Boulia-Gorrell's Sally McGarry featured in magazine article she can't read; it's in Norwegian

LACONIA — With the climate which New Englanders and many Norwegians experience being so much alike, one might think there would be a corresponding similarity in home building materials.

But that is not the case, which is why a Norwegian magazine which reports on the plastics industry recently carried an illustrated article on the use of vinyl siding which featured Laconia's Boulia-Gorrell Lumber Co.

The article was written by Jon Hermansen, editor of Plastforum magazine, and a lifelong friend of Alan MacRae of Belmont.

While visiting MacRae earlier this year Hermansen said he was interested in doing a story on how it was that vinyl siding had become so popular in the U.S. but had yet to catch on in Norway. MacRae, who had grown up with Sally McGarry, the treasurer and general manager of Boulia-Gorrell arranged for Hermansen to interview her for the article.

Although Norway sits much further north than New England, the effects of the Gulf Stream mean that its weather — both summer and winter — is quite similar. But while vinyl siding now accounts for one-third of exterior cladding on new and existing homes, according to ThisOldHouse.com, very few Norwegian homes have it.

McGarry told Hermansen that homeowners who choose vinyl do so because it costs less than traditional wood siding materials. For example, while cedar costs around $1.20 per linear foot, the cost for vinyl siding is closer to 72 cents per square foot. Besides the difference in cost for the siding itself, vinyl siding costs much less to install and it requires minimal maintenance. Painting is basically unnecessary and vinyl can be cleaned easily with a pressure-wash in the spring, McGarry noted.

While noting the cost and maintenance advantages that vinyl siding offers, McGarry said after the Plastforum article appeared that a large percentage of Boulia-Gorrell customers still prefer wood shingles or wood clapboards because they believe its natural look gives a house a better appearance. This is especially true for older homes which lose their historic appeal when their original siding is covered.

Norwegians are loath to go the vinyl siding route because, like vinyl siding detractors in this country, they do not want to wrap their homes in plastic.

Vebjorn Ljosa, a computer scientist who comes from Norway and now works and lives in the Boston area, posted a note on the home improvement website stakechange.com stating, "... in Scandinavia vinyl siding is considered cheap and tacky ... my dad told me that my house (in the Boston suburb of Maynard, Mass.) looks like a yogurt cup."