If you are building your own home or looking to make a significant change to its external appearance, there are a lot of decisions ahead of you. You’re likely considering the paint color and the wall coverage and the different styles of numbering for the address on the front of the house. All of these thoughts and ideas can get to be a bit overwhelming and, in the chaos, making a decision about home siding is something that often falls by the wayside.
For many homeowners, looking into home siding materials can quite a daunting task. There are a lot of options to choose from, and each one of them has a particular set of pros and cons to consider. We reached out to our friends at Siding in Vancouver and asked them to help us take a look at the most affordable siding options.
Vinyl Siding – Starts at $6.25 per square foot
The most popular siding material in both the United States and Canada, vinyl siding has much to recommend it. Its key features include remarkable durability, a versatile and pleasing appearance, easy upkeep, and low-cost installation. It is the most inexpensive of all of the major siding materials, with its cost starting at $6.25 per square foot. With such a list to recommend it, it is no surprise that vinyl is dominating the home exterior market.
Vinyl is a particularly advantageous option if you are hoping to have your house stand out from the crowd. This synthetic material can be manufactured in just about any color, and whatever hue you choose will last a very long time. Vinyl’s production process allows the pigment to spread throughout the entire product, making the color appear fully present even at the core of the board. When vinyl is scratched, there is no noticeable difference in appearance.
Insulated vinyl siding is another option the material offers to homeowners and home builders. With a regular vinyl plank on one side and a foam plank on the other, insulated siding provides remarkable gains in energy efficiency and the elimination of noise pollution. Many customers report improvements over 30%. While this product is more expensive up front, starting at a base cost of about $7.00 per square foot, the gains that it provides in energy efficiency more than make up for this cost over time.
Fiber Cement Siding – Starts at $9.00 per square foot
Also known by the name James Hardie Siding, titled after the most well-recognized brand that manufactures the product, fiber cement siding is regularly lauded as the best material in the business. It is a bit more expensive than vinyl siding, with its cost beginning at around $9.00 per square foot, but it is a material that is well worth this extra investment. Invented by James Hardie himself, this synthetic product is manufactured from a combination of natural wood fibers and cement. Mixed with sand, water, and adhesive, fiber cement is then pressed and cut to form long, flat strips and baked in a high heat oven to remove moisture. Both beautiful and durable, this material can stand up to just about any kind of weather, impact, and damage. Most fiber cement siding manufacturers offer a guarantee on the product that last upwards of twenty years.
Fiber cement can be manufactured into almost any shape, stands up well to outside damage, is resistant to rot and pests, offers impressive structural stability, and comes in both primed and pre-painted versions that save the consumer many hours of aesthetic labor. Thanks to its cement nature, the product is also non-flammable. This provides homeowners with peace of mind, and cen even result in discounts on home and fire insurance policies.
Natural Wood Siding – Starts at $7.00 per square foot
Natural wood planks are a material this is familiar to all of us. Wood is widely regarded as one of Earth’s most remarkable natural resources and makes up the basis of most homes in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. It is also one of the more economical siding materials, with its cost starting at $7.00 per square foot.
Many different kinds of natural wood can be used in home siding, and the price can range within the sector. Your basic, plank wood siding, however, is a solid choice for any home. Wood planks offer a high level of natural, organic strength and an excellent appearance that many are quite fond of. The most traditional siding, wood planks make an excellent choice for more traditional home styles and more conservative neighborhoods. Natural wood shingles are also an excellent option and offer a unique appearance to any home. As a non-synthetic material with few manufacturing requirements, natural wood is also an energy efficient and environmentally friendly option.
Natural wood is a fairly simple material to keep up with and maintain, though it does tend to require a bit more elbow grease than its synthetic siding counterparts.Wood panels typically require treatment every five to ten years, with the exact length of time between treatment largely depending on local weather patterns and conditions. If low-maintenance is one of the top characteristics that you are looking for in your new siding, you may want to consider vinyl or fiber cement as a less-involved option.
No matter what siding material you choose for your new home, you will want to make sure that you hire a fully licenced contractor with a strong track record to do the job. Many of these professionals offer affordable rates and it is well worth the investment.
