Why does Paint Stay on Hardiplank longer than on wood? Houston Austin

Paint lasts longer on Hardie
Wood products respond to the high humidity in our area by a constant process of expanding and shrinking. As the moisture content in our air (and boy do we get humidity!) increases, wood expands. When the air dries out, wood contracts or shrinks.

Since paint is applied over the wood, paint has to expand/stretch and shrink with the wood. Thankfully, latex has some elasticity to it but, over time, paint will eventually lose it's grip on the wood surface.

Applying wood to your home is like buying something that you know requires more maintenance! You will have to take care of this "high maintenance" product often - every 3 to 5 years!

James Hardie Hardiplank Siding on the other hand, is not susceptible to the same cycle of expansion and contraction! With much less movement in the hardie siding as a result of reactions to humidity, paint lasts a real long time on hardie! Two, three and FOUR times longer. So instead of painting every 3-5 years, paint on hardie will last 10 years or more!

• Hardie lasts longer than wood
• Does not rot
• Does not get termites
• Has factory applied primer
• Looks like wood
• Does not shrink and expand with our humidity
• AND COSTS LESS THAN WOOD!

Clearly, replacing your wood siding and trim with Hardie Siding and Trim and then painting with two coats of a high quality paint like All-Tex Exteriors uses in Houston and Austin areas - Sherwin-Williams Superpaint, is a much better solution!

Get rid of the wood and solve the problem once and for all! Call All-Tex Exteriors for all your hardiplank and exterior painting needs in the Houston and Austin areas.

How to Choose Coastal Hurricane Impact Windows - Houston, Galveston

How to Choose Coastal Hurricane Impact Windows - Houston, Galveston

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Hardiplank Siding Austin, TX

It's time to get rid of the rotten wood on your house!

The hot, humid climate here in Texas contributes to and accelerates the decay of our homes. Wood siding, put on by the builder 15 years and more ago, has been getting dry rot and termites. Contributing to the fast decay is siding that has not been kept painted and caulked. If you replace wood with wood, you are not fixing the problem!

Vinyl? Aluminum? Fiber Cement?
There are several different choices out there and all are better than replacing wood with wood. Here are a few reasons NOT to choose vinyl or aluminum:

• Vinyl is very thin, tears easily and is not a significant insulator.
• Vinyl is too lightweight and can just peel off the house in high winds.
• Vinyl is difficult if not impossible to repaint.
• Aluminum a poor insulator against heat gain. It is a heat conductor.
• Aluminum dents from impact and difficult to repair.
• Both are often placed right over the rotten bug infested wood! HIDING not SOLVING the problem!

It's time for a real solution!
Hardiplank siding by James Hardie Company is a real solution. Wood should be replaced with a product that does not change the look of the house much while solving all the problems of wood. Consider:

• Hardie is a Fiber Cement product. Cellulose fibers, Silica, Cement.
• Has deep rich cedar looking wood grain.
• Rot and bug resistant.
• Fire, impact and moisture resistant.
• Is easily repaired.
• Is easily repainted.

All-Tex Exteriors in Austin, TX is the contractor you need to do the job right. Members of the BBB, GHBA, TRCC, TAB and NARI. All-Tex has hundreds of references and nearly 20 years in business. All-Tex offers financing and also includes a Lifetime installation warranty! We are easy to find too...www.alltexexteriors.com/siding/ or call the Austin Branch at 866-921-5718.

Beautiful Wooden Benches for your Patio or Deck

Need a place to seat all your guests?

It's the holiday entertaining season! You'll have more guests over this time of year than any other time. You need a place for your guests to sit.

How about adding some warm comfortable wooden benches to your patio or deck area? We have a great selection of cedar and other wood species in a variety of styles and sizes. Browse the selection below.

We're sure you'll find something that complements your decor and does not break the bank!

Do-It-Yourself DIY Wood Pergola

The Fall is a Great Time for DIY Projects!

The fall is the best time to plant trees so you'll probably be spending time out in your backyard this Fall. This time of year is also a great time to start planning some of the other features that you'll want back there.

