Vinyl Siding--Good or Bad?

Question

Mountain Home 7,000 ft elevation. High sun exposure. Hugh temperature extremes, -20F to 100F. Currently Cedar Siding. Height of home varies from 20 ft to 30 ft.

Question # 1. Is Vinyl Siding susceptable to underlying problems like mold, wood rot ...etc?

Question # 2. Does the new vinyl siding that has a wood shake look (approximately 3 fot wide sheets) really do away with the seam/overlap look?

Please state the basis of your answer: i.e. trade person, homeowner with Vinyl Siding, etc.

Thank You

Answer 1

1. if installed right, vinyl will not cause rot but some mold, like any siding may appear on the shady sides of house

2. i have this siding on my house, u cant tell its not vinyl until u r about 2 ft from it and there is NO seams......my house even won the state award for new construction with the use of hand shake vinyl from the national vinyl asc.... ( coastal nc)

i have had vinyl on about 60 of the homes i have built and never had a problem with any of it.....i live in a high wind zone too, 130 mph zone.......

if u get a good installer and a good quality vinyl i think u will be pleased....

email me and i will send u a few pics of this siding on my house..



lic. gen. contractor

Answer 2

Hi, I am a homeowner with vinyl siding and have had the wood siding before this. I am very pleased with the vinyl siding for these reasons:
First, it doesn't rot or warp if you get the thicker more expensive type, it will never rot because it is vinyl, not wood! It does have a tendancy to mildew on one side of the house that is always in the shade, but we spray with diluted bleach and a pressure washer only every so many years and it is like new again. I'm sure the new wood shake vinyl would be even nicer and cover up the seam overlap look. But it sure beats painting and our energy bills are not very high. The only draw back to vinyl siding I can see is fire, which would melt it in a hurry. My mother paid alot more and got steel siding and when she had a backyard fire hot enough to break the windows, the steel siding protected her house. She had to have it repainted but that was it. So steel would be the first choice if I had had more money. As with anything in AR. sun, the vinyl siding has faded a little so be careful on what color you pick. I picked the butter yellow color and it has held up nicely. I live in AR. so I know what you mean about temp. extremes, cheap vinyl will warp and sag in the heat, so don't get the cheap thin stuff. Good luck!

Answer 3

My home is in Iowa and the ambeient temps here are very similar to your climate. The house has older steel siding but the detached garage was looking pretty sad a few years ago so I bought some vinyl siding and put it on myself. Looks good. Has held up well for about 5 - 7 years now. I used double 4" vinyl. It is easy to work with and makes for a fun project if you are a do it yourself type.