Installed the metal portion of our siding detail yesterday. As Brian mentioned in the last post, the decision to go with a combination of metal and wood was one driven partly by aesthetics and partly by budget.
The metal paneling is a fraction of the cost of cedar siding, easy to install once you get the hang of it, and easy to remove and repurpose later. We used the Norclad profile roofing in Matte Black from ASC Building Products. I would have gladly wrapped the whole house in it, but living inside a de facto faraday cage can cause some problems when you’re as reliant on cell service and WiFi as we are in our work.
Combining metal cladding with cedar was a natural compromise for us: it combines two aesthetic directions that we both love, and the low cost of the Norclad allowed us to get clear cedar within a budget that would have otherwise only allowed tight knot. Beyond budget, cladding these two faces with metal made a lot of sense functionally – these sides of the house are up against a fence, fully shaded in a wet climate. Wood was not going to weather well. And we’re both so happy with how the metal looks installed that Brian’s campaigning to add it to the east face as well.
We’ve spun in a lot of directions with our siding plan (read: I’ve changed my mind A LOT) but I think we’ve landed on something that really matches our mission in this project: working with the limits of of our site, budget and preferences to build something beautiful, affordable, and functional that elevates the individual elements rather than feeling like a compromise.
– Liz