How about a great looking wooden pergola? They are an easy DIY project and building it yourself can save hundreds of dollars.

Take a look at the following beautiful Wooden DIY Pergolas. They can be shipped directly to your home in most states (no need to rent or borrow your neighbors truck).

Do You Have a Thermal Leak?

Replacement Windows save you Energy but, How do you know when you have a Thermal Leak?

A thermal leak occurs when there are gaps around your windows and doors allowing heated or cooled air to escape. It can be difficult to detect and even more difficult to calculate or approximate the amount of energy loss is occurring.

This Thermal Leak detector from Black and Decker can truly pay for itself. Use it around the house to check for leaks at windows and doors...those are usually the biggest culprits. Other areas that typical homeowners and some professionals leave out are around light switches, wall outlets, HVAC registers and HVAC ducting in the attic.

At this affordable price, it is a must have!

Affordable Room Additions

Two Easy Solutions to a Common Problem

The Holidays are coming and that same problem will come up that comes up year after year. Where do you put all the extra people? This year it is 35 - 40 people for Thanksgiving or 25 people for Christmas Dinner, or MORE! You already use the dining room and the family room and the breakfast nook - family is spread out all over the house. With the economy and the housing crunch going on, maybe some of those relatives are staying beyond the holidays?

You could add a room to your home but, traditional construction takes months! The project is messy and takes quite a bit of effort and a very serious time commitment on your part. This would never be ready in time for the holidays this year plus, who wants to spend $100 Grand today anyway?

Well, you could get all the space you need at a fraction of the cost and at a fraction of the time commitment! You very well could have your room ready to decorate for Thanksgiving!

What I am talking about is avoiding the mess and fuss of traditional framed construction and getting your room addition back on budget and in the time frame you need it to be. By adding a Sun Room for example, you could have a new room on your home in less than 2 weeks build time! A Screen Room can be yours in a matter of days! With a sunroom, you are adding a bright and cheerful, temperature controlled room at less than one half of the cost of traditional framed construction. Complete with all the lighting and outlets you need to really use this space as if it is an integrated room that flows and fits in with your home's design and your lifestyle.

Here in Texas, maybe all you need is a screen room to add comfortable space that is usable 10 months out of the year. How many cold days are there in Houston? For Austin and San Antonio you'll still get more than 9 months of comfortable use out of a screen room.

Are you ready to find out how soon you'll be enjoying your new room? Call All-Tex Exteriors at 866-921-5715 or visit our website and request a FREE No Obligation Quote?

Kingwood Recent Power Outage

Monday afternoon brought severe weather to North East Houston and the Kingwood area. The power went out at our office at just after 4pm and did not come on at my house until after 10pm.

The severe weather brought down trees, tree limbs, brought very heavy rain and even a house fire caused by lightning. That is typical of the capabilities of the storms we get and being prepared for them is very important.

Part of being prepared is knowing who to call for help with your home and any damages that you may have received. We hope that we can either help you or find a resource that can help you.

Now, back to the power outage.

After Hurricane Ike we have seriously considered a standby generator for our home. Enduring a 10 day power outage is tough even on the experienced campers. The cost of a standby generator and installation makes it a major purchase in the range of $5000 to $20000 depending on the capacity you desire. Best solution but, a serious commitment.

We do have a portable and affordable (usually $150 to $600 range) generator now and can pull that out for the medium term power outages. You just never know how long the power will be out so you may have been in the same position as myself, do I take the generator out, inspect it, gas it up, connect the extension cords, etc. and suddenly the power comes on and my work was unnecessary?

For these unexpected power outages, we have found a better solution. Portable power packs sold by Duracell that can power a lamp, charge a cell phone, run small appliances, etc. These are perfect for the short term outages. They even come with built in radios and jumper cables...yes, you can even start your car with them. We used one to power one or our small LCD televisions so that we could watch the 6:00 news and again at 10pm while keeping out cell phones charged. At around $120 each, Perfect!

I have shared a link to them on Amazon and hope that you seriously consider getting one or two of these. They are cost effective and extremely handy to have.

Thank you for reading and remember that All-Tex Exteriors is here to help.