The Unattractive Look of Vinyl Siding   

Vinyl house siding is like an outside plastic shell for a house. Vinyl siding is used mainly for the exterior house finish, for decoration and waterproofing purpose of the house. Although it is a reliable alternative to conventional wood siding, aluminum sidings and fiber cement siding, its appearance is really not that attractive and is not the best choice of all the siding options. It is manufactured from PVC (Poly vinyl chloride) and very inexpensive as far as siding goes. It takes a lot of imagination to believe it is attractive. 

 Although vinyl house siding is one of the most popular exterior house sidings for residential homes in Canada and United States it doesn’t mean that it attractive. It comes pre-painted and that is the color it will stay for as long as it is on the house, not withstanding fading from the sun. In addition, it is not environmentally friendly such as wood siding. It creates hazardous disposal problems during the manufacturing as well as when it is removed from a home.

On the bright side, vinyl siding has its advantages. It is the most inexpensive home siding on the market and has excellent durability. However its durability depends on the climate where it is used. It does not do well in high temperature or desert regions because of intensity of the sun. When a section becomes damaged the entire section has to be replace as opposed to wood siding where the damage can be simply cut out and a new piece inserted.

One of the claimed biggest advantages of vinyl siding is its low maintainability cost. That is in dispute because dust builds up on the vinyl from the wind which requires it to be washed with a pressure washer every year to keep it looking fresh. A good quality pressure washer costs several hundred dollars. When the house needs pressure washing, several tall ladders are required to reach all the areas of the house. It is also necessary to install additional insulation underneath the siding because the vinyl panels do not provide adequate insulation by itself.

In short, vinyl siding is not the best siding to put on a home although it may be the cheapest. It is not attractive by any stretch of the imagination. The most attractive house siding is wood siding or composite wood siding. Both are great choices and neither requires any more maintenance than vinyl siding.

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Vinyl and Fiber-Cement Siding

Vinyl Siding

Wood Siding

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