Is there such thing as faux wood veneer to cover a house?

Question

A house my boyfriend mom owns and will be giving us needs a complete overhaul. The exterior walls of the house are concrete blocks that are painted and it kind of looks like white siding, but its gross. We'd like to cover the entire house with something.

I think it would look beautiful in wood, because its in the woods. But my boyfriend claims that actual wood is too hard to maintain. Is there a faux wood veneer, like stone veneer, that we could have put on? I think it would be beautiful to do the front of the house in stone veneer and the rest of the house in wood. Or all wood possibly.

Any input or ideas are welcome.

Answer 1

There are several products on the market... from plastic, to wood to cement.

You can get wood planking that is shaped like a log, on the face, and once it is up, your home looks like a log home. Naturally, since it is wood, it needs to be treated, and there is some maintenance with it.

Ive seen plastic 'panels', or siding, that can also be used, and they come in a wide variety of styles, looking like anything from brick to limestone, etc.

Wood shingles can also be bought....you can even get them already nailed to a strip of plywood... making installation a lot faster.

"Hardiboard" is becoming quite popular these days too... it is actually a cement product, but has a texture on it... you can get it in a woodgrain texture... so, you end up with a 'painted wood plank' look, with almost no maintenance. You'll need some good carbide tipped cutting tools to work with this stuff, and pre drilling the nail holes is necessary... so, overall, it takes longer to install than anything else... and its a bit higher in price... but you have almost no maintenance costs, and the stuff lasts a very very long time. (I would suggest that if you decide to use this product, buy an extra box... and store it... for replacement later, like if a lawn mower throws a rock at it, heheheh)

Talk to the folks at your nearest home supply store, to see the variety of siding options they have... or you can look them up online. (I like to use Lowes website myself)

Have Fun!

Answer 2

There are composite siding that has textured surfaces that resembles wood and when painted looks like wood siding. If you are looking for a rustic cabin look you should reconsider real wood. Cedar siding will age beautifully and will not rot like treated pine. If the house is block you likely will have to put up a vapor barrier and fur down strips (nailer strips) anyway. Wood or Masonite would be the standard way to go.