Material selection for exterior siding?

[crocheted_stache]

I'm probably not looking to DIY this one, but would love input on making decisions. The house I live in has siding from an early '90s renovation by a previous owner. It's some kind of compressed wood fuzz, and apparently designed to repel paint. I'd like its replacement to be more durable, with or (ideally) without periodic repainting.

Mine is a wood frame house in California, and lots of sun hits the south wall, basically year round, except on the occasions when rain pounds the south wall, instead.

Aesthetically, I'm hoping to keep horizontal lap siding, although I wouldn't rule out stucco if there's a major advantage. Stone, tile, and brick don't seem like quite the right things. I'm happy to stick to standard colors, especially if I can get a durable factory finish.

I'm also concerned with solar load, thermal mass, and reflectivity. We're pretty well insulated, but any choice we can make to keep the place naturally cooler in summer and warmer in winter, keeps the place more comfortable at a lower cost.

We're weighing other exterior renovations, including replacing the equally old roof and serviceable but deteriorating vinyl frame windows. Thoughts on sequence and compatibility of those would also be welcome.

If I weren't also cost conscious, I'd be posting in some other forum, but at this point, I put more weight on not having to do this all again if I'm still here in another 30 years. Thanks in advance.

[Dancin'Dog]

You should look at cement board for the siding.  It looks like wood, doesn't burn or decay.  Bugs don't eat it.  Holds paint very well.  Doesn't crack or dent.  Is available in a variety of styles, say if you want to do an accent area that looks like cedar shake.  Fancier homes often have a few different types of siding.  You could do something different around the front entry or maybe one the gables, yet it's the same basic material.  Curb appeal doesn't have to cost extra. 


My favorite roofing material is metal.  Doesn't burn.  Has a 50 year warranty lifespan (I'd say it has an indefinite actual lifespan).  It's lightweight and great for DIY installation.  The most common type is 36" wide and the supplier cuts it to any length you require, up to the length of their longest delivery truck.  I've used sheets up to 30' long, but they are a little tricky to handle.  It's available in a wide variety of colors. Green is the most popular for cabins.  I chose a dark bronze color to use in a neighborhood of traditional homes, and many of the neighbors complimented it. 
Roofing contractors charge more for metal here, probably because they know you'll never be buying another roof from them.  The material cost is a bit more than shingles, but the labor to install is so much lower. 

[bacchi]

+1 on fiber cement siding. The first paint job (done properly with primer) should last you 10 years, even under full sun.

Also +1 on standing seam metal roofing. Metal roofs often have high reflectivity, too.


Eta: Think about adding rigid foam under the siding. Where you are and what kind of wall insulation you have determines the minimum thickness but it's very effective in breaking the thermal gap.

[Miss Tash]

I used HardiPlank on my last house.  It's a brand of cement board.  They have a sub-type that has a baked-on paint already on it that has a really long warranty (Colorway? Color-lock?).  You can still paint over it if you want a different color later on.  It wasn't a diy job because the stuff required special blades to cut but my contractor was able to install it.  Looked great.  I'd definitely do that again, if I needed siding.

[Candace]

Is there a big downside to vinyl siding? Maybe that's a naive question. I don't know what I don't know. My house is 20 years old and the white vinyl siding looks great. It's not the fanciest material, but I think it looks nice enough.

[Dancin'Dog]

Is there a big downside to vinyl siding? Maybe that's a naive question. I don't know what I don't know. My house is 20 years old and the white vinyl siding looks great. It's not the fanciest material, but I think it looks nice enough.

The main disadvantage is that it's difficult to paint, so you're stuck with the same color forever.  It's easy to wash and never needs painting, so that's a really good thing about vinly.  The common horizontal board style doesn't look exactly like wood, but it's pretty close.  I don't all of the styles vinyl is available in, but our neighbor has great looking vinyl that looks like cedar shake.  I actually had to tap it with my fingers to tell it was vinyl. 

[Trifle]

We are currently doing new siding and roof, and have settled on LP SmartSide for the siding.  It's an engineered wood product (as opposed to cement board) but holds up very well and is impervious to bugs, which was key for us.  It's got a cedar-like simulated wood grain.  We bought a few lap boards and test-painted them; looks really good.  The cost is similar to the various cement board products we priced out, and the LP comes in lap boards, 'cedar' shakes, and board-and-batten panels.  The deciding factor for us between this and the cement board is that the SmartSide is lighter and less brittle.  We are DIYing this, so that was important to us.

For the roof we are looking at metal panels, standing seam metal, and engineered 'slate' shingles made from resin/plastic.  Big price differences, with the engineered slate being the most expensive.  It has a lot going for it though -- similar warranty to metal (50 years), much lighter than asphalt shingles, good fire barrier, and supposedly it's a 'cool roof' material.  The biggest upside from our perspective is the ease with which you can repair it, or take part of it off to get at the roof if you need to.  Very difficult with the standing seam,where the panels are locked together . . . 

