When I first broke into the construction business in 1973, I went to work for a roofing and siding contractor. My boss, Leo Fournier, was a conscientious man who did first-class work and who would never use vinyl or aluminum to hide problems. Instead, he taught me how to rebuild deteriorated woodwork and to install the new vinyl and aluminum trim and siding with the same care I would give any other material. The end to routine painting has always made these materials appealing to owners of older homes. But it wasn't until I started planning a whole house renovation on Martha's Vineyard, Mass., in 1979 that I thought to combine white cedar shingles with vinyl clapboards and a vinyl/aluminum trim
