Mid-Century Modern Homes - Siding & Exterior Finish Options

Mid-Century Modern Homes - Siding & Exterior Finish Options

As we continue the design of the Mid-Century Modern Inspired Small Home, we consider various options for external finishes. This blog post looks at the various options available, the history behind them and touches on key issues for how to detail them correctly.

A Brief Look at Homes of the Past -

Frank Lloyd Wright's Jacobs House, 1934, combined brickwork with horizontal siding, emphasizing the horizontal massing of the house. Combinations of brick or stone with wood became a staple of Mid-Century Modern house design.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Jacobs House 1934 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacobs_First_House_-_front.jpg

Stucco was less frequently used overall, but was a popular material in Southern California in particular. Here is Richard Neutra's Miller House. Briefly an apprentice with Frank Lloyd Wright, Neutra designed many houses in the 1930s and 1940s that had a major influence on the direction of residential design.

Richard Neutra, Miller House, Palm Springs, 1937 - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Miller_House%2C_Palm_Springs%2C_California.jpg

Here are a couple of 1950s house advertisements that show combinations of wood and brick. In the first we see both horizontal and vertical wood siding, with brick used as a solid base for the home, as well as the single vertical accent of the chimney, marking the hearth inside, the focal point of family life.

1950s Advertisement - https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/328692472785064124/

1950s Advertisement - https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/106679084907691831/

One of the major developers who influenced the taste of the 1950s and 1960s was Joseph Eichler. He turned to such architects as Claude Oakland and the firm of Anshen & Allen for many of his projects. Eichler's houses were mostly for the mid-price market. So his material choices were simple, off the shelf products such as standard brick, concrete block and especially, grooved plywood siding that gives the effect of tonge and groove boards.

Eichler – Anshen & Allen, 1963 - https://www.midcenturyhome.com/stunning-eichler-home-orange-county/

His architects used these simple materials in imaginative combinations to create an endless variety of designs.

Eichler, Anshen & Allen 1952 - https://sf.curbed.com/2016/10/10/13160268/home-tour-eichler-california-palo-alto

In the image below Claude Oakland plays the subtle vertical grooving of the plywood off against the faster rhythm of the screen made of vertical battens.

Stone was a favorite for fireplaces and frequently the interior of the chimney mass would be clad with the same stone as the exterior, blurring the division between indoors and outdoors. Although stonework of all kinds can be found in Midcentury Modern homes across the country, certain styles of stonework were more popular. In those photo we see one such style, a markedly horizontal coursing of thinner stones, with the occasional thicker stone mixed in. This style was frequently carried out with red sandstones. 

Photo by Jeff B - https://www.flickr.com/photos/13907690@N00/9006790974

Rubble stone veneer was another approach that was very popular.

Photo: Lance Gerber – Arch. E. Stewart Williams, 1954 - https://www.curbed.com/2018/1/5/16853242/edris-house-e-stewart-williams-palm-springs-mid-century-modern

 Standard brick was very commonly used. But thin bricks such as these had a special appeal.By the way, if you own a home with brick or are considering using it I encourage you to click the link in the caption below. It leads to a blog with a lot of useful information about the care of brick walls.

MCM Brick - https://midmod-midwest.com/mid-century-brick/

Brick laid in stack bond was another very popular material. Stack bond was only rarely used before the midcentury modern period.

Photo: Della Hansmann - https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/321092648433958449/

Material Choices Mid-Century Modern Inspired Homes of Today

• 4 inch stone or brick veneer
• Thin stone, cast stone or brick veneer
• Vertical wood siding
• Horizontal wood siding
• Sheet goods
• Stucco

Four Inch Stone or Brick Veneer

Typically a full thickness veneer will be 4 inches thick and have a 1 inch gap behind it, between it and the wood framed structural wall. This 5 inch total thickness requires careful consideration when planning transitions between materials, and at door and window openings.

Board & batten siding with brick veneer -

https://www.houzz.com/photos/mid-century-modern-split-level-renovation-midcentury-exterior-phvw-vp~115185713

Thin Stone, Cast Stone or Brick Veneer

Often a less expensive option than a full thickness masonry veneer is to use one of the thin veneer options. Real clay brick can be obtained in much thinner sections that are bonded to the wall similarly to stucco. Real and cast stone can also be used this way. When it comes to cast stone I've only ever used products from one manufacturer, Eldorado Stone. It is the only one I've seen that makes an acceptable substitute to real stone.

Tundra Brick from Eldorado Stone - https://www.eldoradostone.com/products/tundrabrick/

Cliffstone from Eldorado Stone - https://www.eldoradostone.com/products/cliffstone/

Note that I have no affiliation with Eldorado Stone.
The house below may be built of full thickness brick or thin brick. It's not possible to tell from the photo. It appears to have been detailed carefully at the corners, as should be done with thin brick. The effect is convincing and has the solid feel of masonry.

When using a thin stone or cast stone veneer it is especially important to detail it in such a way that it appears to be a full thickness material. This is particularly important at outside corners and at door and window openings. Most manufacturers make corner pieces so that the material, when seen on edge, appears thicker than its 1/2" to 1" actual thickness. Use these corner pieces. Otherwise the effect of mass will be lost.

Eldorado Stone Installation Manual - https://www.eldoradostone.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/NCMA-MSV_InstallationGuide_5th_Edition_3rd_Printing-1.pdf

Alternatively, consider actually using stone or porcelain tile, a material that reads to the observer as tile, rather than cut stone. People expect this material to be thin, so it looks natural and expected to see that it is indeed thin.

