Neighbor News
Easy Living: Key Features for a Low Maintenance Home
When considering the features of your custom home, consider folding a few of these in the mix.
You commute to work. You struggle to fit in workouts where you can. Your teenager is 30 hours into the science fair project that would never end. Our lives seem fuller than ever – and our hours more scarce. For that reason, we work with our clients to build low maintenance homes – ones that will save time, energy, and expense in the long-term. Why else do we seek out a new home – a larger home, a smarter home, a newer home? It’s all about quality of life and for that reason, we consider these key elements of low maintenance home design for every client.
When considering the features of your custom home, consider folding a few of these in the mix.
Silestone: Durable, Stain Resistant, Easy-Clean Surfaces
Cement Fiber Siding: Storm Resistant 50-Year Siding
An obvious choice when looking to build a low-maintenance house is to choose James Hardie Siding. Not only does the cement board siding come with a 50-year limited transferable warranty, but it provides incredible protection for your home, averting other potential home issues. James Hardie siding is rot and insect resistant, storm resistant and fire resistant. In the St. Louis area, with our changeable skies and frequent spring and summer storms, we prefer James Hardie Siding over typical vinyl siding because it is 5 times thicker than vinyl – providing incredible resistance to hail damage. In addition to this incredible protection, James Hardie Siding paired with upgraded insulation results in incredible energy efficiency.
Find out what's happening in Creve Coeurfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Cement fiber siding not only performs well, but it’s also incredibly elegant. See it at work below in a Kirkwood custom home. Click here to see more photos of this new home.
Composite Decking: Never Seal Your Deck Again
One product that most homeowners dread every 1 to 3 years is staining their deck. Follow up that process with replacing wood every few times due to rot or insect infestation and many homeowners start to wonder if the great outdoors is a worthwhile investment. If you envision a deck or porch in your final home design, consider composite decking. Below, you’ll see a new home we recently built in Ballwin. This home features Trex composite decking in a two-story outdoor patio. Trex, one of our frequent choices for composite decking, offers a 25-year warranty on this product, making this a great alternative for your new home. No sanding, staining or repainting – just enjoying your own backyard. Click here to learn more about this home.
Find out what's happening in Creve Coeurfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Metal Roofing: Low Maintenance from the Top Down
For clients who are looking to ensure that their home is truly a forever home – one that will require much less maintenance and long-term cost than other traditional homes, we always recommend metal roofing. Metal roofing greatly outlasts asphalt shingles, concrete or clay tiles. Additionally, it reflects the sun’s rays, making it significantly more energy efficient and cost effective than traditional roofing materials.
There are typically two ways that you can utilize metal to your advantage on your roof – traditional metal roofing, pictured above, or with stone-coated metal shingles such as those that we utilized in this Webster Groves home building project. (Click here to see more.)
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