According to research, vinyl is the most used house siding material; a position it has held for close to 30 years!
Well, this is expected given its cost-effectiveness and its impressive durability. However, the stats aren’t supposed to sway your decision on which siding material to use to clad your home.
To choose the right siding material, you need to consider a couple of factors before making a decision. Decisions are always best made after deep discussions around them. As this subject always draws interest, making a stream about it and discussing it in real-time can guarantee numerous views. Take your chance to success and start getting more views on Twitch with StreamOZ
If you’re not sure where to start, here are some tips to help you:
1. Aesthetics
House siding does more than protect your home from external elements. Being on the exterior side of your home also means that it enhances your home’s curb appeal.
Therefore, you should choose a siding material whose texture and color complements the overall style of your home.
Wood
Thanks to its rustic look, wood siding gives your home a classic touch. Moreover, it comes in a wide range of styles to choose from. And, if you’re not satisfied with the color, you can always repaint it.
Vinyl
The best thing about vinyl siding is that it offers a wider variety of colors and styles to choose from compared to wood siding. However, once you choose a particular color, you’re stuck with it! You can’t re-paint even when the color scraps off due to heat or aging.
Fiber Cement
Fiber cement scores highly in terms of aesthetics due to its abilities to be customized. It can be molded to mimic shingles, stucco, and even wood. In fact, fiber cement can outdo vinyl in mimicking the authenticity and the grain-effect of wood siding.
Brick and Brick Veneer
This type of siding material is available in different sizes and textures. However, you may be limited on to a certain type of exteriors, particularly English, Tudor, and Colonial types.
Stone
Due to its versatility, stone siding blends well with any home’s exterior style, especially when used as an accent.
2. Durability and Maintenance
Choosing your house siding is a once-in-a-while thing, making durability one of the key factors to consider when choosing a siding material for your home. Professionals from GVD Renovations suggest that a durable siding material should not only be strong but also be rot- and pest-resistant.
Stone
This is one most durable siding that requires little maintenance. Compared to all other types of siding, stone siding doesn’t degrade over time and will look as good as new even after a couple of decades on your house.
Brick
Similar to stone siding, brick is considerably durable and can take on extreme weather conditions without degrading. However, it needs more maintenance, especially at its mortar joints that tend to deteriorate when left unattended for long.
Stucco
Being a mixture of cement and sand, stucco siding deserves thumbs up for its resistance to weather and tear. This also means that you don’t have to worry about its maintenance. Be sure to use a professional when building or adding stucco such as Portland stucco to get the best results.
Vinyl
In addition to being weather- and pest-resistance, vinyl can last longer with little maintenance, especially the newly improved ones.
Wood
Wood siding scores poorly in durability as well as maintenance as it’s susceptible to pests and rot. Nonetheless, you can always go for pressure treated wood. You’ll also have to schedule regular maintenance if you want it to keep its original aesthetic appeal.
Aluminum
Aluminum is durable but susceptible to denting. Fortunately, it doesn’t require a lot of maintenance.
3. Cost
The total expenditure for installing new house siding depends on the material and the size of your home.
Also, when making a budget plan, it’s important to note that various contractors charge differently for the installation. So, be sure to compare different quotes from several contractors.
Vinyl
Vinyl is known to be the most affordable siding material. However, the improved version of vinyl siding that features insulation properties may be a little above the standard price.
The installation is also pretty easy and can be done over an existing siding material. This reduces the cost of renovations since you don’t have to get rid of the original siding.
Wood
The aesthetic appeal by wood siding comes at a price! On average, it costs higher compared to vinyl siding and can cost even more depending on the grade of wood you choose.
Stone
On top of the high cost of the material, the installation of stone siding is also expensive due to its high-demand for labor.
To minimize the costs, consider using it only on the lower part of the wall or to cover a chimney as an accent.
Brick
Brick is less expensive than stone siding but still costly when compared to the other types of siding. Also, if your house wasn’t constructed for brick siding, it’ll cost you more for installation.
5. Weather
Weather is one of the most overlooked factors when choosing a siding material. As a result, homeowners end up incurring extra costs for renovations due to the damages caused by harsh weather.
If you live in an area with high temperatures, you may want to avoid using vinyl as it becomes brittle when exposed to heat for a long time. Wood siding will also lose its color due to high temperatures and you may have to do regular repainting. Nevertheless, it’s a good insulator and will help keep the energy bills down.
Stone and brick siding options won’t contract and expand with temperature and are also good insulators.
There’s No Perfect House Siding Material
Choosing the right house siding material depends on your personal preference and how much time and money you’re willing to invest in installing and maintaining your material of choice.
Also, on top of the stated factors above, be sure to contact your contractor to help you choose the right siding material for your home’s needs.
Check out our DIY category for more home renovation blog posts.