Your home exterior finish. A cornice can be any horizontal decorative trim located at the top of any building or architectural element. The term cornice comes from the Italian cornice, meaning “ledge.” A cornice usually refers to the horizontal decorative trim at the top of an exterior wall and below the roof edge of a building, but a cornice can be over a door or window. The function of the projecting cornice is to throw rainwater free of a building’s walls. At a residential home, this function is handled by projecting gable ends, roof eaves and gutters. The cornice may include decorative trim. Highly decorative trim is often called an entablature.
Quoins are used as a detail at the corner of two walls. Quoins typically project from the face of the walls on both sides of the corner. Quoins can function as the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be structural, or may be simply decorative. The most common form of decorative use for quoins is as an alternating pattern of rectangular blocks that wrap around the wall, mimicking the pattern of stone blocks or bricks as they would wrap around a corner and thus join the two walls.
A double-hung window has two operable sashes that move. Many older and historical homes have double-hung windows. This window is a traditional style of window in the U.S. The window has two parts (sashes) that overlap slightly and slide up and down inside the frame. Most new double-hung sash windows use spring balances to support the sashes. Traditionally, counterweights were used. The weights are attached to the sashes using pulleys of either a cord or chain. An awning window is a casement window that is hinged at the top. The window hangs horizontally by the hinges. It swings outward like an awning. It typically opens outward and operates with a crank.
Siding is the exterior wall covering or cladding of a house. It is the “skin” of a house’s exterior. Its primary function is to keep out the weather and provide the building’s aesthetic look. It protects against wind, rain and snow. It takes a blow from a baseball or the scraping from a tree branch. Apart from providing the external appearance of the house, the primary function of cladding is to protect the structure from weather, particularly to shed rainwater. This may be achieved by using one of the following:
porous materials. Porous materials, such as brick, absorb water during rain and subsequently dry out. If the wall is thick and the permeability is low, the water will not penetrate during a rainstorm. A cavity is normally designed in the wall of porous materials to provide a pathway for possible water intrusion; sealed construction. Impermeable siding materials permit the intrusion of water only at the joints. Sealing the joints creates an impermeable layer that is continuous; or
a rainscreen. The purpose of a rainscreen siding material is to protect the wall from direct rain. The joints may allow some water penetration, but an air gap and water-resistant barrier behind the siding limit the penetration. An air gap with ventilation is designed into the wall to encourage drying out.
There are many different types of siding. As an inspector, you may see a wide variety of materials installed on the outside of houses. Siding may be made of wood, metal, plastic (vinyl), masonry, or composite materials. It may be attached directly to the building’s structure or to an intermediate layer of sheathing. You may see shingles or shakes, bricks or stone, aluminum or vinyl, or combinations of siding materials on the same home. You may see siding that is painted or stained, or wood siding on top of brick, or stucco installed on top of steel siding materials. You may see wood siding installed vertically, horizontally or diagonally.
Vinyl siding has always been designed as an exterior cladding, not a water-resistant barrier.
Vinyl siding is designed to allow the material underneath it to breathe; therefore, it is not a watertight covering. Vinyl siding provides a supplemental rainscreen that enhances the water-resistive barrier system by reducing the amount of water that reaches the underlying water-resistant barrier.
Many siding problems are caused by improperly applied paint. Paint on siding may blister, peel, crack, fade or chalk. Some paint problems are caused by interior moisture that passes through the wall and lifts the paint. Semi-transparent, oil-based stains can be applied to wood siding. Most beveled wood sidings have one rough-sawn side that absorbs paint and stain well. Unlike paint, stains do not lift (blister), peel, crack or chalk. Some woods can be allowed to weather without any stain applied. Vertical-grain, all-heartwood redwood and cedar are two ideal woods used for exterior siding.
During your home inspection a professional home inspector will carefully inspect the exterior of your home and note any deficiencies. The Barrie Home Inspector has experience with most types of siding and with over 4,000 inspections performed is a premier home inspector in the Barrie, Alliston and Orillia area.