Selling Your Home? Remember To Update The Curb Appeal

You’re not going to be in the market for a new home, often. In fact, many people find that if they’ve built that perfect custom home, they want to live in it for years, maybe forever— good construction will withstand time. But, what many people don’t consider, when they’re purchasing a new home, is the land around the home—the lot. While landscape is much more easily changed then, say, the amount of square footage in the home, it’s still something that should be given consideration.

Selling Your Home? Remember To Update The Curb Appeal

Consider the curb-appeal of your home. Will a concrete driveway, leading up to a garage, suffice as the home’s only initial walkup, or would a path made of stone, or pavers, or stamped concrete that leads from the street to the front door compliment your personality and style? Is the front yard all grass, or are there decorative islands of stone and shrubbery?

Consider the backyard of the home. Many people today are building enormous food gardens, or kid-play-areas. If you’re an in-and-outdoors type of person, you’ll want your style and the area around the home to reflect your style.

Decks and porches are great places to spend time outside on your own property, enjoying the outdoors. Consider how the home will be built. If it’s just one level, maybe even a stamped concrete patio would suite your needs, although multi-levelled homes might be well-equipped with a multi-level deck. Three tiers of space on a deck leaves plenty of room for entertaining guests. A front porch, or a sun porch—places for reading, and enjoying your morning coffee while the warm rays of the sun creep up the walls. Front porches are great ways to enjoy a summer evening, enjoying someone’s company, or enjoying the serene quiet of your neighborhood.

Regardless what type of person you are, the outside of your home will play a part in your overall, customized home design. That’s why you buy a fully custom-built home from a reputable contractor, because your getting the entire package—everything you want—in one place.

If you are looking for roofing, siding, windows or doors to add to your home for curb appeal, please contact Lynnrich today!

Choosing The Right Roofing

Some things to know about your green-roofing options

If you want to reduce your impact on the earth and minimize the carbon-footprint that you leave behind, consider green-roofing options. Whether you are refurbishing or building, implement a roofing-material that is eco-friendly and energy-efficient whenever possible. These options will also provide a roof that can protect your home and function for many years to come.

Some things homeowners should know about green-roofing options include:

Living roofs. A living roof is an ideal way to replace the vegetation footprint absorbed by the area taken up by your home, and will provide vegetables, produce, and foliage to enjoy. These roofs are heavy, and most homeowners will find that they need to reinforce and add support to their home’s structure before implementing. These are a great prospect for large, flat-roofs.

Before choosing this option, make sure that you are aware of the following related to living roofs:

• Living roofs will attract wildlife; plan on the upkeep from these visitors to your property.
• You can’t plant it and forget it; living roofs require maintenance- just as a garden does.
• Consult with the experts to ensure the plants that you grow don’t have intricate root systems that can interfere or damage the home over time. For instance, trees are not ideal for living roofs.

Recycled roofing. Recycled materials are eco-friendly and cost-efficient. These might be found via the shingles that you use or the timbers that you salvage.

Tile roofs. Tile roofs reflect heat and maintain energy inside the home, which could result in seeing utility savings on monthly bills. Tiles are recyclable and will last for hundreds of years. Tile roofs are heavy, however, and typically involve professional handling and installation for best results.

Wooden roofing. Cedar and wood shakes are recyclable and eco-friendly. They reflect less heat, and due to the uneven surface, don’t necessarily maintain energy inside the home. To optimize their potential, paint the shingles white before installation. Since wood is not fire-resistant, it also makes sense to plan on treating wood roofing with some sort of fire-retardant, as recommended by roofing manufacturers and professionals.

Reduce the carbon-footprint left by your home with an eco-friendly, green roof. Talk to roofing contractors and professionals to find out the most viable solution for your distinct property, as well as to learn of other options that may be suited to your structure. Let these suggestions inspire you to find a way to utilize recyclable and living options that give back to the world around you.

Contact Lynnrich today for all of your roofing needs.

Hail Damage on The Roof

It’s a common thing in Billings, Montana, to experience hail damage to the roof of your home. It seems like every summer we experience storm damage. The storms can bring hailstones the size of softballs at times. How would you know if your roof has been damaged by hail?

Hail Damage on The Roof

You will need to check your roof for hail damage. Start by checking the gutters on the home. Stand outside of your house on a ladder to check the gutters. If you don’t want to stand on a ladder, you can look down through an upstairs window.

If your home is roofed with standard asphalt shingles, there could be debris that’s been scraped free from the roof in the gutters. Document the debris with photographs. You can give the photos to your insurance company for documentation of the damage and they can also prove that the damage is fresh. Check the roof for any obvious damages.

Do Not Walk On A Wet Roof

We do not recommend walking on the roof. The roof can be a slippery, dangerous place. Contact a professional for a roof inspection to asses damage. You can also spot damage to the roof with a pair of binoculars and a little distance.

If your home is in a subdivision, simply cross the street to the opposing sidewalk and inspect the roof with binoculars. Through binoculars note any damage to the shingles on the roof, like shingles are peeled upward or there are small white or faded areas where the hailstones have damaged the shingle.

Replace the standard asphalt shingles with beauty and strength

If you do need to have a roof replaced, consider a new roof with DECRA panels that have the strength of a steel roof. They classic look of a shingled roof, or a roof covered with shakes. These panels are built for strength and hold up well to the frenetic weather systems of our city. The panels can be purchased to look like shingles in four different color options.

