Siding – what’s everyone liking these days?
Mill_house
| Posted in General Questions on
Hi. I live in Climate Zone 7. What are people in same zone liking for siding these days? Seems James Hardie Board is all I see being sold/used.
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User 7154213,
First of all, can you tell us your name? (I'm Martin.)
Respectfully, might I suggest that it hardly matters what type of siding other homeowners are liking?
There are two approaches here. If you want your house to blend into your neighborhood, and you know what type of siding your neighbors have installed, you should mimic your neighbors.
Otherwise, my advice is: It's your house. Install the type of siding you like -- not what "everyone else" is installing.
My question was designed to get options outside of Hardie board. I’ve googled siding options, watched the occasional YouTube video of people at building shows talking about what’s new in siding. Now I’m checking with GBA community. Liking means what’s good for zone 7, Hardie board esque, installs perhaps better and possibly a tad less expensive, and has a good track record. I saw a video on certainteed board having a class action suit. So of course I’m wanting to check things out here with the community prior to proceeding. In the end I will decide for myself. I just like hearing what others have to say. Thanks.
What is your construction? Stud spacing, sheathing, outboard insulation, etc. Some products have restrictions on what you can install them on.
Metal will last longer and will likely not need to be painted in your lifetime. The same is true for stucco. I would use either before a wood-based product or one that needed painting every 6-8 years.
In most cases, installing the siding over strapping with help with longevity. Overhangs are also a plus for new construction.
Climate Zone 5, E. WA state.
Not a builder, but friends and family are. LP Smartside and Hardie are the two most popular. Rarely, if ever, have I driven by or been on a site where a rainscreen was used. Tyvek/wrap and then the siding. Higher end places have more stucco going on. Real cedar shingles are popular but very spendy (in comparison).
LP takes impact a bit better from what I heard. Has more give before cracking.
When I design my client's homes, my first inclination is to look at the style of the house they want to decide the primary, secondary or even third cladding material, as I wouldn't install siding on a Pueblo house, or an all brick east coast plantation house. Sometimes neighborhood guidelines like conservation or historical districts dictate your choices. In big cities, like Dallas, Denver or LA, traditional style homes are being replaced with modern structures.
Basically, install whatever you like best, but follow manufacturers best practices installation instructions.
I guess you live in an area where natural wood siding or logs (CZ7) are most popular, but cement sidings are a very good choice, and have become the first choice for many builders because its durability and labor readiness. Best practices call for rainscreens, which is not follow in most of the country.
I would be cautious to use stucco in cold, humid climate... even in warm, dry climate has its challenges.
We used locally produced white cedar shingles. While cheaper than most other siding material, installation takes more labor, with the end result similar in cost to Hardie, etc. No need to paint or stain is a plus.
I like wood siding, because it's plentiful, renewable and traditional here in the northeast. When installed on a properly detailed rain screen it lasts a long time. For additional rot resistance, you can get acetylated lumber, or use the shou sugi ban method of charring the siding; charcoal can't rot.
For manufactured material, I usually spec LP Smartside. Very durable when detailed properly, and much easier to make it look good than it is with Hardie. Boral Truexterior, a mix of fly ash and resin, is another good option, though a bit expensive, it is totally rot-proof and can be used in contact with the ground or roof (at cheek walls), which is not the case with any other material besides cellular PVC.
What for you mean “lp is much easier to make look good”?
I should qualify my statement; I have installed wood siding of all sorts (quick math says about 1/2 acre of it), but I've never installed Hardie Siding or LP Smartside myself. These days I mostly design projects that others build, and I usually spec a wood siding product. But when I have to spec a manufactured siding, I've found that LP Smartside is more structurally sound, moves less with temperature, appears easier to make clean cuts on, and just generally looks better (in my opinion) than Hardie lap siding. But I put them both in the same category, as better than vinyl, and not as good as wood or Boral when it comes to aesthetics.
Shou sugi ban is very expensive. I was very interested in it until I got a quote that was about a third the cost of the entire rest of my house. You can DIY of course, if you've got several hundred hours of spare time.
Wood siding is very susceptible to woodpecker damage, so don't use it if you have any in your locale. Engineered wood is allegedly not appealing to woodpeckers, though I'm somewhat sceptical of that.
Trevor, I have heard the woodpecker concern before, but I have lived with a lot of wood siding and woodpeckers around for most of my 44 years and have never seen a problem. Of course now that I say that.... I imagine if they have bug-infested trees nearby, siding is less appealing.
I'm sure shou sugi ban siding is expensive to buy. I've had one client do their own project using the technique, and it wasn't to the "alligator skin" stage. Someday I'll try it but it's definitely a niche technique.
There must be many factors that come into play, including colour of siding. My in-laws just up the road from me had their wood siding massively vandalized by woodpeckers. That was enough for me to steer clear of solid wood products.
Michael,
I think the mistake designers make with Hardi-plank and LP Smartside is trying to disguise them as wood siding. They have their own aesthetic qualities. If you emphasize them, they both look a lot better.
Malcolm, I'll agree with you there. I'm in favor of honest materials whenever possible.
Please note the LP Smartside is not the same as Hardi-plank I have seen the LP product swell and the warranty is useless.
Walt
Walter, what part of their 50-year (prorated) warranty do you find deficient? (https://lpcorp.com/resources/product-literature/warranties/lp-smartside-warranty-english) Are you sure you've seen LP Smartside swell? They had major problems with their former siding product, Innerseal, in the 1990s, but the newer Smartside formulation has been around for 20 years and I have not heard of any problems with it, when properly installed. That's not to say there have not been any problems, but I try to pay attention to these kinds of things.
