CELECT® Cellular Exteriors by Royal®

Case Study

Steamboat Springs, ColoradoWhile living and working abroad in Asia in 1991, Georgiana and Henri Stetter purchased an English Tudor-style home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with the hope to one day retire there. In June 2000 the couple decided it was time to make the journey back to the United States, and they finally moved in. Unfortunately, a decade of neglect and exposure to the extreme weather conditions native to Colorado left the house in disrepair, and the homeowners found themselves undertaking a massive renovation project. The three-bedroom, 2,800-square-foot home was stripped down to the bare bones; new floors were installed, 13 windows were replaced and the home’s original wood siding was swapped out for a fiber cement siding product.

Seven years after completing the renovation, Georgiana and Henri started noticing problems with the home’s exterior. The siding was flaking and disintegrating in certain areas, due mainly to exposure to extreme sun and to snow. But the problems didn’t stop there. The house was cold in the winter and warm in the summer, partly due to the poor insulation elements of their siding material. Disappointed with the look and quality of the home’s cladding, the homeowners began researching new options for a replacement material. They knew from past experience that wood, stucco and fiber cement would not hold up to the extreme weather conditions of Colorado.

“We were searching for something that looked like wood, in white, with wide boards that required little to no maintenance,” said homeowner Georgiana. “We wanted something that would not absorb water, rot or flake, was easy to install and looked first class.”

With those criteria in mind, Georgiana reached out to Mark Kimball, owner of Nationwide Builders & Contractors in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He introduced her to a new cellular siding product called Celect® Cellular Exteriors by

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Royal® Building Products. “When I first saw Celect in person, I didn’t believe that it was an engineered panel. It’s such a gorgeous product and I knew it was exactly what I wanted on my home,” she said.

Celect fit all of the Stetters’ search criteria. It offered everything the homeowners loved about wood without the hassle and expense of having to continually maintain it. The next generation of siding material—Celect cellular siding and trims seal out moisture and will not rot, crack or peel. Wood tends to swell with absorption of water, which causes the paint to crack and peel. This is a common scenario for Colorado homeowners with wood products on their home due to the heavy snowfall each season.

Another feature about Celect that appealed to the Stetters was its engineered, patented panel design and interlocking system, which makes seams virtually disappear. Celect Cellular Exteriors by Royal are made of 100% recyclable material coated with fade-resistant Kynar Aquatec® in 18

upscale, contemporary colors. It also has twice the thermal performance of fiber cement.

The Stetters agreed to have Celect installed on their home in October 2012, and they couldn’t be happier with the results. Contractor Mark Kimball has made multiple visits to the home since then for inspection and reports that the Celect product is performing remarkably well. “The siding hasn’t had any defect at all. In our altitude, we worry about expansion,” said Kimball. “The sun really beats down on the product and causes it to expand and contract. But after years of exposure to these extreme elements, the Celect siding looked the same as it did the day we left the job after installation.”

“We’ve made it through an extremely cold winter with the new Celect siding, and our home stayed warmer than it ever has thanks to the insulation properties of the material,” said Georgiana. “We’ve had a really hot summer this year, and our house is staying cool. I’m still amazed at how clean and crisp the siding looks after going through two brutal seasons. Our decision to go with Celect was well worth it.”

For more information on Celect® Cellular Exteriors visit celect.royalbuildingproducts.com.

Celect’s patented interlocking joint system eliminates seams while maintaining

structural integrity under the harshest weather conditions.

Zuri® Premium Decking by Royal®

Case Study

Washington, DC Metro AreaCathy Carr and her partner, Charlie Bessant, owners of GreenHeart LLC, a garden design firm in the DC metro area, recently had Zuri® Premium Decking installed at their home studio. As a landscape designer, Cathy has designed dozens of decks for her clients and has weighed the pros and cons of all decking products available on the market; from natural woods like Ipe, black locust and cedar, to pressure-treated wood and composites. When it came time to update her own deck, Cathy wanted a material that would give her a beautiful outdoor environment without requiring constant maintenance.

“The aesthetic-minded designer wants high-quality wood, but the educated consumer wants sustainable products that are also low maintenance,” she said.

Like many homeowners, Cathy uses her deck to entertain guests and enjoy the outdoors. Cathy’s deck also serves as an office where clients can experience her design intuition and see how she incorporates plants and various landscape elements into her native habitat.

