What can the outside of my house be made of?

**Short answer: modern materials are accepted, subject to four conditions.** The longer answer explains why your covenant appears to say otherwise.

**What the covenant says.** Written in the 1970s, it lists permitted exterior finishes as wood or asbestos shingles or siding, logs, brick, stone or concrete — and prohibits asphalt shingles, imitation brick, building paper, insulation board or sheathing, and similar non-exterior materials.

The point of that prohibited list was to stop a house being left with its underlayment showing. Those are materials meant to be covered by something else.

**Why it reads oddly now.** Asbestos-containing products are no longer used, and the materials most houses are built with today — vinyl siding, steel roofing, fibre cement, engineered wood — simply did not exist in their current form when the covenant was drafted.

**Where the Association stands.** The Board of Directors and the Architectural Committee have adopted a position accepting modern material standards. Vinyl siding, steel roofing and similar products are acceptable, provided that:

1. They meet **all State of Michigan and Clare County building codes**
2. The **colours selected blend with existing and neighbouring homes**
3. They are **applied in a manner consistent with the manufacturer's installation instructions**
4. Plans are approved by the **Architectural Committee** before work starts

**The covenant text itself has not changed**, and cannot be changed except by the amendment process — two-thirds of all lot owners, recorded, with a three-year delay. So the wording you read in your deed restrictions will still show the original lists.

**Bring your materials and colours to the Committee.** Plans must show materials, and approval is judged on harmony of external design and location in relation to surrounding structures. Do not order siding or roofing before you have written approval.

*Source: Restrictive Covenants, Article VII, Section 2; Board of Directors and Architectural Committee position on modern materials.*