All you manly men hanging out on the 'guttering' thread has got me thinking of another housing topic you can help me with ...

Most of the houses I have seen have what I would call 'shiplap' boarding - it's probably got a proper Canadian name ...

Is it wood? Is it plastic ?

On the newer estate type areas, each home is a different colour to its neighbour. Is the boarding pre-painted or pre-treated before it is put up? And if it is a plasticy or vinyl type finish can you paint it/change the colour? What if I see the house of my dreams but it's a hideous shade of grey?? And please don't tell me there are bylaws about the colour?!

Coming house shopping next month - this is essential information !!
I will, of course, now examine the guttering too ....

Yes.

Rich.

Most of that stuff is vinyl siding and is the colour it is forever. In older houses it's wood and must be painted, so long as you're painting it can be any colour but, yes, in some locations there are by-laws regulating the colours.

Isn't unlikely that the house of someone's dreams would have siding?

not bylaws BUT developers now insist (in the majority of communities) when houses are built they must be different exteranally (siding\shingles\metalwork\paintwork\stonework) to the 8 houses surrounding.

'Taint neccessarily so. Our house is 6 years old and has wooden siding. (Clapboard?). When we bought it, it was looking a little tired in places so we had it re-stained last year. Should be good for another 5 years and looks so much nicer than Vinyl. Doesn't rattle so much in the wind either which is a bonus in these parts.

Surely thats only if you live in a housing project and then only when it's new?

Places like Kanata (a suburb, if you can believe it, of Ottawa) have rules about the colour of houses built decades ago. It's terribly Stepford.

Woods more expensive, so it must be better right? Ours is the expensive cedar maibec siding. Been good for at least 10 years now. albeit in its shitbrown colour. Most newer subdivisions seem to plump for maintainence free vinyl siding, but it can be painted if you use the right stuff.

http://www.askthebuilder.com/427_Pai...l_Siding.shtml

Agreed that wood is nicer than vinyl. I suppose house age is really no guide; the one we just sold, it was older than 1926, had both wood and vinyl. And cedar shakes. And shingles. And bricks.

Yeah

Thats why I said when they are built.

Anyway a lot of the siding etc is only subtle differences in shade

We live in a neighbourhood that dates back to the 1970s, which was an earth-toned period. There was a rule that, for the first five years, home owners had to stick to the original theme. As home owners have re-painted their houses in recent years, most of them have stuck with the earth tone scheme, but have tended to lighten it up. For example, where a house started out as dark brown, it may be a light taupe today.

There is one house in the neighbourhood that I find quite comical. It has been re-painted a bright peacock turquoise, and it really stands out from the rest. I am guessing that some people in the neighbourhood do not appreciate the fact that the owners of that house have broken ranks, but I get a chuckle out of it.

It’s actually quite tricky to find a house colour that looks good in both summer and winter. For example, I quite like a white house in summer, when the house is sitting on a green lawn, surrounded by green trees. But the same house sort of disappears in the snow.

Frankly, you have better things to worry about when you first arrive than the colour of your house’s exterior. If you find a house that you can afford and that includes the practical features on your wish list, you’ll be doing well. As you live here for longer and longer, what you consider to be important will change.

Why?

Cos its more expensive

Thank you. For some years I had been wondering why I studied for a post-graduate diploma in marketing and why I have since been a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. I now understand why marketing exists.

Moet & Chandon, anyone?

Are you buying?

I'm more of an Asti Spumante man actually.












(NO the rumours are not true )