A hurricane proof home with modern style

Written by Steve Booz, Vice President of New Product Development & Product Management at Royal® Building Products
With hurricanes dominating the news cycle in the early weeks of September, you may have come across some articles about a “hurricane-proof” home in the community of Meteghan River, Nova Scotia.
This one-of-a-kind beach house, made from approximately 612,000 recycled plastic bottles, was built in just two days this past June. The recycled bottles were converted into PET foam core boards and combined with fibreglass to create panels that are able to withstand forces twice as strong as a Category 5 hurricane, which consist of storms with sustained winds over 251 kilometres per hour.
Built by Canadian construction company JD Composites, this pre-fab coastal home quickly went viral with stories published in Dwell, Fast Company, and Business Insider, among others. And while the structure was made from the PET foam core, the builders also chose to add Royal’s Cedar Renditions Design Series 6″ aluminum siding in Cedar Bark as an accent to the exterior of the home.
Joel German, Vice President at JD Composites, told me they chose to add the aluminum siding accents, “to make a bigger splash and add to our modern design.” The 900 square feet of aluminum siding that the builders chose to add to the home is moisture proof, LEED compliant, and 100 per cent recyclable, making it the ideal modern accent for a house that’s been dubbed the Recycle House. The finished product speaks for itself and according to German, it turned out, “just perfect.”

Design Series accent siding
Cedar Renditions meets the market demand for contemporary aesthetics with a modern and streamlined look. The Design Series is perfect as an accent siding for residential and light commercial applications, without the maintenance or flammability of wood. This line is easy to install, versatile and affordable, with an avant-garde design aesthetic. The flat profile of the product, achieved through its seamless joints and overlapping system, creates a high-end, clean and contemporary appearance and adds to the curb appeal of the property.
The Key Benefits of Cedar Renditions Aluminum Siding:
- May be combined for a natural, variegated look
- Thicker gauge siding (.027-inch)
- Easy to install with a drop-in interlock system
- Full 1-inch face, ⅝” J-trim for an easier and flush fit
- Made from 99 per cent recycled content and is 100 per cent recyclable
- LEED compliant
The Cedar Renditions by Royal Design Series siding is available in four-inch and six-inch profiles in Canada, in three woodgrain colours: Amberwood, Charwood, and Cedar Bark, as well as the new solid colours: Ironstone, Charcoal and Gray. Two new premium multi-tone woodgrain colours were also added to the Design Series six-inch profile this year: Timberline and Riverwood. Each colour has three distinct shades—dark, medium, light—achieving an amazingly natural plank look once installed.
Backed by a 25-year Prorated Limited Warranty, the Cedar Renditions by Royal Design Series is available from distributors across Canada.

About Steve Booz
Steve Booz is the Vice President, Marketing & Product Development at Royal Building Products, Exteriors Division which comprises siding, exterior and interior trim and decking products.
For more than 40 years, Royal® Building Products’ commitment to quality, innovation and customer relationships has attracted the loyalty of a growing number of building professionals, architects, engineers and distributors to its products.