Pao 14, Whlby Fise Pmas. Wokesday. Juno 14.,19Ç)5 A HOME DESIGN AND IMPROVEMENT FEATURE M Alurninum and vinyl sid..ing Youve decided on siding for yeur , home, and want the cogivenionceo<f a low-maintonance material coupled with a choeoe of textures, stylos and colours. If thatea narrowed your options down te vinyl or alulminurn, a look at the. characteristicet of the two materials. Alinnui ha bon a building-matarial aaple for yoars, and once covered ýan ostimated 10 r1 cent cf North Amorican ores. That figure' drppped ccnSiderably toay, with much of amt would once have been covored -in aluininuni now clad in the. newer vinyl -sding Taday you can buy vinyl and alumnirm iding in a variety of widtha, dosgtos, textures and coloura. Horizontal or vertical, the choice à yoeirs. Wmyl siding, perticularly, can match just about ail architoctural styles. Historical homes have been clad completely in vinyl right down te fine docorativo vinyl molinge and have managed te, keep their peonod look intact. Both aluniinum and vmoyl are appliod ini much the same way, and both are availale with, insultated backing, or desiged te, take drap-m panelIs of insulation. Bocause aluminuni is a poor inaulator, ie t en put up ovor rigid insulation. Patterns on vinyl may ho ahailower dhmnon auim, but the two finishes do loakdifnlar. Vinyl in more fleible than alurinum andthorefore easier te, work with, but bath tae.Iots of cutting and fitting for a firet-class jub. If --vinyrs pton' an irnproporfly y ae wall, unovonnew myshwthroughb more than wit aluminum, and incorrect fitting (vinyl expanda andconftractawit. expoure ta temperature extremes) can make it snap under a. sharpblow. (h it can buckle, which can alo happen to aluninum in the heat of tii.esmmer smn. Whube vinyl won't take bumpe and knocka weil in extreimely cold weathor, it does have a high rosistance te dents. Becaue colour runs through the whole panel, chipgpig anot a probleni, bLut sme coluramay ho prone to fading more thon others. Tihe colour of oluminum siding cames fr-on enamel that's baloed on at a factory. This finish can chip and 'pool if the siding is dented, which can happen far more easlly with metta with plastic i a stray baseba]l or even. a heavy hailstorm cornes aluminum!s way. Scratches too can ho a problem, but lik.o vinyl, aluminum siding panels cen ho removed and replaced without too much trouble. Theres loue wind noise transmitted with vixiyl than with aluminum, but aluminum is fire- Cleaning vinyl cmi ho accomplished with eoap and wator. It maintains that "new" look for years. More -work is noessery to spruce up aluminuro, which can fil victim to fading and, in sanie climates, chalkng. This je what happons when paint sheda pigment and leavos behind a fine powder. Ini excessive cases the siding the paint.is supposed to protect can b e exposed. Savîng, the p.ast for thle fuiture Cleanng brick and stone By Whitly MCAC Doos the brick or atone on your building or houa. reaily need te ho clooned? Before deciding, think twice because it is often unnecessarY. By uning the wrong method, more damage can ho don. te a mosonry surface in one day's cleaning thon a cenItury of normal weathering. Bildings are muSaly leaned to, nake thiem look new. But why aiiould an old. building look brand new? The character <f a building inslbut when yoez romove ail the. Signa of aging. On the othen hand, dirt and pollutants may han the. masonry. Bo romave harnil stains and sooty grime as much as posible, andîsave the. naturel charocter <f the building that comes with age. Cleaning contractors have several cbaniffg techniques. Choose the. one that ia but for your "uilding the gentbest possble metd thoat wil give an acceptabe level dflolies GiéenrMy, thore are three groupa of cleaing niethoda: *Water aftmeatiiedirt and rinSes deposits fron the surace. e Chemical cloaners: roact with the. dirt and/or maaonry te remove deposita, tlhen tiie depoits and excesa chemicala are rinsed away witii water.I *Abrasive methoda include sandblastin and using grinders and sanding diusto, reniove tiie dirt. Once the. mont common mothod of éleaning was sandblasting. This resulted in widespread damage to the. brick and atoe buildings of North Americo., Today, the. probloma of eandblasting are comnionlyknown, and there has been a Mhi f chemicol cleaning. Often, surface dirt can ho cleaned off many kinds of masonry using low-pr.wure water jota and a ligiit srubbing with a brush. If wator brushing -proves insufficiont, a spociahst, may roconvmond usinig an aikline chemical produl4t on limestone and merble. An acid cleaner is generally used'te sandatone. This 'material is particularly difficult te clean bocause <f the strong bonds hotweon the dirt and the. stone's minerai surfaces. Test several mnethods, beginning witii the gentlest, te determine which technique gives an acceptable level <f leanliness. Homeowners should seek the assistanoe of an outaide expert in conducting these tests. Tii. potential onvfromnental effectsa nd health danger of each proposéd cleaning method shioud also ho carefuily -evaluated. Cheniical cleaneers* can cause serious injury te cleaming operator and even thoe pssng by. Trees, shrubs, grass, plants, and animal lif. may aso h affected& Mechanical methode Of removing dirt croate airborne dust that can.also pose a serious health hazard. Cleaning niasonry witii water is generaily, the simplest operation, the safest for the building and the environment and the least expensive; unfortunately, it' is the least considered metiiod. For more information about Cieaniung masonry, contact the Loceal Architectural, Conservation- Advisory Comxmttee (LACAC) at Aok or Caty Pwerat the planning department. LACAC is a committee that aduisea Whi*by council on heritoge matters. THE OLDDominion Bank building wasf irst painted over the brick in 1928.- In 1980 the brickwork of the upper two storeys was cleaned with chemicals. Compare it as it looks.now, with this photograph taken in 194>0 before thie paint was removed. Now the Silver Thimble Ouit Shoppe, the building is at the corner of Brook and Dundas streets. W lyArcWies photo