I'm guessing the deficiency is when it comes time for them to stand behind the warranty. I have read many complaints of people trying to claim warranty, only to be denied based on a seemingly irrelevant technicality. To be fair, I saw such complaints for both LP and Hardie. Of course, just because there are complaints doesn't necessarily make them valid.
Michael Maines,
What kind of wood siding do you like? Do you ever spec Eastern White Pine? Do you paint/stain it or leave it 'as-is'? Always enjoy your input. Thank you!
Rick, here in New England the standard wood clapboard siding has long been western red cedar, preferably clear, vertical grain, and that's mainly what I installed back in my carpentry days, along with a lot of white cedar shingles, and occasionally red cedar shakes or shingles. For the last ten years or so I have often found it more affordable to use western hemlock. I have installed locally sawn spruce clapboards but they only come in short lengths and tend to be a bit brittle, in my experience. I have not used eastern white pine clapboards but I would not be opposed to using them, if fully sealed and on a good rain screen system. I've always used either solid stain or latex paint on clapboards.
For types of siding other than clapboards, my go-to is eastern white cedar shingles, preferably unfinished--the original low-maintenance siding. We have several mills not far from me. I've also spec'd and/or installed a lot of white cedar shingles with bleaching oil, for those who can't wait for natural weathering. When clients want colored shingles I spec single-dipped at the factory, with a second coat applied after installation, for the cleanest look--I learned the hard way that it's hard to keep double-dipped shingles looking perfect during installation.
I also like using flush board siding; traditionally called Dolly Varden in New England, and Car Siding elsewhere, or now with various profiles such as nickel gap it can have a modern look. On the Fine Homebuilding 2016 ProHome (Now "FHB House") we used a mix of Boral lap siding and flush nickel gap siding.
So much wisdom here- Thank you Michael!
You're welcome Rick--happy to share my experiences.
Just emerged from days of "deck sanding hell" at my house refurbishing a cedar deck and railings. I've decided that in the 21st century anyone who uses wood anywhere outside is out of their mind. I will never use wood for anything exterior ever again. There are just too many other good materials now a days. Aluminum, composites, etc., but NOT wood or wood derivatives. IMHO.
Woohoo to this. I was starting to wonder why everyone was talking about wood. I can't think of anyone in climate 7 who opts for wood. Don't you all want something that's maintenance free? Wood would definitely require upkeep. Would it not? < do you like all the wood/would references?
T.Barker,
For decks I completely agree. I wish FHB published photos of their award winning decks after five and then ten years. Only people with OCD and a lot of time on their hands can keep decks looking good. Wood siding though can be pretty low maintenance with a long lifespan.
Yeah I know, but I'm not about "low" maintenance anymore. I'm all about ZERO maintenance!
I've had insulated aluminum siding on my custom built house for 20 years and it still looks like the day they put it on. All I do is look at it and smile. Some of the new aluminum siding looks just like wood - that's what I'd use (combined with stone or stone veneer).
T. Barker,
I can't disagree. I've been slowly replacing the high-maintenance materials on my house rather than re-finish them. Life (particularly summer weekends) is too short to spend all your time working on your house.
Longfellows in Windsor Maine makes beautiful white cedar shingles at a great price. And Jim Longfellow and his family are great people to deal with. And zero maintenance. Really.
I agree, Stephen--I grew up a mile and a half from Jim, and remember going over as a kid to watch them cut shingles, at the time on their scary antique saw. I believe they have modernized but still put out a good product.
Michael- it's still pretty scary looking equipment.
I'm looking at putting a mixture of cement-board siding and EIFS synthetic stucco both for low maintenance and fire resistance.
On the cement board siding we are looking at Hardie board or Allura. Allura does a nice ship lap that makes a nice clean line. Does anybody have any info on the comparison between Hardie board and Allura?
What about the weight difference between the two, which is heavier and by how much? I'm concerned with weight as we are installing it over 2.5" of foam and I can't seem to find weight numbers for the Allura.
Steve,
I've used Hardi, Certainteed and Allura concrete-based siding, and haven't noticed any appreciable weight difference between them. Some builders don't like the way Certainteed holds fasteners near the ends, some don't like the new Hardi design that only allows the boards to be installed one way up, and some say Allura is harder to carry without breaking, but I've never heard of anyone comment on their relative weight.
OK, I have to ask: What's wrong with vinyl?
It's cheaper than Hardieboard, has a built-in rainscreen, and never needs painting. Over 50 years of painting wood or Hardie, I'd bet vinayl siding consumes no more polymers than the polymers in the paint you will use. So why do we dislike it so?
(I am using Hardieboard on my house, like everyone else, but I cannot rationalize the decision.)
I like Boral because it is easy to cut and does not absorb moisture. It only comes primed, but I don't like any of the Hardie colors anyway.
Unfortunately, I was getting ready to place an order for the beveled siding last week when I was informed they stopped selling the day before I was going to order it. The story is that it was not selling well so they discontinued it and are buying back all the stock sitting in the yards. Sounds a bit fishy to me. They are still offering the trim and the other siding profiles - channel, nickel gap, shiplap, etc.
Mark,
The only real knock on vinyl siding I can think of is that it probably devalues a house compared to most other choices for completely irrational reasons.