Given the many essential tasks of a home's exterior—defense against the elements, insulation and air quality control, and of course curb appeal—the industry's newest exterior products are made with an eye toward toward taking these tasks and doing them better; keeping homes safer, more comfortable, and more beautiful for longer periods of time.
Take a look at a few of the new exterior products available, from stucco rainscreen systems to outdoor living features and everything in between:
ROCKWOOL
ROCKWOOL’s Comfortbatt stone wool batt insulation is now available in three new R-values—R13, R21, and E38—created to provide a wider variety of options to meet code requirements for thermal insulation. The Comfortbatt is a semi-rigid insulation for exterior wood and steel stud applications, and features a flexible edge that can be pressed back to aid installation. The batts are noncombustible, resist temperatures up to 2,150 degrees F, and provide strong sound absorption through their non-directional fiber structure and density. rockwool.com
Royal Building Products
Royal Building Products has added a new black soffit option to its Exterior Portfolio and Royal vinyl collections, available in a brush, matte, or low-gloss woodgrain finish. According to the manufacturer, the new color option creates “a distinctive accent” when used in porch ceilings, overhangs, or eaves. The soffits are designed to shield roof rafters, ventilate attic spaces, and protect homes from pests. They require virtually no maintenance or additional painting. royalbuildingproducts.com
LP Building Solutions
The LP SmartSide Smooth Finish Vertical Siding is designed both to meet the modern farmhouse design trend and to complement the manufacturer’s recently released SmartSide Smooth Finish Narrow Trim. The board-and-batten style siding is made with engineered wood strand technology, and comes pre-primed for paint adhesion. The siding is available in 16-foot lengths in an effort to reduce horizontal joints, and is designed to withstand impacts, freeze/thaw cycle damage, fungal decay, and humidity. lpcorp.com
Sherwin-Williams
The FlexTemp Exterior Acrylic coating’s temperature-adaptive properties allow for application in a wide range of temperatures, from 35 degrees F to 120 degrees F, without any change in performance. The paint’s 100% acrylic formula allows for easy application, does not require technique adjustment or extenders in response to temperature extremes, and provides resistance to flaking, peeling, and weather damage once applied. It is available in a flat, satin, or gloss sheen, and can be tinted in VinylSafe paint colors. sherwin-williams.com
Ortal
The Wilderness Collection features Ortal’s Firelog Technology—a patent pending gas delivery system that flows directly through the log media. According to the manufacturer, this system is designed to deliver a taller flame that more closely resembles the look and feel of a log campfire than traditional “ribbon” style burners in many gas features. The fireplaces offer flexible venting arrangements that enable installation anywhere, indoors and outdoors. ortalheat.com
GAF
GAF has enhanced its Timberline American Harvest Shingles with two of its newest technologies. GAF StainGuard Plus is designed to protect against algae discoloration over a 25-year limited warranty period, and LayerLock enables quick and accurate installation—up to 99.9% nailing accuracy and up to 30% faster nail fastening during installation than Timberline HD shingles, according to the manufacturer. When installed with qualifying accessories, the shingles are also eligible for an additional limited wind warranty. gaf.com
Vintage Millwork & Restoration
Vintage Millwork & Restoration’s fully custom exterior pieces include front, barn, or garage doors; wood windows; cupolas and moldings; and custom hardware. For doors in particular, specifiers have a choice of 10 wood species—including reclaimed white oak and reclaimed hemlock—as well as a variety of wood stains and finishes. Pictured above is a mahogany wood, carriage-style entrance door with antique, hand-forged, powder-coated matte black hinges. vintagemillworkrestoration.com
CertainTeed
The next generation of CertainTeed’s Cedar Impressions siding includes new colors and shapes for the product line’s Double 7-inch 3G Straight Edge Perfection Shingles. New features include slanted, tapered gaps with deeper shadow, high-definition textures, and an offset corner to create a woven appearance. The double-course panels provide more coverage and require fewer fasteners than single-course siding Designed with COVID-19 building practices in mind, the panels’ easier install process saves time and helps to reduce worker density on the jobsite. certainteed.com
Sto Corp
Sto Corp. has relaunched two façade products designed to protect stucco exteriors—Sto Crack Defense, a fortification layer designed to reduce surface cracking, and Sto DrainScreen, installed under stucco veneers to drain moisture away from wall sheathing. Sto Crack Defense utilizes a layer of woven glass fiber reinforcing mesh in a polymer basecoat to strengthen a stucco wall system, while Sto DrainScreen uses a highly permeable polyster nylon drainage mat to trap moisture and allow faster drying. stocorp.com
