The Pros and Cons of Vinyl Siding

When it comes time to transform the look of your home, one of the best ways to do it is with new siding. With so many siding material options on the market today, it can seem a bit challenging at first to determine what type to go with. If you haven’t looked into vinyl siding just yet, you’re in the right place. We’re going to cover its pros and cons so that you can make a well-informed decision about your next siding job.

Pros

Highly Affordable

With the overall price being the utmost concern for average homeowners, vinyl siding becomes a clear choice. It’s one of the most affordable options out there, especially when compared to cedar or wood. Vinyl siding tends to come in various qualities depending on factors like thickness. Expect the highest-quality vinyl siding to be the most expensive of the bunch.

Easy to Install

Vinyl siding is super easy to install for any roofer. Since it comes in standard lengths of 12 feet by a width of 4 to 6 inches, your installer will have minimal cutting to do to connect each piece to the next. Even better, vinyl is fairly easy to cut before it gets installed, so your installer won’t need any specialized tools to do the job right. The easier the installation process, the less you’ll have to pay for labor to get the job completed.

Endless Color Options

Another major advantage that vinyl siding holds over other types of siding is that it’s available in what seems like an endless number of colors. From dark blues and greens to light yellows and tans, you’ll be sure to find a color option that fits the exterior style that you’re going for.

Durable

Vinyl is a strong product that is well-known to resist common scratches and dents. It’s produced to be relatively fade-resistant, so you’ll never have to worry about repainting your siding. Vinyl is perfect for houses in all different types of environments, as it stands up well to heavy rain, hail, and even small flying debris.

Minimal Maintenance

As a homeowner, it’s likely that you don’t want to add more home maintenance tasks to your list. With vinyl siding, you don’t have to. It doesn’t require any restaining, painting, scraping, and so forth. The most maintenance you’ll have to do is wash off your vinyl siding if it gets dirty. You can do this in a few minutes with a simple garden hose.

Pest Resistance

Siding like cedar and other woods can be very attractive to outdoor pests and rodents. Vinyl, on the other hand, is constructed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This material isn’t attractive to rodents or other pests because it isn’t a food source like wood is for termites. Additionally, since vinyl siding is installed with overlapping panels, it eliminates any open space that pests can invade.

Excellent Insulation

It’s important to always consider your siding as another necessary component to insulating your home. You want to choose a siding that works as a great insulator to keep your warm air inside during the winter and the cold air inside during the summer. Vinyl is an effective insulating material that can help control the temperature inside your home throughout the year.

Water Resistance

Because vinyl is made of PVC, it’s completely water-resistant. Any rainwater that comes into contact with your siding will simply drain downward or dry up. Water won’t be able to penetrate the siding or cause any damage to it like mildew or rot. It’s hard to find any other siding material that can complete with vinyl when it comes to water resistance.

No Painting or Staining Required

Opting to go with wood siding requires you to provide an adequate stain, clear coat, or paint to protect the integrity of the wood. This also must be reapplied every few years. With vinyl siding, you don’t have to do any painting or staining. You simply pick the color that you want your siding to be, and it comes already painted to last its entire lifespan.

Available in a Wide Variety of Designs

Just as vinyl siding is available in a wide variety of colors, the same holds true for its design. Vinyl siding can be designed to look like other types of siding, such as cedar or stone. You can choose to go with traditional horizontal slates or try out the new vertical ones.

The beauty of vinyl siding is that you can get it to look like whatever you want. You can even combine multiple designs together, such as traditional horizontal slate on your home’s first level coupled with vertical seam panels for your second story.

Cons

Short Lifespan

When you start to compare the average lifespan of different siding materials, you’ll soon find that vinyl is on the lower end of the spectrum. It can last anywhere from 20 to 40 years. Other materials like stone, stucco, and metal can last anywhere from 60 to 100 years or more with proper care.

Doesn’t Mesh With Historic Homes

One area where vinyl simply can’t compete with other types of siding is when it comes to historic homes. These homes have distinctive architectural features that require more traditional siding options, such as cedar shakes or bricks. Trying to install vinyl siding will ultimately flatten the overall look of a historic home and detract from its distinctive architectural elements.

Hard to Match Replacement Pieces

Over the lifespan of your vinyl siding, it may develop some unwanted cracks or holes. While repairing these sections is as easy as cutting off the defective piece and replacing it with a new one, the problem usually crops up with the siding color. While vinyl siding is produced to be fade-resistant, it’s very common for sun fading to occur after 10 to 15 years. If you need to replace a piece of your siding, its newer, non-faded color is likely to stick out against the older, faded vinyl.

Plastic Look

While vinyl siding does come in a variety of designs, they all ultimately look like plastic. You’re never going to get a natural wood grain look. This can be a problem for some homeowners who are looking for siding with a textured finish.

Follows the Existing Surface Contour

It’s imperative to realize that vinyl is a thin material that will follow the contour of the space where it’s applied. If the outside surface of your home has existing bumps or protrusions, they must be addressed before vinyl siding is installed. Otherwise, your siding will simply pop out over those bumps and protrusions, leaving a wavy and uneven look.

Reliable Vinyl Siding Service

Warren Thompson & Son Roofing & Siding offers reliable vinyl siding service for Alpha, NJ and the surrounding areas. We can also assist with all of your roof repair, roof replacement, storm damage, commercial, and gutter needs.

Give Warren Thompson & Son Roofing & Siding a call today to schedule your next service appointment.