Plank homes

DickR · 03-28-2014, 11:29 AM

It sounds like the realtor may not know an awful lot about either the house or "plank siding." You need to press for details. If you google on "plank siding" all sorts of things pop up. Of course, there is HardiPlank fiber-cement siding, but you spoke of all wood, perhaps just ship-lapped wood siding, sort of like cedar clapboards. Wood has a nominal R value of around 1 per inch of thickness. You really need to know what the wall structure is, what is inside the cavity for insulation, and how tight the whole assembly is. Ask for how the house is heated, and for a year's heating bills.

In this climate (zone 6), you don't want a poorly insulated, drafty house. You'll be very uncomfortable in something like that. You might think of having an energy audit done on any house you consider buying, complete with blower door test, to get a real pro's assessment of how winter-proof the house is. Just looking it over yourself in warm weather likely won't tell you much about how that house will feel in a winter like the one we've just had.

Ideally, you'd design and oversee the building of your own house, to tight, superinsulation standards (or at least Energy Star level), or find someone who can give you that. Remember, "built to code" is the bare minimum to pass a good inspection, a grade just above failing in any academic course, and many houses wouldn't come anywhere near meeting even the 2006 IRC.

03-28-2014, 11:29 AM	#3
DickR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 765 Thanks: 4 Thanked 260 Times in 172 Posts	It sounds like the realtor may not know an awful lot about either the house or "plank siding." You need to press for details. If you google on "plank siding" all sorts of things pop up. Of course, there is HardiPlank fiber-cement siding, but you spoke of all wood, perhaps just ship-lapped wood siding, sort of like cedar clapboards. Wood has a nominal R value of around 1 per inch of thickness. You really need to know what the wall structure is, what is inside the cavity for insulation, and how tight the whole assembly is. Ask for how the house is heated, and for a year's heating bills. In this climate (zone 6), you don't want a poorly insulated, drafty house. You'll be very uncomfortable in something like that. You might think of having an energy audit done on any house you consider buying, complete with blower door test, to get a real pro's assessment of how winter-proof the house is. Just looking it over yourself in warm weather likely won't tell you much about how that house will feel in a winter like the one we've just had. Ideally, you'd design and oversee the building of your own house, to tight, superinsulation standards (or at least Energy Star level), or find someone who can give you that. Remember, "built to code" is the bare minimum to pass a good inspection, a grade just above failing in any academic course, and many houses wouldn't come anywhere near meeting even the 2006 IRC.