There are many siding options available for homeowners. Selecting the right siding material for your home’s exterior is an important aspect in protecting it from the elements. Factors that influence the types of siding you select for your home are: architectural style, budget, climate, carbon footprint, time and resources to maintain it, personal preferences, and curb appeal. Popular siding materials for your home are metal siding, wood siding, and fiber cement siding.
Siding Materials to Avoid
Some siding materials are better choices than others depending on where you live and how much you have to spend. You want to avoid having to do a siding installation again because it wasn’t done right the first time around.
Vinyl: If you live in a forest or wooded area, vinyl siding is not the best choice for fire-resistant home. In terms of microclimate, if your property receives a lot of direct sunlight, vinyl siding is prone to fading – colour fading is an indication that the protective finish has been compromised.
Stucco: Stucco is a porous material and prone to cracks over time as it weathers the elements. For this reason, it’s not a good choice for our damp, Pacific Northwest climate.
Townhouse, heritage home, etc.: If you live in a townhouse, heritage home, or gated community, before selecting siding check to see if there are any restrictions regarding the type of siding material that can be installed. Governing bodies such as strata councils, Home Owners Associations and municipal governments (by-laws) typically have rules or guidelines you have to follow.
Cost: Budget friendly yes; cheap no. In relation to purchasing siding, plan on investing as much as you can afford in quality siding – a high grade metal, for example, might cost more, but your aluminum siding will last longer.
Metal Siding
Metal siding is durable, low-maintenance, fire-resistant, and energy-efficient. It’s a cost-effective siding choice for homeowners because it lasts from 40 to 70 years, depending on the type of metal, environmental conditions, and how well it has been maintained. Added benefits of metal siding are: it’s recyclable, paintable; and can be repaired.
Aluminum: Aluminum siding is relatively inexpensive per square foot than other metal siding materials. It is low-maintenance and thrives in a variety of climates. Ideal for Pacific Northwest homes, it doesn’t rot, swell or rust and repels mold and mildew growth.
Steel: Once used only on commercial and industrial buildings, steel siding is becoming a more popular siding material for contemporary and modern homes. Steel is prone to rust after long exposure in certain environments. However, like other types of metal siding, it is fire, impact, and pest resistant.
Copper: Like copper gutters, copper is a high-end siding material option. Even though it’s one of the most expensive types of siding, it’s considered cost-effective because of its longevity – 100 and more years. Over time, copper develops a patina, changing from its original reddish brown colour to green-blue. Because of the total cost of cladding an entire house is prohibitive for many homeowners, those interested in serious curb appeal, can use it to accent areas of a home’s exterior by selecting copper gutters and downspouts or adding it to a dormer window, a portico, a window bay, or a water table (architecture).
Zinc: Like copper, zinc is another high-end siding material. Homeowners like it because it is eco-friendly, is corrosion-resistant, and blocks out UV rays. Zinc siding also has “self-healing” properties, which means that scratches that appear on the surface of the siding will disappear over time. Again, like copper, zinc develops a patina, its colour of changing from dark grey to a light grey or a grey/blue.
Wood Siding
For some homeowners, nothing compares to the timeless appearance of wood siding. It is available in a variety of types, styles, and colours. For people who like the look of wood but don’t want to spend a lot of time on upkeep, there are also some low-maintenance alternatives.
Natural wood: Trees like cedar, pine, spruce, fir, and redwood are popular choices for wood siding. Using natural wood siding materials makes a home’s exterior unique because the grains of any one tree are not the same.
Composite wood: Composite wood siding, also known as engineered wood, is manufactured from recycled natural wood products. The recycled materials are compressed, coated with resin and a binder, and formed into panels,
Fiber Cement: Fibers from natural wood are mixed with cement, sand, and water. Fiber cement siding can be manufactured to appear like wood grain, cedar shakes, cedar shingles, or half-round logs. Fiber cement is very strong and durable.
Brick or Stone Veneer
Many homeowners love the stately look that brick siding or stone siding gives a home exterior. If you like the idea of brick or stone siding, but not the expense, brick veneer siding of stone veneer siding are great alternatives. Veneer siding, both brick and stone, offer the same benefits – strong, durable, aesthetically appealing – as real brick or stone, but is light-weight and easier to install.
