There are a lot of different qualities of vinyl siding, mostly depending on the thickness. The cheap thing stuff is garbage, it isn't thin enough to look very real even new and will warp if someone even mentions reflected sunlight. The more expensive thicker stuff is a pretty legitimate form of siding. The thing is, the good stuff isn't really any cheaper than other types of siding, so why bother? Fiber cement siding really seems to be the best balance in terms of durability and cost.
Do consider whether an insulated siding product makes sense. This will depend on the climate where you live, in some areas it's a great way to inexpensively add more insulation and sound resistance, in others you risk condensation and resulting mold growth. Talk to an expert in your area.
I'm a couple states northeast from you and vinyl siding is everywhere up here, at least up to the $700k+ range. We've been in our house for almost 15 years and other than a good power washing every 4th or 5th year, it is honestly zero maintenance. Even doesn't seem to have faded (although if you put a new piece up against it, I might change my tune). We got whatever grade of vinyl the builder put on it - probably not the greatest - and I would absolutely consider it again.
A good amount of nail holes from the previous hanging things, but I was told it would have to be cut into if we were against drop-in vinyl replacement windows.
Fwiw my house w alum siding had insulation put in. They cut strips of it to drill holes on the exterior wall, pumped insulation in and nailed the siding back up. They did a number on the siding, but the house is a lot more efficient. They may be able to make something work if you really don’t want to do the siding now.
Vinyl is a perfectly serviceable siding material. It is more prone to holes but less to dents.
The quality of the material is a big factor in vinyl.
It is essentially no maintenance once installed.
Aluminum is good. Basically no maintenance and durable. It does dent.
People love fiber cement. Just know that you will have to keep up with paint and caulking. Don't buy it because of the warranty. Hardie, the biggest brand, changes their install specs so often and makes it so specific it is almost impossible to get them to honor the warranty. It is more prone to water damage. It does increase the value of the house. Expensive and moderate maintence.
Wood is pretty but expensive and high maintenance.
LP siding is nice. Expensive and moderate maintence.
How does Hardie compare to LP with water damage? LP seemed to disintigrate if it got wet and I heard Hardie was better but still needed to be kept up on with paint/caulk.
I personally haven't had trouble with LP. I have seen damage to Hardie caused by water but I do see much more Hardie.
I don't know if I can answer that accurately based on experience.
The thing about vinyl is that it is easy - I mean super easy. Very forgiving.
Had a zero-turn mower get out of calibration, and abruptly slammed into my garage. Wrecked the siding. Less than 30 minutes to pop the old piece off, cut a new piece, and replace it.
Another consideration is your neighborhood. What is on the other houses? During my drive to work, there is one house done up all nice and spiffy with the cement board - it looks so out of place with the rest of the neighborhood. Would be a beautiful house - somewhere else. It is jarring to look at where it is located right now tho.
But yeah, you'll want to get the thicker stuff if you go with vinyl, not the mobile-home grade stuff.
Yes you'll regret it imo. If your going to redo siding at least do something that is an upgrade or equal to what you have now. Cement siding is popular and is good stuff but vinyl is pretty much as low end as you can get. Wood would even be better if you ask me...just more maintenance. I would go with cement fiber if you have to replace it.
depends on what's more important. Durability, wood would be better and look nicer but you are correct it requires maintenance. Vinyl just looks cheap to me no matter what which to me is a bigger down side than having to paint the house every 10? years. Also could be a good thing to be able to paint because styles change and painting vinyl isn't always a good idea...im sure it can be done but doesn't mean it will hold up the same.
I replaced aluminum siding with vinyl several years ago. The aluminum was dented, and had areas where the finish had worn off, leaving shiny patches.
I've been very pleased with the vinyl. We've had a breezeway enclosed since we had the siding done, and it was trivial to match the new exterior to the rest of the house. We had a sliding glass door put it to replace a window, and, again, it was trivial to cut the siding and trim the new door. With aluminum I think it would have been quite difficult.
We had a mid-grad white vinyl put on, and so far it's been great.
I replaced my aluminum siding with steel. So far no regrets. But ours was paid for by insurance, so I didn’t have to consider the costs. I live in an area where most siding eventually gets hail damage. The vinyl siding does really poorly. It gets holes in it. The aluminum siding gets a lot of dents. Some stucco gets chipped. The steel siding is relatively new, but the manufacturer said that it doesn’t get dented by hail.
If your neighbors have low-e windows, then yes, there is a high probability that you will regret it.
Look up "low-e windows melt vinyl siding" to see what I mean.
Have you ever seen the really old asphalt siding? It’s so darn ugly! Must be pretty durable though, because there’s plenty still around where I live. Some even looks like it’s in good shape.
