Exterior Siding Options

[crabcake]

I'm going to solicit some estimates from companies to replace the masonite siding on our house. Just curious to hear from other homeowners who've investigated other options for siding (e.g., hardiplank, vinyl, cedar shake, etc.) to see what you found in terms of longevity, durability, maintenance, etc. The obvious easy answer is vinyl, but I don't want my house to look like every other cookie-cutter neighborhood house. All our neighbors homes are different and individual in color and design, so I don't want to drop a cookie-cutter look in an otherwise original neighborhood.

Thanks in advance for any info you have, or links covering different siding options.

 

[GWguy]

I'm going to solicit some estimates from companies to replace the masonite siding on our house. Just curious to hear from other homeowners who've investigated other options for siding (e.g., hardiplank, vinyl, cedar shake, etc.) to see what you found in terms of longevity, durability, maintenance, etc. The obvious easy answer is vinyl, but I don't want my house to look like every other cookie-cutter neighborhood house. All our neighbors homes are different and individual in color and design, so I don't want to drop a cookie-cutter look in an otherwise original neighborhood.

Thanks in advance for any info you have, or links covering different siding options.

Cedar shakes are nice, but kinda 70s.. also require some maintenance to keep them looking nice. More labor to put up, therefore more expensive. There are so many new choices for vinyl now, including ones that look just like real cedar shakes. No maintenance to speak of (I have to power wash mine once in a while on the north facing wall for algae) and good warranties. Have a few different vendors give estimates, and in so doing, pick their brains for why they think their solution is the better one.

 

[crabcake]

My problem is that I have masonite siding now, which generally is fine in this area of the country ... except for the bottom 6 boards around the house which are showing signs of swelling from the rain we just had. I just talked to a buddy of mine who I had out to do some work last year, and he suggested that I might be okay with replacing the bottom 6-8 boards all around with Hardi-plank, and having the whole house repainted and resealed in some areas. I'd be okay with that option as well. It'd be a lot less expensive than having the whole house siding replaced.

But, if we determine that more than 35% of the boards will need to be replaced, it might be better to just reside the whole house, and that's where the alternatives to siding come in ... There are a lot of vinyl products out there that don't look like plain-jane vinyl siding that I might be interested in, but I definately do not want the regular plain-jane stuff ... it buckles and swells in the heat and looks trashy.

 

[GWguy]

I would think that no matter how hard you try, you won't match the look and feel of the existing masonite with the new boards. You may always be able to see the new vs. the old, even after painting. If you can get away with it, and the match is close, and it saves a bunch of money, that would be a good way to go. Sounds like you know what you want and what to look for.

I agree with the "plain-jane" comments!!

 

[GopherM]

They actaully make new vinyl products that closely resemble cedar shakes. There are also real wood products where the cedar shakes are pre attached to plywood backer so that the siding may be applied in sections instead of one at a time.

You might want to do a simple google search on siding options or go to DIY.net or other similar sites to check out the pros and cons of the various materials.

 

[kom526]

www.alside.comCheck here for ideas. James Hardie siding is very nice $$$ but has a great warranty. There is another site my wife and I used to pick ours that was interactive and you selected your house style then selected the siding color, style, porch rails windows everything. I'll post it if I can find it.


Here ya go:Vinyl Siding Visualize Your Project ColorView CertainTeed

 

[crabcake]

www.alside.comCheck here for ideas. James Hardie siding is very nice $$$ but has a great warranty. There is another site my wife and I used to pick ours that was interactive and you selected your house style then selected the siding color, style, porch rails windows everything. I'll post it if I can find it.


Here ya go:Vinyl Siding Visualize Your Project ColorView CertainTeed

Funny ... that alside site ... when I click on the siding link, had a picture come up that is exactly what I want my end result to look like (in terms of colors -- gray, black and white).

Here's the picture, and what my house currently looks like.