovate the exterior to mesh with your particular tastes? Heck no! Many cities and towns, including Salt Lake City, have what is known as a historic district, where a governing body attempts to preserve buildings’ architectural styles and protect their integrity. This is a common practice with public lands and buildings, but it [...]
When you think of rain gutters, you may not think of the Zika virus, but you should. Rain gutters that are not properly maintained can result in pools of standing water — a welcoming environment for mosquitoes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mosquitoes prefer to lay eggs in manmade objects. These [...]
Vinyl siding is tough, but it’s not invincible. What, if anything, can damage vinyl siding, and what can you do to prevent it? EXTREME HEAT We’re not talking about the kind of heat you get on a sweltering day here on the Wasatch Front — if that were true, the vinyl would [...]
Seeing is believing. When you’re shopping for a new home exterior, a picture is not worth a thousand words. What you want is to be able to see and touch real, live samples of what you’re considering wrapping your house in. Sure, a salesperson could show you a book, like [...]
Can’t decide between stucco and stone for your home exterior? Why not have both?! This exciting trend is really gaining in popularity, especially here in the Intermountain West, where we have the open space for our homes to be our castles! Stone is a beautiful choice for a home exterior, but [...]
If you are considering James Hardie fiber cement siding for your home, you want to make sure it’s installed properly. Home exterior cladding is a significant investment, and you want it to last. James Hardie provides a 25-year manufacturer’s warranty on all its products, but this warranty is void if the installation is not done properly, so you [...]
Once you’ve decided on vinyl siding for your home, you’ll likely wrestle with the question of whether you want insulated or uninsulated. More insulation is better, right? Not always. Most home exteriors have pretty low R-values, a thermal resistance rating that lets consumers know a product’s insulating properties. Common R-values for rolls of insulation used [...]
Deciding on a new home exterior can be stressful. What will it look like? Will it be right for you? You may ask yourself these questions and agonize over the answers in many areas of your life. What color should you dye your hair? Should you get a tattoo? Should you [...]
In the vinyl vs. fiber cement siding war, who wins? Everyone does, really, because both options are great, though for different reasons, which is why each is such a popular choice among homeowners. These man-made exterior cladding products marry the all-important durability with the beauty homeowners want. How can you decide [...]
Home foundations are meant to be tough — after all, they need to support a huge, heavy structure and everything (and everyone!) in it! But that’s doesn’t mean it has to be ugly, does it? Shoes protect our feet, but we don’t have go around with sensible footwear on [...]