Top 3 Exterior Siding Options

By adding sidings to your home, you can add some supplementary definition and color. The experts at Alexandria Siding advise that the right siding can create the perfect facade for your home, but they also advise that you choose your materials and design carefully.

While aesthetics will always be important, you also need to consider the material that you will choose like its versatility, ease of installation and it its ability to resist water or other things

Obviously, the primary function of siding is to add an extra layer of protection to your home, but from an architectural perspective there are a wide variety of materials and choices that can highlight the unique features of a house.

For example, red cedar or stone siding can highlight a unique entryway. Working with the design, siding experts can help you choose the best materials to suit your home. This article will examine the top three exterior siding options on the market today and explore the pros and cons of each.

Wood Siding

Wood siding offers a rich and durable exterior to homes it became popular on cottages, Cape cod homes and bungalows. Wood siding will need periodic maintenance from staining to painting in order to prevent weather damage, but also to ward off rodent and insect infestation. Regular maintenance could ensure your wood siding may last anything from 10 to 100 years.

Wood siding can come in shingles and shakes, or in the form of clapboard. Clapboard siding is planks of wood being installed horizontally by overlapping the upper piece over lower pieces to provide a weather cladding for your home. We know redwood and red cedar to be both durable and attractive wood siding options.

If you’re looking for a more uniform siding, shingles are more consistent and offer a smooth exterior because of their thinner nature. We can easily cut them in different shapes to provide additional visual interest. Recent developments in fire-retardant chemicals allow shingles to be treated, and this increases their popularity in some high-risk locations.

Wood siding typically costs 4 to $12 per square foot for installation, this doesn’t include any cost of staining or painting.

Pros Of Installing Wood Siding 

#1 Easy to maintain

Wood siding is really easy to stain or paint, and that’s a consequence easily lends some character and anesthetic boost to your home.

#2 An eco-friendly option

Wood is a renewable resource and they can grow quickly it and is more sustainable.

#3 Low cost of repairs

Because wood siding is very easy to repair and replace this increases its popularity.

Cons of installing Wood Siding 

#1 Not an effective insulator

The biggest con of using wood siding is it does not offer any effective form of insulation.

#2 Requires regular maintenance

The purchase and installation costs of wood siding is lower than most materials. However, you will need to be proactive with its maintenance. Wood siding generally needs to be stained every 3 to 7 years.

Vinyl Siding

Because of its low maintenance high versatility and relatively low installation costs, it remains the most popular siding option used by homeowners in the United States. Some Architects, homeowners and design professionals have turned their backs on the plastic appearance of these siding products. However, the variety of styles colors and low maintenance continues to explain some of its popularity.

As the market has become more competitive and technology has taken a dramatic turn in the last 5 to 10 years, the manufacturers of vinyl siding realize that only the best products are going to remain popular on the market.

Vinyl siding is easy to install and can be purchased at any home improvement store. You need relatively few tools and you can easily take it on as a DIY project. However, unless you’re comfortable with these tasks, mistakes can prove costly and working with siding contractors will always be advisable.

Pros Of Installing Vinyl Siding 

#1 Low maintenance

The vast majority of vinyl sidings come pre-coded different colors they have baked this in providing you with a virtually maintenance-free long-lasting finish.

#2 Low cost

This is possibly the least expensive siding option on the market regarding the materials use, only fiber cement may be cheaper but cost of installation is much higher.

Cons of installing Vinyl siding

#1 Not as fool proof as people think

Many people purchase vinyl siding as they believe it to be a foolproof DIY project. However, installing it is not as straightforward as you might think and it would be best to work with an experienced contractor

Brick Siding

Brick siding comes in a variety of different textures and sizes made primarily from fired clay it originated in English college tutor and colonial exteriors. Many of these exteriors have stood the test of time and lasted decades. These are usually installed as veneers on existing buildings. For example, you can add them to simple wooden frame structures by providing an additional layer of mortar to hold the bricks together.

As clay brick is vulnerable to water penetration, an additional membrane needs to be installed between the house and the brick veneer. If correctly installed from day one, your brick siding will last as long as your house. And while it is cheap to purchase, it is labor intensive. So, overall costs are at the higher end when compared to other siding options.

Pros Of Installing Brick Siding

#1 Fire and weather resistant

Brick is a non-combustible product and will help prevent the spread of fire. It is weather and fire resistance:

#2 Eco-friendly option

By far the most eco-friendly than the plastic option as there are abundant sources of shale and clay on earth.

#3 Lower maintenance

Brick is one of the lower maintenance building materials you can use as a siding it also keeps its color and is far more durable than either plastic or wood.

Cons Of Installing Brick Siding

#1 Expensive to install

More expensive than wooden or vinyl siding because installing it is labor intensive.

#2 Limited choice of colors

Bricks can be fired in a variety of colors. But when compared to vinyl siding or wood siding, they’re more limited in their composition

#3 Repointing can be difficult

There’s no denying that bricks are highly durable. Unless the mortar that is used to bind the brick siding together is not put on correctly, then it can prove troublesome.

If you have questions or queries, please contact our team and we will be happy to offer you an obligation free site assessment and quotation.

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