Take a look at our collection of 12 types of home exteriors design and find the best one that meets your personal need by knowing the prices, pros, and cons of each.
Exterior is the representation of a home from the outside. It gives a glance of what is in the inside, while improving the“street appeal”. It adds warmth, tone color, shape harmony, and even ambience to the home, causing people to turn attention to it.
Besides the representation, exterior also serves as the protection of a home from external factors such as weathers and climates, which undoubtedly comes to be the main function of building a home itself. That is why the materials of the exteriors need to be taken into consideration as well.
Actually, many materials are available to choose from, yet we have to think of the durability and flexibility of the materials along with their installation and water resistance, referring them to home siding.
After considering those factors, we have to concern over the cost and the maintenance. Some of the home exteriors require proper maintenance and cost quite high due to the materials and skilled installation, while others can be managed by DIY and treated occasionally.
Well, let’s check out the 12 types of home exteriors.
- Board and Batten
Description:
Board and batten, or barn siding, becomes one of the types of home exteriors that uses wood as the main exterior material. It is among classic exteriors and principally made of joint broad boards and a batten, a thin wood piece, is placed at the joining points of two broad boards in order to hide the gaps and to create vertical designs. The home exterior lets you to use boards with varied lengths. Often used in this exterior are the woods of redwood, fir, cedar, and pine. In addition to them, vinyl and engineered wood are also applicable.
Cost:
The cost of one board normally ranges from $2.05 to $2.38.
Pros:
- The house will appear to be taller as this exterior emphasizes a vertical design.
- There are some options of building materials to use: real or engineered wood and vinyl.
- The benefits of using wood are simple installation and maintenance.
- The size of woodand the installation of boards (vertically or horizontally) are based on personal preference.
- Resistant to pests, vinyl has varying colors and does not decay.
Cons:
- Wood with poor quality and little treatment may be exposed to decay and pest infestation.
- Vinyl may be not so durable as wood and Eco-unfriendly when thrown away, and it may break by sunlight.
- Brick
Description:
Brick has been used for a long time and noted for its less treatment and durability. It varies in color, size, and texture, causing it to become well liked. In this exterior, brick veneer and mortar can be mixed together provided that brick isat a high price.Where this brick veneer is usually applied is on the outside of the wooden frame.
Cost:
The price of full brick goes from $6 to $10 per square foot, yet it sometimes rises up to $12.While brick veneer varies from $4 to $6. The installation cost is not included within these costs. It may be high, mainly following the fact that full brick has to be installed by professional ones.
Pros:
- The brick exterior can be maintained by washing it occasionally.
- It can endure for more than one hundred years if maintained well.
Cons:
- The material and installation of brick is high-priced. Therefore, you should consider to use brick veneer.
- Concrete
Description:
Concrete generally consists of cement, sand, gravel, and water. They all are combined in certain portions, resulting in a paste which can harden if dried.This material provides a long-lasting home exterior.
Cost:
Concrete costs from $3.25 to $5.25 per square foot, depending on the size and complexity.
Pros:
- The concrete home exterior can last until 100 years and beyond.
- The maintenance is at a low cost.
- This exterior is resistant to fire and invurnerable to various kinds of disasters like tornado, hurricane, blizzard, and flood.
- Insulating properties in the concrete exterior reduce heating and cooling costs.
- Concrete can be made into different forms as the solutions to design and attractiveness.
Cons:
- The installation costs high.
- Glass
Description:
Glass allows natural light from surroundings to come in and, at the same time, protects the occupants of the home from the ultraviolet light. Likewise, well made glass should be in use to cope with catastrophes like storm and wind.
Cost:
Based on the framing and glazing, the cost starts from $700 to $1600 per one linear foot.
Pros:
- It lets natural light to go in, contributing to a beautifully illuminated living space.
- It creates an air-tight and energy-efficient home since the home stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
- The home is waterproof as moisture is blocked by sealant.
Cons:
- Privacy is at stake.
- It needs to be cleaned regularly.
- The costs of glass and its installation are normally high.
- Log
Description:
The log exterior generally uses the woods of cedar, redwood, cypress, and pine, causing a home to seem rustic and like a cabin. Log needs drying and treating for great endurance.In the use, paint or coat is usually put on the log to look colorful or natural.
Cost
Log estimatedly costs from $3 to $8 per sq ft.
Pros:
- The home looks rustic.
- With high-quality log and careful maintenance, the log exterior can last long.
Cons:
- Log, accompanied by its installation and treatment, costs relatively high.
- Regular maintenance is required to prevent log from being decayed and infested by insects.
- Metal
Description:
As the name says, metals such as zinc, aluminum, steel, and copper become the main materials of building this exterior. The reasons are that they can stand with extreme conditions as in seaside and snowy settings, that they can be shaped into various forms, and that they have other versatility. In contrast, they suffer from their drawbacks as they can be flecked with rust.
Cost:
Each material differs in cost and the installation commonly ranges from $4 to $8 per square foot.
Pros:
- Metals are fireproof, durable, and long-lasting.
- Paint can be applied on them.
- It does not bend and suffer an exposure to pest infestation.
