Green Home Improvement - Comparing Siding Options

Comparing Siding Options

For home owners, one of the biggest decisions they need to make is to determine which type of exterior home siding is best for them. There are many different types of siding options available and the more popular include vinyl, aluminum and wood exterior home siding. If you are about to make a decision or would like to learn more on the pros and cons of these types of siding, here is some important information.

For starters, durability and maintenance usually come up first when choosing an exterior siding option. Vinyl siding which is made out of polyvinyl chloride, commonly referred to as PVC is an extremely durable and long lasting material that requires very little maintenance. Vinyl is a great product that is colored throughout the entire piece of siding. You can find vinyl siding in a multitude of colors and vinyl siding can stand up to weather extremes as well as scratches and dents. Vinyl siding is also extremely affordable and one of the easiest materials to install, so if you are looking for an affordable, carefree solution that looks great, vinyl is one option you should seriously consider.

Aluminum siding is also a very popular option for exterior home siding. Aluminum is light weight extremely sturdy and very durable. Aluminum siding can be looked at as the precursor to vinyl siding. In fact, many of the home built from the 1950’s onward have aluminum siding. Aluminum siding must be painted because it is a metal. However aluminum has plenty of anticorrosive properties which make it very good for siding and roofing materials. Aluminum siding is also very affordable and easy to install. You will find that aluminum siding is on par with vinyl siding in the cost department.

One of the negatives about aluminum siding is that it is very prone to dents and pings. Although Aluminum can get many dents and pings from either a baseball, lawnmower or hail, it is usually very easy to fix. Aluminum is also super strong and will hold up during a storm or high winds.

Wood siding is another popular option when it comes to exterior home siding. Nothing is as beautiful, warm and charming as wood siding. Wood siding refers to three common types of wood used, usually cedar, redwood and cypress. Wood siding either comes as long boards or shingles which are smaller pieces of wood. While wood looks great, because it is an organic material it needs lots and lots of maintenance compared to the other choices.

Wood usually needs to be either stained or painted every few years. Staining is usually required every 3 to 5 years, while you can usually get by without paining exterior wood for about 5 to 7 years. Wood is also very expensive and much more difficult to install than aluminum or vinyl siding. You must decide if you want to commit to a product like wood because of the high material and installation cost as well as the maintenance costs every few years. If you are looking to purchase exterior siding, take a look at the above information on the most popular siding options.