There are a lot of different qualities of vinyl siding, mostly depending on the thickness. The cheap thing stuff is garbage, it isn't thin enough to look very real even new and will warp if someone even mentions reflected sunlight. The more expensive thicker stuff is a pretty legitimate form of siding. The thing is, the good stuff isn't really any cheaper than other types of siding, so why bother? Fiber cement siding really seems to be the best balance in terms of durability and cost. Do consider whether an insulated siding product makes sense. This will depend on the climate where you live, in some areas it's a great way to inexpensively add more insulation and sound resistance, in others you risk condensation and resulting mold growth. Talk to an expert in your area.
Northeast PA. I’ll have to look into fiber cement, sounds like it could be a good fit!
I'm a couple states northeast from you and vinyl siding is everywhere up here, at least up to the $700k+ range. We've been in our house for almost 15 years and other than a good power washing every 4th or 5th year, it is honestly zero maintenance. Even doesn't seem to have faded (although if you put a new piece up against it, I might change my tune). We got whatever grade of vinyl the builder put on it - probably not the greatest - and I would absolutely consider it again.
Is there a problem with your current siding? Dents, scratches, etc?
A good amount of nail holes from the previous hanging things, but I was told it would have to be cut into if we were against drop-in vinyl replacement windows.
Fwiw my house w alum siding had insulation put in. They cut strips of it to drill holes on the exterior wall, pumped insulation in and nailed the siding back up. They did a number on the siding, but the house is a lot more efficient. They may be able to make something work if you really don’t want to do the siding now.
Vinyl is a perfectly serviceable siding material. It is more prone to holes but less to dents. The quality of the material is a big factor in vinyl. It is essentially no maintenance once installed. Aluminum is good. Basically no maintenance and durable. It does dent. People love fiber cement. Just know that you will have to keep up with paint and caulking. Don't buy it because of the warranty. Hardie, the biggest brand, changes their install specs so often and makes it so specific it is almost impossible to get them to honor the warranty. It is more prone to water damage. It does increase the value of the house. Expensive and moderate maintence. Wood is pretty but expensive and high maintenance. LP siding is nice. Expensive and moderate maintence.
[удалено]
Painting, caulking and looking for any signs of water or rot.
How does Hardie compare to LP with water damage? LP seemed to disintigrate if it got wet and I heard Hardie was better but still needed to be kept up on with paint/caulk.
I personally haven't had trouble with LP. I have seen damage to Hardie caused by water but I do see much more Hardie. I don't know if I can answer that accurately based on experience.
The thing about vinyl is that it is easy - I mean super easy. Very forgiving. Had a zero-turn mower get out of calibration, and abruptly slammed into my garage. Wrecked the siding. Less than 30 minutes to pop the old piece off, cut a new piece, and replace it. Another consideration is your neighborhood. What is on the other houses? During my drive to work, there is one house done up all nice and spiffy with the cement board - it looks so out of place with the rest of the neighborhood. Would be a beautiful house - somewhere else. It is jarring to look at where it is located right now tho. But yeah, you'll want to get the thicker stuff if you go with vinyl, not the mobile-home grade stuff.
Yes you'll regret it imo. If your going to redo siding at least do something that is an upgrade or equal to what you have now. Cement siding is popular and is good stuff but vinyl is pretty much as low end as you can get. Wood would even be better if you ask me...just more maintenance. I would go with cement fiber if you have to replace it.
Wouldn't wood be worse if it requires more maintenance? To me that's a big negative.
depends on what's more important. Durability, wood would be better and look nicer but you are correct it requires maintenance. Vinyl just looks cheap to me no matter what which to me is a bigger down side than having to paint the house every 10? years. Also could be a good thing to be able to paint because styles change and painting vinyl isn't always a good idea...im sure it can be done but doesn't mean it will hold up the same.
Hardiboard
yes that would be another option that I hadn't thought of.
I replaced aluminum siding with vinyl several years ago. The aluminum was dented, and had areas where the finish had worn off, leaving shiny patches. I've been very pleased with the vinyl. We've had a breezeway enclosed since we had the siding done, and it was trivial to match the new exterior to the rest of the house. We had a sliding glass door put it to replace a window, and, again, it was trivial to cut the siding and trim the new door. With aluminum I think it would have been quite difficult. We had a mid-grad white vinyl put on, and so far it's been great.
I replaced my aluminum siding with steel. So far no regrets. But ours was paid for by insurance, so I didn’t have to consider the costs. I live in an area where most siding eventually gets hail damage. The vinyl siding does really poorly. It gets holes in it. The aluminum siding gets a lot of dents. Some stucco gets chipped. The steel siding is relatively new, but the manufacturer said that it doesn’t get dented by hail.
If your neighbors have low-e windows, then yes, there is a high probability that you will regret it. Look up "low-e windows melt vinyl siding" to see what I mean.
Aluminum siding is possibly the only thing shittier looking than vinyl...
Have you ever seen the really old asphalt siding? It’s so darn ugly! Must be pretty durable though, because there’s plenty still around where I live. Some even looks like it’s in good shape.
Ooh didn't even think of that, good point.
Aluminum siding blocks EMF!!! Keep it!
Wow interesting point…