Wood Siding or Vinyl Siding (shingles, paint, plank, installed)

[mmyk72]

You guys mentioned high mil thick vinyl. I notice some houses with vinyl looks 'cheap' while others not. And on the cheap looking ones, there's holes and chips everywhere. Must be the diff in thickness for the vinyl used. I know someone that got vinyl replacement and cost was 13K (for an approx 2000 sq ft 2 story home).

[mnice2u22]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

You could go down the middle and use the kind of hardie board that doesn't have to be repainted after installation.

i agree, hardiboard is awesome, yet expensive, looks like wood, lasts longer than vinyl, real clean pro look, use azek for trim, call me for a new roof, and your all set!

[richb]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

You guys mentioned high mil thick vinyl. I notice some houses with vinyl looks 'cheap' while others not. And on the cheap looking ones, there's holes and chips everywhere. Must be the diff in thickness for the vinyl used. I know someone that got vinyl replacement and cost was 13K (for an approx 2000 sq ft 2 story home).

Thicker is better (no matter what siding material it is). But with vinyl it is really important. The thinner it is, the cheaper it is, and that siding won't last very long. As little as 15 to 20 years, not a long time when it comes to siding on a house. That cheap siding won't be that "cheap" in the long run.

I would paint the existing siding if its good shape, your not going to recover the cost of new siding if it only needs paint and basic maintenance. I repainted my wood siding two years ago because it was looking tired, rather then residing, and it looks great. Wood siding will last the life of a house with basic maintenance, my great grandpa's cottage (1925) still has the original wood siding and it looks good. The neighbor recently spent 60 grand recreating the look he had all along. He took down cheap looking vinyl to recreate the original look (with hardiboard).

But if the siding is shot, look at other kinds of siding as well. Hardiboard is far better looking and will last far longer then any vinyl.

Another option is PVC. I think there is only one major manufacturer of PVC. It is milled instead (like wood or hardiboard is) rather then extruded like vinyl. It doesn't have the ugly looking j-channel (what the ends lock into) that vinyl has. It has far more colors (including custom colors) then vinyl.

[progmac]

wood is better but not everyone can afford to maintain it (prof painting about every 10 years).

vinyl is cheap, looks way worse, but anyone can afford to maintain it.

for an older home, vinyl hurts resale value. it sticks out like a sore thumb against the more tasteful wood homes that may be next door. if you're in a newer tract home neighborhood it isn't such a problem.

[T. Damon]

Originally Posted by Bigg Mann

I own a 110 yr old wood sided house and need to paint in a yr but we are thinking about vinyl instead just cause it will be easy to maintain. But we will spend extra for the thicker mil rating.

And another historic home is about ready to be ruined and bite the dust into vinyl sided oblivion.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Vinyl absolutely fades... And is a class A felony in terms of taste.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

I know this is an old thread that was resurrected only so a newbie could spam City Data (that post has since been removed by a mod) ... but could someone please show me side-by-side photos of wood siding and vinyl siding (or direct me to a web site that does)? Maybe I just don't notice things like this, but for the life of me I can't figure out why so many people say "people who have vinyl have no taste" or "no one in their right mind would use vinyl" etc. etc.

My house (built in 1960) has wood siding, but it will soon be time to re-paint and yes, OMG, I may consider re-siding with a high-quality vinyl (and please don't say "that's an oxymoron") for ease of maintenance. I've seen some photos of vinyl-sided houses and I don't automatically think "ugly" and "cheap" ... e.g. House Siding Options: A Visual Guide .

I am open to other opinions of course -- I don't know a whole lot about siding but I sometimes do just shake my head at all the knee-jerk negative comments about vinyl.

Thanks in advance!

[CFoulke]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

I know this is an old thread that was resurrected only so a newbie could spam City Data (that post has since been removed by a mod) ... but could someone please show me side-by-side photos of wood siding and vinyl siding (or direct me to a web site that does)? Maybe I just don't notice things like this, but for the life of me I can't figure out why so many people say "people who have vinyl have no taste" or "no one in their right mind would use vinyl" etc. etc.

My house (built in 1960) has wood siding, but it will soon be time to re-paint and yes, OMG, I may consider re-siding with a high-quality vinyl (and please don't say "that's an oxymoron") for ease of maintenance. I've seen some photos of vinyl-sided houses and I don't automatically think "ugly" and "cheap" ... e.g. House Siding Options: A Visual Guide .

I am open to other opinions of course -- I don't know a whole lot about siding but I sometimes do just shake my head at all the knee-jerk negative comments about vinyl.

Thanks in advance!

Hi!!! I am sending you a link with pictures of various types of siding. To my untrained eye - I just see pretty houses. Personally, if it looks nice, is affordable, is pretty much maintenance free, and mine - I could give a crap what anybody else thinks about it. Our house has siding on it, it looks great, I don't have to paint it...end of story. Painting is not fun, is time consuming, costly if you hire it out, and you have to just keep doing it - meh...why bother??? It's like dusting - as soon as I get it done I have to start all over. Here's some pics: Top Picks: Manufactured Siding

[Itz]

My townhome had vinyl siding on it when I moved in.. the cheap stuff. A lawsuit against the builders prompted the HOA to put hardie board siding on.
One of the things I learned (as a board member) on siding is this.. it is cheap.. it will fade.. The cheaper it is the worse it is. A good hailstorm will seriously damage vinyl siding. After only 7 years of the siding on the buildings - it was faded and the manufacturer no longer made the same siding. Repairs became ridiculous as the repaired siding looked darker against the newer siding. We had to jump through hoops just to keep things repaired.. (i.e.. people putting their bar-b-que grills up next to the house melted the siding. Wind damage caused the siding to become loose.

Love the hardie board. It can be painted and is quite durable.

Wood.. you do have to paint every 10 years minimum or so (depending on the quality of primer, paint and paint job).

Siding does not increase the value of a home, but may be a good selling point.

[MrWillys]

Hardie siding is the standard of today. Paint last much longer due to its cementitious properties, and it won't rot, or mold. Use a high quality paint, and an elastomeric caulk.