Vinyl Siding on A House Questions

[Robert11]

Hello:

Great group; have learned so much from. Live in New England.

AM considering purchase of a colonial house that has vinyl siding.

Have never given this much thought, but what are the pros and cons of a vinyl sided house, please, compared to the more typical wood siding house ?

Obviously, no need to paint, but I imagine there are some negatives probably associated with it also.

If anyone can offer any opinions on this, would be most appreciative.

BTW: Are there different quality grades and types of vinyl siding ? Any type to look out for; thickness, etc. ?

Thanks, Bob

[Tom]

I never had the following problem with wood siding, but on my vinyl sided house, bugs seem to be attracted to it at night near windows. Then spiders come with webs to catch the bugs. The result is little black dots of what I presume is spider dung all over the siding. This is almost impossible to clean off with anything I've found. I suspect that wood siding may have the same problem but being painted usually with a chalking type of paint, rain removes the webs, spiders, spots, etc before any accumulation becomes enough to notice. I just noticed the same problem on a cream colored vinyl sided house of a friend (mine is white) so I doubt that color has anything to do with it. I and my friend live near a body of water...maybe no problem in the middle of town.

[Joseph Meehan]

There are many different quality grades, but they are not easy to define. Thickness is just one factor. Materials are not all the same and shape is not all the same. Quality is a combination of all of the above.

The major disadvantages I see are two. First it can be noisy in the wind and second it does not always look as nice as some other materials. Both of these problems depend on various quality issues and the quality of installation.

[Bill Schnakenberg]

I have Certainteed double 4 vinyl siding on my house in NY. It is going on 20 years old. Pros: Doesn't need painting. Does not dent. Does not chalk like aluminum siding. Is pretty flexible. Is easy to remove for alterations (using a hand held siding tool, it virtually unzips). I replaced a whole set of kitchen windows and reused the siding. I strung a length of TV cable under the siding last year by unzipping one panel of siding, placing the cable underneath and then zipping the siding back up, which made it invisible. Cons: darker colors tend to fade in the sun. Can crack if hit during freezing weather. Someone else said it was noisy. I have never heard my siding make any noise, even in a hurricane. If I had to do it all over again, I would still use vinyl.

[mortguffman]

I wonder about using vinyl to cover wood. I've seen siding and other products for soffit and fascia. Doesn't the wood it covers up underneath rot? I would like to cover some wood panels on my house with something more permanent but I am worried that the wood underneath will rot and get ants and termites

Mort

[Edwin Pawlowski]

My house is 26 years old. I've been living in it for 23 years. Most I've ever done is hosed down the siding and maybe brushed some of it with a long pole and brush. Since it is white, it does not show any fading

I've never experienced any negatives. It is quiet, clean, and has been through a few nasty storms, temperatures of -20 to +100.

Based on my experience, I'd use vinyl siding on any house. Ed

[Bill Schnakenberg]

All of the facias on my house are aluminum clad. If it is done right, water cannot get to the wood. The same guy that did the siding contructed all the cladding from rolls of white aluminum with a metal brake. Termites would have a harder time getting past the aluminum than they would getting past paint.

[rck]

Vinyl siding in the south is a haven for all sorts of bugs. I'd guess it isn't as much of a problem in New England. Some insect sprays will discolor vinyl siding.

Bob