I know this has been discussed before, but I could not pull up the past posts dated 2004.
I am thinking about purchasing a nine-year old home with vinyl siding. It looks perfect, and hardly has any pieces that overlap. Most of that is on the back of the home.
Can you please give me any negative/positive comments?
Many thanks.
Corinne
Hail breaks the siding if its large, especially if its old and brittle, then there's the problem of matching whats on the house if replacement is needed. Tom
Good vinyl siding will last for many years and takes little care. My house was built in 1978. The siding is still in excellent condition. I wash it down maybe once a year. The climate we are in ranges from below zero to well into the 90's in the summer.
I'd not hesitate at all to buy another house with it or to have it put on my house. If it was wood siding, I'd have painted or stained a half dozen times by now. As I approach 60, I'm not looking for more work around the house.
You get what you pay for with siding. The better stuff is thicker, is the same color throughout and will last MANY years if installed properly.
I had been doing work to the front of my home. I ripped off the aluminum siding, then the old cement fiberboard under it. To clean the place up a bit I bought 4 squares of siding, some j-channel and the starter strips. 300.00 bucks (delivered) and 2 solid days of work and my house was resided in the front. ( I couldnt stand to look at tar paper and tyvek for long)
I'm looking at Royal board and batten siding for my house. Entire house (not just gables or accents).
I like the vertical aspect of it, I'd possibly go for cedar board and batten but, like you, I want it to be low-care. But I'm a little concerned that it's unusual in this area (upstate NY), and may seem "commercial" to some.
Any thoughts on that?
Banty
Here in our humid climate, vinyl siding is often applied over wood siding and thus hides raging wood rot caused by the high humidity over an extended period of time. But if there is no wood siding underneath, it can be great.
I like the board and batten too. As long as your house looks right with it, I'd go for it. Some house styles it would be out of place, but that is just my opinion.
It's a small ranch house. I think it will fit. But I have tastes different from most of the surrounding. I have very few examples to look at - the siding dealer gave me 1 address for residential, and it looked OK on a pseudo-contemporary (actually I would have done more with it and trimmed out the windows in a contrasting color).
Banty
Personally, I don't like vinyl siding because of a few problems I've encountered professionally (home inspector). In some cases:
Mike
Mike, thanks.
I'd be really interested in the opinion of a home inspector in New England - what do you think is the best form of siding, esp. concerning bees and ants. I'm in upstate NY (non-coastal).
Banty
wrote
Not much building experience though.
This is a no brainer, it doesn't take a professional in any field to figure out cheap, thin, recycled material can't match up to a good quality vigin vinyl.
What did you do? Bust through some siding because you didn't know how to properly set a ladder?
Well, hello. What doesn't fade?
Damp wood? This isn't caused by vinyl siding. This would be caused by infiltration because of poor workmanship which could include a variety of any of the exterior coverings.
Any structure is subject to bees and carpenter ants.
Do you preform a moisture test or infra-red test which concludes all vinyl siding leaks? Absolutely absurd.
If you haven't a clue how to powerwash properly, you will blow water under the siding. Heck, I've even seen busted windows, and shredded decks because of improper use of a powerwasher. How do you draw a conclusion this is because it's vinyl siding?
Paint will absorb part of coloring, water can not pentrate vinyl, hence the mildew stays on the surface. This is really basic knowledge which you should know about.
Good Grief. Vinyl is a no/low maintenance building material. You're comparing painting a wood siding, to vinyl. Apple & Oranges anyone?
I used to be in the trades for 26 + years. I just hate it when I see someone with absolutely no building knowledge, put down a product with absurd off the wall remarks.
I live in a "plastic" house. It cleans well, relatively few problems. There were a few place where the vinyl buckled probably due to not nailing in the slots to allow for expansion/contraction. Vinyl will fade over time. It's better than wood, but I'd rather have brick.
Brick is the worse veneer material of all. Most masons do a lousy job and if not flashed properly brick will be nothing but problems. Plus most use the cheapest ties, wrong nails, and don't anchor the brick to the studs. Forget brick.
He didn't say veneer. Not cheap, but you can build a wall from brick. That would be my first choice if $$ were not a consideration. In some areas of the country, brick was the most common type of house built. Every house I lived in in Philly was brick. I work in an old mill building that was built from brick about 1930. There is some beautiful work and artistry in it.
Today, I'd build a house from concrete using ICF's. (Insulating Concrete Forms) Rugged, energy efficient, quiet, and can be finished in many ways.
"Corinne" wrote
Must be an awfully small house not to have any pieces that overlap......
;-]
Vinyl siding, like any other product has cheaper stuff and the more expensive stuff.
The virgin solid color (throughout the material its the same color) with a decent thickness isnt bad stuff. I used it and it looks great. You should NEVER need to paint it. Nor would I even try. As for it fading, only time will really tell. The stuff has gotten better over the years.
If you dont either use tyvek or at least tar paper under it, your just asking for problems.
Only thing about vinyl siding is that when its REEEEALLY cold out the siding can become very stiff and easily break if something is thrown hard at it. The thicker stuff would probably be less prone to this happening.
So you so much for the great info.
Cor> Vinyl siding, like any other product has cheaper stuff and
Yes, it is 1,530 sq. ft.
Cor> "Corinne" wrote
Thanks.
I had a brick home, and it had a bleeding problem. It had a whiteish substance on it, in some places. Never could get it out.
Cor>
Thank you JimL. I think I am in good shape then.
Cor> >
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