K2 Stone - Slate tile on wall - https://www.k2stone.com/photo/slate-tile-exterior-walls-2/

Transitions Between Materials

Transitions between materials are key to making an elegant design. How does one material end and the next begin? Why are there 2 different materials? There should be a reason. Use materials to emphasize functional aspects, such as a stone accent wall indicating the main entry, or brickwork extending the fireplace and chimney mass to the exterior. Perhaps the lower portion of the wall, up to the windowsill height, is treated with a more splash resistant material such as slate tile, while the wall above has wood siding. There should be a logic behind the transitions, so that they don't appear arbitrary.
Especially consider the following closely:

• Transitions in the same plane
• Inside corners
• Outside corners

In this example by CTA Design Builders, Inc., we have excellent handling of all 3 elements listed above. The more expensive and visually striking material, full section cedar siding laid in a board & batten style, draws the eye to the entry. The transition in the same plane, at the right of the photo, logically happens at the window trim. To the right of the entry door materials transition at an inside corner, where there edges are well concealed. At the left corner closest to us, the horizontal siding is detailed with a mitered corner, which maintains the horizontal emphasis around the corner. This horizontality wrapping around the corner provides a playful contrast to the vertical emphasis of the board & batten.

CTA Design Builders, Inc. - https://ctabuilds.com/project/kirkland-mid-century-modern/

Here are some other examples of how to handle a corner where horizontal siding is used. In the first example, again the horizontal line of the siding is emphasized by wrapping it around the corner. To achieve a tight joint pieces of sheet metal are bent at an angle and applied with each course of siding. This is an effective and inconspicuous solution when the siding is to be painted.

CTA Design Builders, Inc. - https://ctabuilds.com/project/kirkland-mid-century-modern/

In this example we have a similar approach, with thin stone or cast stone veneer used at the entry, ending logically at an inside corner and at window trim. The horizontal siding receives the same corner treatment.

First Lamp, Architects - https://www.firstlamp.net/

In this example we have a different corner treatment a piece of vertical trim that wraps around the corner. The effect of this is to break the horizontal line of the siding and emphasis flat panels of material, introducing a composition of vertical rectangles in contrast to the horizontal lines of the siding.

https://decoredo.com/5448-35-the-most-favorite-mid-century-modern-exterior-home-design/mid-century-modern-homes-exterior-color/

In this example, following a more contemporary approach not commonly seen during the heyday of Mid-Century Modern design we have a continuous sheath of vertical siding, suppressing geometric compositions and focusing on the surface qualities of the material itself, its natural colors and textures.

House T – Haro Architects – photo Stefan Zauner, https://www.archdaily.com/547625/house-t-haro-architects?ad_medium=gallery

I will touch briefly on a lower cost option than the above examples, one that can be very much in the spirit of original Mid-Century Modern design, but one that must also be detailed very well if it is to avoid appearing flimsy and cheap.

Eichler, in his California projects, very often used grooved plywood siding. He used a variety of section profiles, with grooves ranging from 1/8" to 3/8" and spaced from 2.5" to 10" apart. These can be seen in the photos near the top of this blog entry.

A stock siding called T1-11 also came into popular use and is still readily available today. This is one version of it available at Lowes home improvement stores.

T1-11 siding – Lowes - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Plytanium-T1-11-Natural-Rough-Sawn-Syp-Plywood-Panel-Siding-Common-0-594-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-Actual-0-563-in-x-47-875-in-x-95-875-in/3010839

If its weaknesses are understood and designed for it can offer a very cost effective solution to siding a home. Typically it comes in 4' wide sheets, 8' long. Some stores carry longer sheets. The dimensional limitations should be considered when using this material. Give extra thought to the layout of the sheet on the wall, especially with regard to door and window openings. When working with materials like board & batten siding it is possible to "cheat" the spacing of boards to end up with good alignments of boards at window edges. But with grooved sheet siding such as T1-11 there is no possibility for that kind of adjustment. So other steps must be taken to make a satisfying finished result.
Note in the photo below how NOT to do it. On either side of the window the board widths are quite different. It would have been better to adjust the panels so that the grooves were at equal distances on either side of the window. Also note that the 8' sheet length results in the need for a thin horizontal flashing line. Sheets up to 10' in length are usually available. Ten foot sheets used at the window would have reached to the eaves without recourse to the horizontal line of flashing midway between the window header and eaves.

Another problem with the above installation is that the sheets come much to close to the ground. The sheet edges are most prone to water damage. This must be considered. The sheets could have been left 6" up from the ground and a piece of pressure treated 2x6 wood trim could have separated the sheets from the ground.

This blog post is not intended to provide full details on how to handle such waterproofing issues but simply to raise people awareness with regard to the potential problems so that you may seek more detailed solutions if you choose to use these materials. Used properly they can last for decades. Used improperly they can look like a mess in 3-5 years. Used properly they are an excellent solution for do-it-yourselfers.

T1-11 Siding https://merrypad.com/2014/07/23/t1-11-modern-treehouse-walls/

One last and very important resource to mention with regard to contemporary materials is James Hardie, one of the leading manufacturers of exterior finish materials for homes. They make a variety of siding and trim materials using fiber cement, and designed to fit a range of home styles. Some of their sheet siding materials and their board & batten materials work well with the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic.

Check out their website to see the full range of choices. They can be ordered pre-painted, with their paints being covered by the warranty. This can be reassuring to some home owners. As with Eldorado Stone, I am in no way affiliated with James Hardie.

Hardie Panel - https://www.jameshardie.com/products/hardiepanel-vertical-siding

Hardie Panel comes in 4' wide sheets with a variety of textures. It can be used in combination with batten material to give a board and batten effect, or it can simply be used to create large, unbroken surfaces. The example in the photo above shows something in between, with battens that appear to be about 2' on center. If going this route, then consider carefully where the joints between sheets will appear on the elevation and try to get them to align with other elements of the design.