Bob meets Lance Olson of Louisiana Pacific as LP's Smartside lap siding is installed on a Mashpee house. SmartSide is a treated engineered wood siding made of medium density oriented strand board (MDO) with a textured face that is embossed during manufacture. It's rough, cedar-look texture is intended to mirror recent cladding trends as homebuilders have started to turn boards rough side out to give texture to the facade and also provide a better surface for paint. SmartSide is very affordable and cost effective at about one-half the cost of traditional wood siding. It is engineered for its look and durability, is treated with zinc borate to resist fungal growth and termites, and resin bonded for stability. The manufacturing essentially takes the wood, removes its defects such as knots and splits, then reassembles it as a stronger, more stable product. It is a uniform thickness throughout and comes in 16-foot lengths for quick installation. SmartSide comes with a seven-year total warranty and a 30-year transferable warranty for material and labor. It comes pre-primed from the factory for additional labor savings and has a full line of trim to complete the installation. This New England home is using classic trim designs for corners and windows, with a frieze that extends from the roof line to the window, and window casing on the sides that meet the frieze at the top.

Bob visits Two Harbors, MN where Charles Bradford, VP of manufacturing, takes him on a tour of the plant where Louisiana Pacific manufactures their Smart System brand of exterior trim products.

Bob meets painting contractor Brian Giblin at the Florida cottage and discusses prep options on the badly weathered exterior wood siding.

The skin of the modular home is finished with windows from Pella. The Pella double-hung Architect Series six over one design was chosen for the project. The upper window is a simulated divided pane. The muntin bars on both sides of the double pane glass are adhered directly to the glass and additional muntin grills/dividers are installed between the two panes to give the appearance of six individual panes. Most of the modular home pieces will by delivered to the home site without siding, however one section is being sided with a board and batten product from Georgia-Pacific. It reflects an old design where large vertical boards were used to side a building then smaller boards were used to cover the gaps between these. In our application, instead of using vertical boards we are using four by eight sheets of engineered wood siding, which has a thirty-year warranty. Then battens are a product called PrimeTrim, also from Georgia Pacific, that are cut in half and used to simulate the traditional look. Both products come primed from the manufacturer.

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personal satisfaction. Three years ago, Jane Green found herself living in a house she once loved but no longer did; in a failing marriage; and at a crossroads where she could either stick with the same, old misery or choose an exciting yet scary fresh start.

People want to get that spa retreat feel out of their bathrooms, says Mark Karas, president-elect of the National Kitchen and Bath Association, which owns the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show and Conference, the largest gathering of kitchen and bath suppliers, designers and ideas.

An updated kitchen can make cooking and cleaning easier and let you enjoy the space more. Kitchen improvements are also most likely to create an impression on prospective homebuyers and bring a high return when you sell your home.

The backsplash is the perfect union of form and function in the kitchen. As its name indicates, the backsplash protects the kitchen wall from damage and cooking messes. It also provides an easier surface to clean than drywall.