What is this ugly siding?

[StevenT]

When you look at the beauty of it, consider this:

Did it function as intended?

Did the owner get their money's worth?

[kurt]

You know, it's hard to admit, but the stuff worked amazingly well for how (seemingly) crappy it is.

[chicago]

There you go.All we gotta do is pool our money together,come up with some modern patterns and designs while manufacturing earlier stuff for the old timers and we go in business.Now for a name.Hmmmm.

[Dave Heilig]

Seems to me that the important question is does it have asbestos in the product and does removal have to be done with HazMat care.

[ImpalerOfHorizons]

On 6/11/2007 at 10:55 PM, Jim Katen said:

 

No offense to Bob, but that's why I've pretty much given up on the Carson Dunlop materials. There's no information in that paragraph that you can take to the bank. It's just a bunch of vague, negative comments without anything specific.

 

Kind of like a lot of home inspection reports.

 

It is frowned upon by some insurance companies and lending institutions id="green">

Which lending institutions? Which insurance companies? What does, "frowned upon," mean anyway? Will they not insure or loan on these houses? Will they charge more to do so? Is this a Canadian thing or does it extend to the US?

 

due to its combustabilityid="green">

Is it very combustible? Should this be something that a home inspector should warn his customers about? Is it more combustible than asphalt roofing or cedar siding or hardboard siding? If combustibility is a real issue, shouldn't that be what the paragraph is about instead of leading with "frowning"?

 

and the fact it denotes low quality construction to some.id="green">

So, "lending institutions" and "insurance companies" "frown" on it because it denotes "low quality construction to some" (among other problem, it seems). Does this ring anyone elseââ¬â¢s bullshit meter?

 

Insulbrick can be considered the forerunner to aluminum sidingid="green">

Really? In what way?

 

and is hard to repair since it is no longer made.id="green">

So it's just hard to repair? Does that mean that it can be repaired? It seems to me that the fact that it's no longer made would make it impossible to repair.

 

It is however easy to cover. id="green">

But is it advisable to cover it?

 

- Jim Katen, Oregon

i agree with your statements.  it is far less combustible than roof shingles. under intense heat the tar melts but for the most part it is actually tough against fires. it was a forerunner to both vinyl and aluminum siding because this was available far before aluminum siding was. it is IMPOSSIBLE to repair if exposed to sun for a long time the material falls apart and looks like swiss cheese, the only way to "repair" it would be to cut the bad portion out and replace it, which would be difficult to do because A) its hard to find and B) the color wont match unless you find an abandoned house and rip it off of it. its advisable to cover it if it is in bad shape. adds an extra layer of insulation but this stuff degenerating can be an eyesore. insurance companies may recommend that you cover it up but unlike a damaged roof, they cannot deny you insurance. 

[Chad Fabry]

I am grateful to Impaler of Horizons for reviving this thread. I'm writing a course on report writing and this provides fodder. In spite of my gratitude, I cannot help but think, Impaler of Horizons?  WITAF is that all about? 

We're home inspectors, pretty much any nom de guerre will suffice. May I suggest Bruce?

 

 

[Karen W]

Should you put vinyl siding over damaged insulbrick?  We have a siding guy here who says its fine to just put the siding over the insulbrick but in some areas it is water damaged around the gabled roof.  He says this is our only insulation for the house and if we were to remove it, it would be costly. I am actually reading that insulbrick has a pretty low r-factor though. 

[Jim Katen]

15 hours ago, Karen W said:

Should you put vinyl siding over damaged insulbrick?  We have a siding guy here who says its fine to just put the siding over the insulbrick but in some areas it is water damaged around the gabled roof.  He says this is our only insulation for the house and if we were to remove it, it would be costly. I am actually reading that insulbrick has a pretty low r-factor though. 

The Inselbrick is going to do as much for your house's R-value as a cotton tank top in January. But there's no reason why you can't install vinyl over it. (Just fix any rot first.) 

If you're concerned with energy efficiency, talk with an insulation contractor about blowing cellulose into your walls before you install the vinyl. 

[Mike Lamb]

Yes, you can vinyl side over the old Inselbrick. Don’t tear it off. Have the siding people install a quarter inch fan fold insulation before siding. It’s only R1 but does not hurt cutting down on drafts.

[Marc]

I've never been a fan of building over trash. I'd tear it off.

[Les]

5 hours ago, Marc said:

I've never been a fan of building over trash. I'd tear it off.

Why do you think it is trash?  FTR I don't think it is trash.  I don't think it is wonderful either.  Just an older building material

[Tom Raymond]

I wouldn't necessarily call this siding trash, but, it was often installed over existing siding. If there's already two layers of siding on the house I'd tear it all off and start fresh.

[Marc]

19 hours ago, Tom Raymond said:

I wouldn't necessarily call this siding trash, but, it was often installed over existing siding. If there's already two layers of siding on the house I'd tear it all off and start fresh.

That's pretty much what I was saying.  Same with roofing. I don't like adding layer after layer.

Edited November 2, 2020 by Marc

[Jim Baird]

Those vinyl guys specialize in all kinds of coverups.  They also like to wrap fascia and even window casings in enameled metal.  Once they get done it is hard to tell the condition of those components.

Flippers love the stuff.

[Jerry Simon]

On 11/1/2020 at 1:01 PM, Marc said:

That's pretty much what I was saying.  Same with roofing. I don't like adding layer after layer.

Yeah.  Still plenty of landfills out there.  Add another layer to one of those. . .much better for the environment.