New siding advise

[Bayrat]

I am in the process of collecting prices for siding and am very unfamiliar [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] with the materials/quality available today. I have some cedar on the house now and am going to price the whole job in cedar as well as just the front in cedar to complement the existing siding and the rest in [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] vinyl. I have never been impressed with the vinyl jobs I have seen, it always seems to look like plastic wrap with gaping seams. What should one look for when shopping for this stuff? How does a "good grade" of vinyl compare with cedar siding in cost?

[Stoneheartfarm]

Cedar siding is pretty expensive around here. Vinyl is cheaper cost wise, but you still have the labor. I think the Cedar, properly maintained, will have a longer life that the vinyl.

Vinyl siding can also get pricey, depending on what grade you get. There are several newer technologies available. One uses a fiberglass rod embedded in the top of the siding strip to keep the siding from bulging when warm. Another hangs the vinyl strip from small cable hangers so that the siding can move better. Vinyl siding expands and contracts with temperature, hence the bulgy, wavy look you will see on some houses in the warmer weather.

When I was looking at siding (about 2 years ago), I did a lot of internet crawling. There are a couple of good manufacturers websites. Your first job is going to be checking out the different grades of siding and deciding which one you want.

SHF

[beenthere]

What cedar siding configuration are you talking about? Bevel siding, board and batten, ?? I am assuming bevel, but don't know what the existing siding is you are trying to match. Local prices would be good to check on, for the price to you.

I just finished some additional board (1x12) and batten cedar siding (about $2 per square foot) on my house today. I like the looks of wood better than anything in vinyl. Your description of vinyl was very good.

[DFB]

Bayrat, for years I was never a big fan of vinyl of siding. Real wood clapboards were always on my homes, and it was either paint 'em or stain 'em. The one exception was a cape that had cedar shingles, that one was allowed to naturally weather. Now days I have a premium vinyl siding on two different houses that I currently own. If your at all interested in vinyl take a look at Mastic by ALCOA. http://www.mastic.com/ Lots of colors and design choices.

One has been done with their QUEST3 in American Walnut and other with the Carvedwood2 series in Colonial Yellow. Double 4 on each. Both are very good looking sidings. There is also another line, the BARKWOOD, along with a version called Cedar Discovery. All worth taking a look at.

I feel most problems people associate with vinyl siding are because of the lesser quality inherent in the cheaper grades and of course in the installation. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to install vinyl products, but like any good siding work proper story layout and joint overlap are key elements of a good installation. Its actually quite nice to work with, for the most part both lightweight and clean.

DFB

[Argee]

SHF makes some good points regarding vinyl siding. The best thing about vinyl is "little to no maintenance"....can't say that for cedar. There are additional alternatives out there, but, they are dependent on what "final look" your trying to achieve and how fat your wallet is. In lap siding you can get a colored siding with a grain that is made out cement board. It doesn't contract or expand but, you need some specialized tools to put it up....ie, a miter saw w/carbide blade and a nail gun (unless you want to predrill every hole).....if you have these tools your halfway home....Vinyl can look good if you buy a higher quality and install it properly...remember "Vinyl is Final" [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]

[RobS]

We went with vinyl on our house for cost reasons. Used a top of the line siding though and it looks pretty good. Much better than the thin stuff. The siders even commented about the "sturdiness" of the stuff. Of course they weren't too happy about having to cut everything with a saw since the snips they usually use wouldn't work.

If money had been no object we would have used fiber-cement siding like Hardi-plank. It looks and hangs like cedar but lasts forever. Also would have given us more color choices as it is painted just like cedar. That's the other negative with vinyl, only so many colors to choose from [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[WVBill]

There are some pretty good discussions of this topic on the This Old House web site.

I went there specifically looking for a product I had seen on one of their shows that might have addressed your situation (but I didn't find it). This product was basically, pre-assembled panels of cedar shingle siding. As I recall there were maybe two or three courses of shingles assembled to a plywood sheathing board making a panel about 2' x 8'.

There may be info on it on the TOH website, I just didn't find it in my quick search.

[DFB]

Excellent information WVBill. Thanks for the link.

DFB

[Pat]

DFB, Thanks for posting the URL of the vinyl folks. I spent nearly an hour reading and looking. Did you read their waranty? Lifetime to purchaser, transferable to a buyer converting then to 50 year prorata waranty. The prorata schedule was interesting. It maxed out at 14 years. From 14 years to 50 years they reimburse 10%.

The hail waranty was interesting too. After you exhaust your homeowners insurrance and all other coverages they reimburse you for the difference between your coverage and the cost of replacement materials up to the cost of the materials. They use the original purchase cost as a basis. With inflation, in a couple decades that becomes a joke.

Still, they have one of the better warantees. I'm not complaining or ridiculing the manufacturer, just was amused at the difference between the advertising hyperbole and the actual waranty.

In the advertisement copy they brag about their fade resistance but in the warantee they explain that the warantee is to cover fading that far exceeds "normal" fading due to exposure to light, and the environment. Fading to qualify must exceed 4 shades (by some standard fading rating) beyone normal fading.

I'm still in the market for vinyl siding and am glad to get the info on this supplier. They are now included as candidate suppliers.

Thanks again for the useful info... A N D ... the entertainment.

Patrick

[Stoneheartfarm]

Just a bit of trivia: If I recall correctly, vinyl siding is composed of several layers melted together. Only the top layer is always new vinyl. The Bottom layers are often recycled.

That said, I chose vinyl siding one grade up from the bottom. The reason was time. It was cheap, went up quick and gave me a good learning experience. If the siding holds up 10 years, I figure I've gotten my money out. After that, I have to admit that I've really been looking at the cement type sidings. (10 years also gives me time to watch the cement siding to see which manufacturers have products that are holding up. There have been a number of problems with different siding systems, and at least one class action lawsuit.)

SHF