Atlanta Fiber cement siding helps sell homes faster says new real estate market analysis

GDO Report

Owners and sellers of mature homes who want to increase curb appeal in a stalled housing market can also thwart problems like woodpeckers, termites and mildew with new fiber cement siding products.

A study of recent Online home improvement articles provide tips on the merits of fiber cement siding and various associated costs.

Exterior home siding is experiencing a renaissance with homeowners and sellers who want to improve their homes' exteriors, add value and sell their homes fast.

"Benefits of fiber cement siding" options as well as pricing information is widely availble across the Web and specifically in Consumer Reports under "Siding".  Consumer can find this information by searching major seardh engines for "Consumer Reports Siding" without paying a subscription fee to simply read one little article.

Additional new siding options include fiber-cement in its many forms, thin brick and cultured stone.

In a housing market flooded with inventory, it is important for sellers to make their homes stand out in order to compete with so many new homes. "They need to look fresh, sturdy, maintenance free and built to last" says most of the Online articles we've researched.

Replacing siding on older homes has long been an option, but siding previously had a spotty history.  Many of the siding products turned out to be defective over time.  But now that siding is basically made from cement - there is no longer a concern about it falling apart over time.

The tough part that lies ahead, is replacing all the homes in the market that bought into the defective product years and decades ago.  They now have to be converted to the new low maintenance fiber cement.

As mature homes slowly go through the conversion process, they will become more attractive to home buyers and real estate market analysts are expecting steady rise in existing-home sales. The market was expected to reach it's bottom in the fourth quarter of 2006 and a gradual rise in the resale of existing homes is forecasted throughout the year 2010.

, we expect existing-home sales to gradually rise all this year and well into 2008.

Years ago the fiber cement products incorporated asbestos as the fibers. Soon after it was discovered that asbestos posed a serious health hazard, cellulose was substituted as the fiber material. Portland cement, ground sand, additives and water make up the balance of this wonderful building product.

Fiber cement building products are attractive. You can choose from a variety of clapboard siding styles that have embossed wood grained texture or smooth finish. The siding products come in a multitude of widths that will permit you to have clapboard exposures ranging from 4 inches up to nearly 11 inches. The stucco panels you desire are also available. You can purchase those with a smooth, stucco, or vertical rustic groove appearance. The rustic panels have a wood grained finish with recessed vertical channels spaced at 4 or 8 inch centers. You can even purchase fiber cement soffit panels to finish the underside of your roof overhangs.

The fiber cement products are complimented by numerous weather resistant vinyl trim and ventilation accessories. The trim pieces are used at inside and outside corners, where soffit pieces abut against one another and as a flashing material when the stucco panels abut one another. The vinyl trim pieces are extremely tasteful. They must be used if you want your fiber cement siding and stucco panels to block wind driven rain and snow. The vinyl trim readily accepts paint.

Fiber cement siding planks offer a unique capability. Because of the rigid nature of the product, you can blind nail many of the available sizes. Each clapboard is nailed approximately 1 inch from the top edge. The next overlapping piece hides the nails below. This allows you to produce a siding job free from the polka dot appearance nails cause on many traditional wood sidings.

Your color options are virtually unlimited. 100 percent water based acrylic paint grips cement fiber products exceptionally well. The siding planks and stucco panels also accept stains. Because the cement products do not expand and contract to the extent that wood does, paint rarely peels and blisters.

I intend to use cement fiber siding on the next house I build. Aside from its many positive features, it is competitively priced. Fiber cement siding in my region costs slightly less than the highest quality vinyl siding. Redwood siding costs two and one half times more than fiber cement siding. Fiber cement products are ideal for remodeling or repair jobs as well. I urge you to give it serious consideration.