Shake panels can be purchased in two different color options that have the look of real roof shakes. Contact us today for all of your roofing and siding needs.

Window Replacement Billings MT

Montana’s climate is unpredictable, with the possibility of temperatures varying between ninety degrees one day to just above freezing the next. And, while the nuances in the weather are one reason that many Montana residents love their home state, knowing that the weather is entirely unpredictable is a concern for the homeowner who is in the process of building a brand new home.

The windows throughout the home, for instance, are responsible for protecting and insulating the homeowner from the elements, and the homeowner involved in a new build has the opportunity to choose the windows that will work best for their lifestyle and the overall efficiency of the home.

While the look of the windows will represent the style of the homeowner and the volume of the windows throughout the home will contribute to the amount of light being allowed in the home, understanding the windows insulating capabilities is also a very important aspect when deciding which windows are appropriate for the Montana climate.

Window Replacement Billings MT

Windows are rated for their insulation capabilities by a value called the U-Factor. The U-factor is a number that represents the combined insulating factor of the window frame, the glaze on the glass panes, and the spacer that separates the glass panes. The lower the number of the U-Factor, the more efficient the windows.

For climates like Montana, windows should have a U-Factor of .30 and below, and many of today’s highly efficient double pane windows will perform to these standards. Some triple paned windows have a U-Factor of .15 and below, and are some of the most efficient windows ever built.

Also, widows have a number that determines the amount of solar heat gain, and this number is defined by the abbreviation SHGC. And, while the efficiency of the windows in the Montana climate should be at or below .30, the SHGC should be greater than 0.6 to maximize the possible solar heat gain on the colder wintry days. Also, it is important to consider where the windows are placed because the efficiency needs for the home are different in accordance with the daily angle of the sun.

Contact Lynnrich today for all of your window replacement needs!

 

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If you have any questions about seamless siding for your home, call Lynnrich Siding today.

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How to Protect Your Siding from Moisture

The siding of your home serves as the primary defense against all manner of weather, pests, wind, mold, and mildew – but moisture is something that can quickly compromise even high-quality siding. This means that you need to do everything possible to protect your siding from moisture, so that your siding can continue to protect you from all those other things.

Since your siding also acts as a kind of external skin to your house, you could very easily miss any damage which may have occurred beneath the skin. Here are some steps you can take to shield your siding from moisture damage, so it can continue to effectively perform its intended function.

Keep nearby shrubbery trimmed

While everyone can appreciate the aesthetic value that trees and shrubs bring to a home’s exterior, any of them which are planted too close to the house can potentially lead to moisture damage. Leaves and branches retain water, and when they brush up against the siding, they can drop that moisture off on your house, where it can seep in. Leaves also release water vapor into the air via tiny pores, and proximity to the house can cause that moisture to be released right into the siding.

Direct sprinkler heads away from the house

This might sound obvious, but you should be careful about the direction of sprinkler heads as they water the lawn or the flower bed. Make sure that even at its furthest point of projection, the sprinkler can’t reach the siding of your home, because if it does, that water will be absorbed into the siding and damage may occur.

Keep gutters clear

If your gutters become clogged with debris, they won’t be able to carry out their primary function, which is to direct water away from your house’s siding and foundation. Check for debris every couple months, and clean the gutters when any kind of debris begins accumulating. This is especially important in the fall, when trees begin to shed their leaves.

Don’t let snow or ice pile up

In the winter time, snow can accumulate into piles wherever it gets directed, and if that happens to be up against your house, some of it will melt and seep in. If snow piles up against the house itself, make sure to gently shovel it away, so no scraping or scoring occurs to the siding.

If you have any questions about a steel siding for your home, call Lynnrich Siding today.

Differences Between Horizontal and Vertical Siding

Though it may seem as if the differences between horizontal and vertical siding are incredibly simple and obvious (i.e. one runs horizontally along the lines of a building and the other runs vertically), there is a lot more to the story. Let’s take a few minutes to understand these differences and recognize which is the best solution for your building or remodeling needs.

While you may be in the very earliest stages of a project, such as just now beginning to plan a remodel or construction, you still need to consider all of the variables. As a simple illustration of this, just ask yourself if your siding is to be wood, vinyl, or another material. What sort of insulation and R-value will it have? What about colors and textures?

As you already see or know, deciding how to hang the siding is just one of the options. It may, initially seem like a minor detail, and yet it does make a big difference in the appearance of the property.

Horizontal siding is the iconic or “classic” way to for builders and homeowners to position the material. Simple, fast and easily done, it can save a lot of time and money. Yet, there are a few downsides that most don’t hear much about. For example, it is more prone to water damage over time, and it can also become dislodged more easily and allow water and damage. It is not as easy to clean as vertical siding, though both involve a time-consuming process.

Vertical siding gives a property a more modern and edgy appearance, and is possible with almost any common siding material. As indicated, it is easier to clean but it is a bit more complex to install and usually requires furring strips that create a water tight mount.

So, if you are curious about the differences between horizontal and vertical siding, they are simply that vertical can take more time and have more material costs. However, vertical siding gives a property a unique look and is far more waterproof and easier to clean. If you are going for “classic” and affordable, go with horizontal, but if you want edgy and easy to clean, vertical may be for you!

If you have any questions about a steel siding for your home, call Lynnrich Siding today.