How to Choose the Best Siding for Your Home

Posted by Marcos Bicalho

in Siding

How to Choose the Best Siding for Your Home

Selecting the right siding for your home is a big decision that impacts both its appearance and its ability to protect your investment from the weather. With so many options out there, each offering unique benefits, it can feel overwhelming to decide what’s best. Let’s break it down and explore the key factors to consider. From materials and style to durability and upkeep, here’s what you need to know to find the perfect siding that balances beauty and practicality for your home.

Vinyl Siding

Vinyl is the most popular of all home exterior siding materials in the United States for several reasons: the variety of colors and styles, low cost, and easy maintenance. But vinyl siding has a bad reputation in some cases because older versions would look too plastic and cheap. But new developments of sophisticated manufacturing can make vinyl mimic the texture of woodgrain and roughly sawn wooden shingles.

The material itself is relatively inexpensive, easy to install and the best brands offer transferable lifetime warranties. Insulated vinyl is great for maintaining an efficient and environmentally friendly home for all seasons. It’s also incredibly easy to maintain: dirt simply washes off and it never needs repainting.

Wood Siding

Popular for creating that cottage look, wood siding is a classic choice among many beach homes and bungalows. The wooden pieces can come in a variety of cuts, as clapboards, shakes or shingles. The installer overlaps the pieces in a variety of patterns.

The most durable woods are Western Red Cedar and Redwood. If you’re planning on applying paint or an opaque stain, you can opt for less-expensive grades.

Wood is susceptible to weather damage, fire and insects, making it the highest maintenance of home exteriors. You should reapply clear finishes every two years; semi-transparent stains every three years; and paints every five years – which can add up to the overall cost. The good thing is that with proper maintenance it can last for generations.

Brick Siding

There is no doubt that by adding brick siding to your home, it will give it a rustic and classic look. Today, most brick siding is actually a veneer covering a home’s existing wooden framework. Because brick is water permeable, builders must install a membrane between the brick and the home’s framework for added durability.

Brick is highly durable and will last for generations. It also requires little maintenance, insulates well, and is insect resistant. You can paint brick to give a more contemporary look to your home.

Brick siding is very expensive and requires expert installation. However, when done right brick siding can look amazing for many years to come.

Stucco Siding

Stucco is a light weight concrete mixture that can be textured and painted in a host of colors. It is mixed with epoxy that prevents chipping and cracking. But it is still susceptible to water damage due to its porous nature.

You can add different toners to the stucco mixture to give it a rich, organic color based on what you like. Stucco is a low-maintenance material that’s resistant to fire and insects, is a good insulator and does not require repainting.

Stucco is less expensive than brick or stone but it is not as durable. It requires expert installation and must be kept well sealed or moisture can penetrate and damage the interior framing. However, when a quality contractor installs stucco siding properly and you maintain it regularly, it can last over fifty years!

Fiber-cement Siding

Fiber-cement siding is popular, like vinyl, for offering a wide range of styles in a stable, durable material requiring little maintenance. The textures can be molded to mimic masonry, stucco wood, etc. at a much more affordable rate without being susceptible to fire, termites or rot. It takes paint well, and most manufacturers offer an array of factory-applied finishes.

The downside is that this material requires specialized, labor-intensive installation. And it only lasts 20-30 years with a warranty, depending on the manufacturer.

Synthetic Stone and Stone-Veneer siding

Like brick, most stone siding today is simply a veneer. This luckily makes installation easier and allows you to choose any type of stone to mimic. With synthetic stone siding, you’re getting the look of real stone at a fraction of the cost.

Synthetic stone is also fire and insect resistant. You can easily clean it with a hose. Maintained properly, synthetic stone siding can last the lifetime of a home. Although synthetic stone siding is less expensive than actual stone, it is still an expensive material and it may not look quite like the real thing.

With a little research and a professional insulation, your new siding has the potential to transform your home, both inside and out. If you are considering new siding for your home, let the professionals at Remodart help you make the right selection. You can contact us for a free quote, or with any questions about our products or services.

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