Homeowners in Hawaii know that the protection of the Hawaii home includes regular checks for termite activity and also work to prevent wood rot. Wood rot starts when fungus and mildew spores gain a foothold on exposed wood surfaces that are part of a home, including walls, eave overhangs, exposed beams, fascia boards and skirting trim. Once wood rot is established on the home, the process of treating and controlling termites also becomes more difficult since ground termites eat moist wood and also need an above-ground source of water to survive and thrive above the nest. Simply put, termites love wood rot, and usually these two conditions go hand in hand.
One of the best things residents can do to protect their home is to prevent moisture from reaching wood. Everyone knows that a leaking roof or leaking windows will lead to problems with rot and termites. The same principle applies to wood walls and exposed wood surfaces. If we keep the walls of a home dry, the chances of wood rot conditions to develop are minimized. The wood is better preserved, and will resist rot and termite infestation.
Properly installed vinyl siding is one of the best deterrents against wood-rot conditions available, setting up a water-tight, moisture-proof barrier between the exterior weather conditions and the wood parts of a home. If our walls stay dry, and if they can breathe freely to exhale interior moisture, they will remain free of rot. Vinyl siding is the perfect solution for this challenge, and it’s engineered to include weep holes in the system that allow for proper ventilation of the interior of the home wood parts, while keeping the rain and moisture off of the surface of the walls and wood. For this reason it is best not to install a vapor barrier behind the siding, or insulation materials, since these will suffocate the wood and trap humidity with moisture inside the home walls. Tropical Wholesale has projects dating back to 1976 that are still in great exterior shape today — but more importantly when we check the areas behind the siding, which can be done with the flexible materials we use, the wood is perfectly preserved.
Tropical Wholesale employees often hear the question “but what happens when termites get behind the siding?” Our answer is that it makes no difference to termites if your home has siding or not, as they will attack any wood structure. Siding will help to reduce the incidence of termite activity if properly installed, but such activity is simply a part of home ownership in Hawaii. Siding can help to eliminate the conditions that make the prospect of termite infestation more likely, including decaying wood, rotting surfaces and aboveground, moisture-saturating wood parts of the home. And with a premium siding product, the home will remain maintenance-free, and will never need painting again because it is backed by a lifetime limited warranty that covers fading, peeling, warping, denting, blistering, discol-oration and cracking. No other product provides a better value for the average Hawaii home in terms of protection, savings and attractive finish.
Having installed vinyl siding products on more than 5,000 plus residences statewide over the past 30 years, Tropical Wholesale is a qualified expert today that consistently helps homeowners protect and improve their homes. Hawaii’s homeowners owe it to themselves to give vinyl siding another look before the next paint job. Call Tropical Wholesale today at 263-1252 or 292-2941.
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