another siding change up

if you recall from the rendering the stair "bump-out" as we so fondly call it was originally going to be clad in the same antique barn wood as the rest of the north house.  however, because of the change in plane björn and i thought it was a perfect opportunity to introduce a different material, one that is often found on the old minin buildings here in the south west.

rusted metal has been gaining in popularity as a siding option for a while.  this product is sometimes called cor-ten or corten steel, which refers to weathering steel, a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting and forms a stable rust-like appearance when exposed to weather for several years.  (def. from wikipedia) 

you see it everywhere from new condo complexes, banks, schools, and of course homes.  you get rusted metal simply by letting non-galvanized steel face the elements and well...rust.  air, and moisture do the trick but a little help comes in the form of some kind of acidic liquid sprayed on the metal.  the best part about this material is that the rust is a good thing, in essence the thin rust layer forms a protective coating, and it also looks great with barn wood siding!

un-rusted steel- i give it a week to start looking a little rusty

a better view of the stair bump out
all of the windows are trimmed in barn wood

here are a few examples of rusted metal in use.  i hope to have our metal looking a little rustier soon.  i think a nice bath of hydrogen peroxide will work, rusting is after all just iron reacting to oxygen so something like hydrogen peroxide will make the reaction go crazy!  

i love the barn wood garage dor and the surfboard
(CCS Architecture via Houzz)

rusted metal looking very clean and contemporary
(Laidlaw Schultz Architects via Houzz)

a cool use for rusted metal- raised planters ( Exteriorscapes LLC via Houzz)

rusted metal roof looking fabulous with a weathered barn wood house
( Timothy F. White via Houzz)