Wood is a great, natural, and beautiful material for almost anything. Cutting them up into planks and using them as sidings for your home's exterior would give your property a better curb appeal, especially when you have good roofing shingles, doors, windows, and other decor to complement it. The only problem with wood is that it attracts a lot of termites, which San Antonio, Texas has a lot of.
According to MySanAntonio.com contributor Forrest Mims, termites have been going around Texas for some time now. Homeowners should keep a wary eye on them, especially if they have a lot of wood in their homes.
Termites like chomping on wood to get to the cellulose inside. Having furniture, walls, and ceilings made of this material is like offering them an invitation to a free all-you-can-eat buffet. If you don't recognize telltale signs of infestation in time, these insects could already considerably damage your property before you manage to do something about it.
Looking for termites is relatively easy, even if doing so would take up a lot of time and patience. A couple of signs to watch out for include hollowed-out parts of wood materials or furniture, mud tunnels that lead to a home's sidings or windows, and sawdust in different areas around the home. You can hire an exterminator to help you look for them, but killing the bugs now wouldn't necessarily get rid of them forever.
To help keep termites from infesting a house, San Antonio siding contractors like Southwest Exteriors also recommend that homeowners install HardiPlank siding. Although HardiPlank contains both cement and cellulose fibers from wood, the amount of cellulose in it is too little to attract the attention of termites. Plus, since HardiPlank resembles the look and feel of natural wood, homeowners can still achieve the aesthetic effects they want, even if they use this product.
When compared to vinyl siding, HardiPlank also offers a couple of advantages. For example, aside from being thicker, HardiPlank is easier to paint and maintain. All in all, wood and vinyl materials are like polar opposites because one material is premium and expensive while the other is more common and cheaper. If you're looking for a middle ground between them, follow the advice of siding contractors in San Antonio, TX and choose HardiPlank.