We haven't yet decided yet whether to spring for the engineered slate.  Curious to hear if anyone has any experience with it? 


   

[Dancin'Dog]

The metal that I've used isn't the standing seam type, which cost more and is more difficult to install.  I think it cost about twice what the more common type of metal roofing cost.


I'm not sure what the common type I use is called, but it is screwed down and the screws are visible, instead of consealed. 

[lthenderson]

Is there a big downside to vinyl siding? Maybe that's a naive question. I don't know what I don't know. My house is 20 years old and the white vinyl siding looks great. It's not the fanciest material, but I think it looks nice enough.

The main disadvantage is that it's difficult to paint, so you're stuck with the same color forever.  It's easy to wash and never needs painting, so that's a really good thing about vinly.  The common horizontal board style doesn't look exactly like wood, but it's pretty close.  I don't all of the styles vinyl is available in, but our neighbor has great looking vinyl that looks like cedar shake.  I actually had to tap it with my fingers to tell it was vinyl.

Other disadvantages that I have dealt with

1. Vinyl fades with time so when you have to do patching, it stands out like a sore thumb.
2. Vinyl gets brittle with time. I've repaired lots of holes from rocks thrown by lawnmowers, ladders that poked holes, errant 2 x 4's being carried by owners, etc. Once it gets brittle, it is pretty easy to poke a hole in the stuff.
3. With Vinyl you don't have to paint but you have to clean it almost yearly for mold. Many make the mistake of cleaning it from ground level with power washers and blowing water up through the weep holes on the bottom sides which causes water and mold damage to their sheathing. That alone I think make painting once a decade seem much more attractive.
4. Vinyl warps and bends with heat and cold applied. Just sight down any house with vinyl siding that has been around for a few years and it looks like a ruffled potato chip.
5. It is very hard to work with after the fact if you need a new extrusion through your siding. The easiest way is to remove the siding in that area, make your hole or whatever and then reinstall the siding.

[Fishindude]

Don't overlook good old traditional cedar siding.  There are houses 200 years old covered in cedar siding, you just have to install it correctly, then keep up the maintenance / painting.   I've got it on our place, first paint job is good for 7-8 years, then paint about every 5-6 years after that.   In my opinion it just looks a whole lot better than any of the vinyl, cement board or other sidings that are trying to look like real wood.

Cement board will have to be painted just as frequently to keep it looking nice and vinyl will always be the same color and looks "cheap", plus a rock from a lawn mower will put a hole in it.

[lthenderson]

Don't overlook good old traditional cedar siding.  There are houses 200 years old covered in cedar siding, you just have to install it correctly, then keep up the maintenance / painting.   I've got it on our place, first paint job is good for 7-8 years, then paint about every 5-6 years after that.   In my opinion it just looks a whole lot better than any of the vinyl, cement board or other sidings that are trying to look like real wood.

One drawback to cedar siding though is dealing with woodpeckers if they are common in your area. After many many years of filling and patching holes in my cabin's cedar siding, I finally resorted to metal. I hate how it looks but at least I can spend my cabin time relaxing instead of fixing woodpecker holes!

[Dancin'Dog]

Don't overlook good old traditional cedar siding.  There are houses 200 years old covered in cedar siding, you just have to install it correctly, then keep up the maintenance / painting.   I've got it on our place, first paint job is good for 7-8 years, then paint about every 5-6 years after that.   In my opinion it just looks a whole lot better than any of the vinyl, cement board or other sidings that are trying to look like real wood.

One drawback to cedar siding though is dealing with woodpeckers if they are common in your area. After many many years of filling and patching holes in my cabin's cedar siding, I finally resorted to metal. I hate how it looks but at least I can spend my cabin time relaxing instead of fixing woodpecker holes!

Ditto on the woodpeckers.  My dad built a beautiful cedar sided house on a lake when I was a kid, and within a few years of battling woodpeckers he gave up and covered it with vinyl. 


Carpenter bees can do major damage to pine. 


With global warming I worry about our wooden siding in case there's ever a forest fire. 

[FiftyIsTheNewTwenty]

If you'e in CA, cedar may not be allowed because of fire danger.

For wood look, it's hard to beat cement-fiber board like Hardie.

You can insulate under it with foam board, and/or use a shiny radiant barrier wrap.

[TomTX]

If you'e in CA, cedar may not be allowed because of fire danger.

For wood look, it's hard to beat cement-fiber board like Hardie.

You can insulate under it with foam board, and/or use a shiny radiant barrier wrap.

I believe the foil-faced Isocyene foam board has the best thermal properties among stuff commonly available.