Simple and eye catching Seattle siding.

I’ve seen this narrow plank open joint rain-screen siding before but usually on commercial buildings.  I was struck by the look of this new house as I walked out of a coffee shop meeting in Seattle. There are some obvious benefits to this rain screen Seattle siding system.    New aesthetic possibilities, low maintenance and the ability to breath like a skin.

This house exemplifies the possibilities that exist with using a rain screen Seattle siding system.  From a distance the house looks like any other house with horizontal siding.  As you get closer you notice the shadow lines that are the open joints between the siding planks.  You will also notice the corner detail is not your typical corner batten but a piece of galvanized flashing.  There are many ways to use the rain screen seattle siding system to develop different siding looks.

The siding system on the house pictured is a “rain screen” system.  It consists of weather resistant barrier (WRB) applied over the wall sheathing, vertical furring strips (typically 1/2?-3/4? thick) and pre colored horizontal fiber cement plank siding.  Using the pre-colored fiber cement seattle siding makes for a faster installation and lends itself to lower maintenance as factory paint is usually more robust than those applied on site.

The rain screen siding system also allows the building envelope to “breath”.  Since the system is relatively open water can not get trapped and is allowed to be eliminated naturally through drainage, evaporation etc.  The biggest problem in water intrusion events is the water can not escape and rot develops and insects move in causing damage.  With the rain screen siding design a professional WRB installation is paramount to its effectiveness.

Siding can be done correctly or incorrectly as a traditional system or a rainscreen system.  Each system has its place as an appropriate building envelope depending on the project.  This house caught my eye because of the interesting textures at play on the exterior, the low maintenance implications of the design and the use of the rain screen sding design.

Synapse Construction LLC – Siding and window replacement in and around Seattle one quality project at a time.