Siding Types
The top five siding types in the US are: vinyl siding, brick, stucco, fiber cement siding, and wood siding. Since 1994, vinyl siding has been #1 in market share among types of residential siding. According to the 2009 US Census, vinyl siding accounted for 34% of surveyed houses with brick following at 23%.
What are vinyl siding shakes?
Vinyl siding shakes vs. wood
Vinyl siding shingles: a woodsy look without the upkeep
Log vinyl siding: a product comparison
The popularity of certain siding types over others is driven primarily by:
- installed cost,
- appearance (or curb appeal),
- durability, and
- availability of installation professionals.
In areas of the country with more severe weather, vinyl siding has replaced wood siding because vinyl requires significantly less paint and rot maintenance. Furthermore, initial vinyl siding costs ($180 per 10'x10' section) are almost 70% less than those of wood siding based on industry norms.
New Vinyl Siding Types
If you are choosing among siding types, you should also factor in the versatility of vinyl siding. New advances in materials technology have broadened the available vinyl siding color palette while maintaining industry standards for fade resistance. Examples of this include Certainteed's EverNew line or Norandex's ColorHold line. This is a major improvement especially for darker hues.
Moreover, advances in manufacturing have expanded the number of realistic vinyl siding types -allowing for increasingly popular lines such as vinyl siding shingles, log vinyl siding and board and batten vinyl siding. These new products offer not only excellent value vs. cost, but also improved durability and reduced maintenance requirements over previous alternatives. For more examples of new siding types, see our section on vinyl siding styles.
