Siding Options

By Paul Bianchina

The siding on your home represents one of its most visible aspects, and dictates much of the home's architectural appeal, maintenance schedule, and resale value. And, as with so many other elements of building today, you have more choices in siding materials and styles than ever before. So, if you're building new or about to undertake a remodeling that will involve residing, here are just a few of the many products on the market that are worth taking a closer look at:

HardiPlank and HardiPanel

HardiPlank and HardiPanel, manufactured by James Hardie Building Products, are cement fiber siding products that have grown immensely in popularity in recent years. They are manufactured from a blend of portland cement, ground sand and cellulose fiber, then mixed with water and other additives. The mixture is formed into a variety of siding products that are hard, durable, extremely fire resistant and very dimensionally stable, as well as very attractive. Hardie products are available as individual lap siding boards in both smooth and wood-textured finishes, as beaded or grooved lap siding, as wood-textured siding panels (similar to plywood siding panels), in stucco-look panels and in siding shingles.

Durock

Durock is a U.S. Gypsum product designed for troweling on over an exterior surface that has been prepared using a cement board base and Durock Exterior Basecoat. The material is available in 20 different colors that are fade and weather resistant, or they will make you a custom color by special order. Durock is an acrylic polymer that is flexible and resistant to the extremes of a variety of weather conditions. You can satisfy your individual tastes and accommodate a wide range of architectural styles by varying the application techniques - everything from a light sand finish to a heavy Southwestern motif is possible.

Cultured Stone Veneer

Cultured stones are synthetic stone veneer products that are amazingly realistic. As a veneer, they are lighter, less expensive and easier to install than natural stone, and are suited to a wide variety of applications. Cultured stones are available in natural colors ranging from white to black, and in stone textures such as flint stone, rough lava rock, polished river rocks, and many others.

Composite Wood Siding

Composite woods are part of the growing collection of "engineered" lumber products now on the market. Wood chips, processed from second- and third-growth trees and even recycled wood products, are mixed with resin and formed into individual boards and panels, then surfaced with a very hard and durable resin face that can be either smooth or textured to perfectly match natural wood species such as cedar.

Some of the early generations of composite wood products suffered from problems with durability under extreme weather conditions, but many of those drawbacks have been eliminated in subsequent product lines. These siding materials offer an excellent alternative to natural wood siding. Composite wood siding is available as lap siding boards, or as grooved or un-grooved siding panels.

Vinyl

Vinyl siding use has grown tremendously in recent years on houses of all types and all price ranges. Advancements in the construction and rigidity of many of the upper lines of vinyl siding now offered by several manufacturers have created a siding that hugs the wall tighter and has a straighter configuration than previous generations of vinyl, which tended to sag and develop a concave configuration after installation. And of course, you have the added advantage of never having to paint it.

For more information on these and other siding options, check with your local lumberyard or home center.

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