- It sends back the heat of sunlight to the air, making the home remain cool in the summer.
Cons:
- Weathers might affect several metals like copper and steel.
- Being soft, aluminum tends to be faded and dented when rock and hail hit them.
- Steel feels heavy and uneasy to install; the installation cost rises.
- It also cannot keep the home so warm during winter that the bill for heating increases.
- Repainting is needed when the color fades away.
- Shingle
Description:
A roof covering, shingles comprise individual overlapping wood blocks. The blocks, most commonly red cedar and redwood, are produced by a machine to uniform them in shape and texture. The shingle exterior has been known for its old rural look and nature-friendly design.
Cost:
The cost is around $7,200 per 2000 square foot, depending on the home’s size and location.
Pros:
- Shingles create such a rustic look to the home, which makes it seem matched up with the surrounding areas like woodlands and waterfronts.
- Compared to stone and brick sidings, they are at a lower cost.
- With proper treatment, they can survive as long as those sidings.
- Staining is required every 3 years, while painting every 6 years.
Cons:
- Painting and caulking need to be done regularly to prevent damage to shingles from weathers.
- Set in a moist area, they need additional mildew repellents. Mildew can grow if they are not well treated.
- They are also exposed to damages inflicted by insects such as fading, warping, curling, and even cracking.
- Looseness may happen to them through time.
- Stone
Description:
The stone exterior frequently uses stones like slate, granite, limestone, or other natural stones. Initially, it is high at cost, but durable in use and less in maintenance. Also, a rustic look marks the use of this home exterior, and texture often appears when granite and limestone are used.
Since natural stones cost relatively high, stone veneers are chosen by a group of house holders, noticing that the cost is more affordable and that the installation is more simple.
Cost:
The average cost of natural stones goes around $18 per sq ft. On the other hand, stone veneers only range from $4 to $10 per sq ft.
Pros:
- A lot of treatment is not needed after it is installed.
- It gives a natural look and texture to the home.
- It is insusceptible to weather changes.
Cons:
- It needs enormous cost for the material along with its installation.
- The cost increases if professional skills are required during the installation.
- Stucco
Description:
Generally, stucco combines some materials such as cement, sand, and lime. It is also possible that other materials go into the mixture.To get this exterior, the mixture is then applied on surfaces of the entire house, e.g. brick, stone, or wood.
A number of ways can be set when applying it to embellish the architecture. For instance, stucco is applied and made into varying shapes and textures.
Cost:
The average cost of stucco is between $6 to $9 per sq ft.
Pros:
- It is durable if installed properly and maintained carefully.
- It reduces the costs for heating and cooling as the home is both cased and insulated.
- It is fire-resistant; a fire retardant is no longer needed.
Cons:
- It does not fit into damp settings or wet areas.
- It costs much in the initial installation.
- Vinyl Siding
Description:
A synthetic material, vinyl comes to be noted for its low cost, simple treatment, durability, and versatility. There are many colors and shapes available to choose from, e.g. shingles, shakes, lap,horizontal panels, vertical panels, beaded designs, and fish scales. Additionally, vinyl can resemble to the natural looks of home exterior materials like shingles and stone.
Cost:
The cost ranges from $.65 to $2.00 per sq ft.
Pros:
- It requires infrequent washing and less maintenance.
- The installation can be done by a DIY; the cost gets reduced.
- It is available in different colors and designs.
- The color is not going to fade.
Cons:
- The synthetic look may not suit nature conservationists.
- It is a non-biodegradable synthetic material, so recycling is very much needed.
- Extreme weathers like winds and low and high temperatures can cause damage to it.
- Wood – Horizontal Strips
Description:
As stated in the name, this home exterior is created by placing thin wood strips horizontally. In a few cases, groove and tongue are used to accompany them. Commonly found in the exterior are the woods of spruce, pine, cypress, and Douglas fir, giving the home a rural feel.
Cost:
The average cost starts from $5 to $10 per sq ft.
Pros:
- Wood adds a rustic feel to the home, enhancing the street appeal.
- It is environmentally friendly.
- Paint and stain can be applied on it.
Cons:
- Proper maintenance is required to prevent damages from rot, mold, warp, crack, or split.
- Repainting and restaining are needed within three to six years.
- It is fairly costly, especially if rot-resistant woods such as cedar and redwood are used.
- It gets exposed to damages caused by water and pests.
- Wood – Vertical Strips
Description:
In this home exterior, the wood strips are set in a vertical position in order to accentuate the home’s height. Similar to the horizontal strips, they are often united with groove and tongue. Cypress, pine, and spruce are among the common woods used to create this exterior.
Cost:
The average cost per square foot ranges from $6 to $10.
Pros:
- It gives a unique appearance to the home.
- It is Eco-friendly.
- Vertical strips are much easier to clean than horizontal ones, which saves home owners a lot of time and money.
Cons:
- The installation is more difficult than that of the horizontal strips.
- Furring strips need to be installed as the protection against water leakage and future damage, leading to the cost increase.
- A future occupant or buyer may dislike the unconventional appearance.
Comparing the pros and cross of each along with the costs, you should have decided to pick one out of the 12 types of home exteriors design, just write down your pick and let us know!
