Hi,
We live in SE Michigan in a 19 yr old Tudor with "fake stucco" (EIFS) on 2nd floor and wood trim around french windows on 1st and 2nd floor. The 1st floor exterior is brick. The trim held up until last year, when I started to notice a lot of pieces that seemed as if they started to deteriorate. Just today, I discovered that the trim around one of the bedroom windows started to rot (looked just fine until I peeled some paint away). We are going on a two week vacation tomorrow, so I just filled all the seams around that window that I could reach with foam insulator to try prevent leaks. I hope it will take it thru winter.
The stucco boards are in varying shape. They are installed in two rows separated by trim boards, in a typical "tudor" fashion. The top row seems to be ok but the bottom row has a lower edge of the boards exposed, and the boards seem to be deteriorating at the lower edge. The trim itself is also in a varying shape; the east and south ends of the building are high off the ground and I can't reach them off a ladder, but I assume 25 to 30% need to be replaced.
Anyway, it seems I have two options - either repair (replace just the pieces that are bad), or complete tear off & replacement of the old siding. I lean towards the latter, since I think I will otherwise end up paying more in the long run - it seems the original siding and trim are at the end of their life span.
What types of siding should I look at ? Obviously, I'd like something that is durable, doesn't require a lot of maintenance, and isn't very expensive.
Almost all my neighbors have cedar, that's about as old as my house. Some of it looks OK and some is cracking and weathered. All require lots of painting, caulking, etc.
A couple of neighbors have vynil. It looked great when they first installed it, but a year or two later I can already see some buckling / warping. I assume it is only going to get worse with time. I looked around the area and didn't see too many vinyl clad homes that I'd like.
Finally, there's the hardiplank stuff (fiberglass cement, I believe ?) I read that it requires painting and caulking just like the cedar does, but stands up better in a long run. Can anybody recommend it ? Also, do they still use regular wood trim with hardiplank ?
Also, I have some old aluminum windows in the back of the house (we've replaced the ones upfront with vinyl). My understanding is, if I ever decide to replace these windows, it would be much harder to do with vinyl or hardiplank installed; is it true ?
Thanks, and sorry for the long message !