Willing to make a significant investment to update her outdoor space, Cathy extensively researched many of the popular decking products on the market before landing on Zuri.

Cedar, which was the most commonly used material when Cathy began designing decks in 2001, was too soft, and Cathy was concerned that it would wear quickly over time with high traffic. “I have seen some gorgeous decks become mediocre after just a few years due to the normal wear and tear of an active family with kids and dogs,” she said.

With low maintenance a priority, Cathy considered PVC decking, but aesthetically, it didn’t fit the bill. Teak and mahogany were attractive options due to their weather and insect resistance, but they weren’t locally available. Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood, was also in the running because of its durability and design appeal, however, as a sustainably minded homeowner, Cathy decided against it.

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After several months of research, Cathy chose Zuri because of its unique combination of beauty, sustainability and durability. Zuri replicates the natural colors and textures of exotic hardwoods by utilizing new technologies to preserve these natural resources for future generations. Homeowners never have to stain, paint or reseal it, and it’s resistant to just about everything—stains, scratches, moisture and fading.

“Zuri combines the natural beauty of premium hardwood with unsurpassed durability and exceptionally low maintenance,” said Cathy. “It’s allowed us to create a one-of-a-kind outdoor living and working environment for our home. I couldn’t be happier with the results.”

While other synthetic decks have promised low maintenance in the past, Zuri delivers and is backed by a 25-year warranty. Zuri offers homeowners incredible design versatility that can be used on porches, stairs, ceilings and docks. Zuri is available in five colors including Chestnut, Walnut, Pecan, Brazilian and Weathered Gray.

For more information on Zuri visit zuri.royalbuildingproducts.com.

Zuri® Premium Decking by Royal® Case Study

Chapel Hill, North CarolinaJim Kaufmann has been a building material wholesale distributor executive for over three decades. In January 2014 Jim and his wife, Mary, an interior designer, decided to undertake an exterior renovation project in their own backyard, adding a 1,800–square foot deck to their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Kaufmanns turned to Ken Combs at CQC Home, the area’s premier building and remodeling contractor, to begin the six-month project. The homeowners wanted to convert a steep, graveled surface behind their house into a top-of-the-line outdoor living space where they could entertain guests year-round. The homeowners also wanted a high-end deck that looked like an extension of their indoor living environment and didn’t require annual maintenance. Jim had seen Zuri® Premium Decking by Royal® Building Products in advertisements and brought it to Ken’s attention, and the rest is history.

“Zuri looks the closest to real wood out of any of the other composite decking products I’ve come across in my career,” said Ken. “I was drawn to it immediately—not only because of its visual appeal, but the fact that it doesn’t require yearly maintenance and is backed by a 25-year warranty.”

The homeowners had a similar reaction. “I couldn’t get over Zuri’s realistic appearance,” said Jim. “The non-repetitive woodgrain pattern looks just like exotic wood; if you didn’t know it wasn’t wood, you’d never know the difference.”

Zuri combines the natural beauty of exotic hardwood with the unsurpassed durability and exceptionally low maintenance requirements of PVC to create a one-of-a-kind outdoor living environment. Engineered to resist stains, fade, rot and natural wear, Zuri met all of the Kaufmanns’ criteria for their home’s new addition.

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Zuri® Premium Decking by Royal® Case Study

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CQC Home installed the Kaufmanns’ Zuri deck within a week, finding creative ways to use the boards to create unique design elements including decorative trim, built-in benches and a border inlay that helps define seating and dining areas. Other features of the 1,800–square foot outdoor living space include a screened-in porch with motorized screens, custom exterior-grade cabinets, a cedar ceiling and a true masonry fireplace.

Zuri offers homeowners incredible design versatility that can be used on porches, stairs, ceilings and docks. With special inlays available, Zuri comes in five colors: Chestnut, Walnut, Pecan, Brazilia and Weathered Gray. An interactive design tool on Zuri’s website allows users to select color options and railing systems to help visualize their high-end, custom decking project.

“We love our new outdoor space and use it year-round as a family room and to entertain guests,” said Jim. “Our Zuri deck is beautiful to look at and fits in with our design aesthetic. Knowing that it is maintenance-free is a huge plus.”

For more information on Zuri, visit zuri.royalbuildingproducts.com.