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DH's 'exterior design' decision

Sueb20
9 years ago

Men!!

This is what my front door looked like a few days ago. But DH says the ivy is bad for the house (it was only in this one area, about 1/3 of the right side of the house) and tore it all down. Sad. I thought it made the house look more interesting. He said it will mess with the siding. Is that true? I still think he could have trimmed it away from the siding so it could still have stayed on the brick...? (The bottom half of the house is brick.)

Comments (12)

  • tinam61
    9 years ago

    It does leave marks. Not sure if you could get them off siding or not. We used to have it growing up one end of our house (brick) and pulled it down. It is unreal how that stuff can stick! Too bad, it is pretty though!

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    I adore ivy growing on stone or brick, altho it is a no-no. Maintenance be damned, it imparts such charm. We had it all over the side entry in our old house.

    Here, our gardener is training vines on a lattice that sits against the Itty Bitty stonehouse; supposedly better for the stonework.

    I will post pics later.

  • RoseAbbey
    9 years ago

    Dh is right, it is bad for siding and brick.

    Never really understood the appeal though to be honest, especially on brick or stone . It costs so much to have the masonry done and then to hide it with leaves.

  • tuesday_2008
    9 years ago

    He is right Sue (sorry). I had ivy that had only grown for a couple of years and it really stuck like glue on my brick and a wooden window. I COULD NOT get all of the residual glue-like root stain or whatever the gook is from my cream colored window the first year I removed it....it kind of "died" and fell off the second year. It was even worse on the brick, but did not show up as bad.

    But your front porch sure had a lot of character with the ivy :).

  • Fun2BHere
    9 years ago

    Oh, how pretty. I've always loved the look of ivy covered walls, but I know that ivy damages the underlying surfaces.

  • nancybee_2010
    9 years ago

    We had ivy removed that was pulling down a garden wall. We had to have it re-stuccoed.

    It is also a favorite hiding place for rats!

    But I agree that it's very pretty and adds character to a house.

  • robo (z6a)
    9 years ago

    What about virginia creeper or boston ivy maybe?

    Basing that on this term paper (but it looks like a well researched paper - I dunno!):

    Here is a link that might be useful: Green Products: The Use of Vines on BuildingsÂ

  • chispa
    9 years ago

    Agree with your DH! I also don't like vines right by the house because of the critters and bugs that they hide.

    We have a pergola over our patio and the previous owners had planted Wisteria that had covered the whole structure. I wanted it gone because it made a big mess on the patio, but the final straw was when sitting at the breakfast table, I looked up and saw a rat walking around the vines. Started cutting soon after!!

  • lyfia
    9 years ago

    I have to agree with you Men !! ;)

    It looked very pretty with it on there, but there are some ivy that is really invasive and can destroy the siding, brick, and mortar. Might want to do a search and see if that is what you have or if yours is not the destroying kind.

  • jakabedy
    9 years ago

    Creeping fig is a nice climbing/covering vine that isn't as destructive as the ivies. It doesn't dig into the mortar joints, and has smaller leaves and stems -- much more compact and less woody. I think it's just a perennial from the mid-south up, but it's a lovely option.

  • Sueb20
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I hate it when practical matters trump decor prettiness.

    Critters, bugs, rats??? OK, I am convinced. Yikes. Just imagining looking out my dining room window (which is near where the ivy was) and seeing a rat, LOL.

  • graywings123
    9 years ago

    And ants! I had an ant superhighway running along the ivy around my house. I've been here five years and am still pulling it out. I had to use a sander on my house to remove the marks where the ivy tentacles had embedded in the wood.