What Kind Of Siding Is Right For My Home?

Choosing the Right House Siding Makes a Big Difference

When it comes to keeping your family safe, the siding you choose for your home is important. Choose the right siding, and you’ll:

• Need to perform very little exterior maintenance to your home.
• Avoid problems associated with moisture, wood-boring insects, mold, and mildew.
• Enjoy your home’s curb appeal for years to come.
• Save money on heating and cooling bills.
• Never have to plan for your next siding replacement.

But not every type of house siding delivers these benefits. In fact, you may find that certain siding materials and their installation methods fall short in these areas.

Let’s explore the most common house siding options on the market today so you can make an informed choice when it’s time to begin your home improvement journey.

Stucco Siding

Stucco is the most common principal siding material in the U.S., according to the United States Census Bureau Survey of Construction. Of new single-family homes beginning the construction process in 2023, 26.8% predominantly featured stucco siding.

• Does stucco require maintenance? Stucco requires resealing every five to 10 years. You will also need to repair cracks as they occur. Stucco can also develop stains. Both cracking and staining will require you to repaint.
• Does stucco prevent moisture damage, insect damage, mold, and mildew? Rainwater can get stuck behind your stucco, causing it to develop concave or sunken-in areas. This trapped moisture can cause mold and mildew to develop, not just on the exterior of your house, but inside, too.
• Does it last for years? Technically, stucco can last for 50 to 80 years, but it will require regular repairs during that time to keep it looking great. One such repair, re-dashing, is the re-application of a layer of stucco on the previous coating.
• Is stucco energy efficient? Yes, stucco can be energy efficient. Because stucco has high thermal mass, it absorbs and stores heat during the day, then slowly releases it during the night. This can help stabilize your home’s indoor temperature. However, stucco in poor repair will not perform as well.
• Will it need replacement during your lifetime? You probably won’t need to entirely replace stucco during your lifetime, but re-dashing, patching, and re-painting can come close to the stress, time, and cost of replacement over the decades.

Vinyl House Siding

The Survey of Construction found that vinyl is the second-most common principal single-family house siding material, with 25.6% of 2023 new builds featuring it.

• Does vinyl require maintenance? Yes and no. Vinyl doesn’t require repainting, but it can crack or loosen, which will require repair. Vinyl can also fade, and there is no way to reverse this.

• Does vinyl prevent moisture damage, insect damage, mold, and mildew? When vinyl is properly installed with a moisture barrier such as housewrap, it can prevent moisture damage, mold, and mildew. It also can resist insect damage.

  However, there is room for error with traditional hammer-and-nail vinyl siding installation, which can leave gaps and openings for pests and moisture to enter. As vinyl siding loosens over time, these problems can get worse.

• Does it last for years? Vinyl siding can last for up to 40 years, but you may need to replace planks that crack or warp, or reinstall those that loosen and fall off. After several years, it won’t look as good as it did the day it was installed due to fading and weather damage.
• Is vinyl energy efficient? Some vinyl siding includes added insulation, but some doesn’t. It’s hard to provide an exact measure of energy efficiency because of the variation in material quality.
• Will it need replacement during your lifetime? You probably won’t need a full replacement due to regular wear and tear during your lifetime, but there’s a strong chance your vinyl siding will require repair and plank replacement because it becomes brittle and cracks over time.

Fiber Cement Siding For Houses

The Survey of Construction noted that fiber cement siding was the third-most-popular house siding material in single-family new construction in 2023, with 21.7% of homes featuring it. This house siding option is sometimes called Hardie board siding, its name brand.

• Does fiber cement require maintenance? Fiber cement siding only needs cleaning and repainting every 10 to 15 years. You may not need to paint at all if you purchase and install it pre-finished by the manufacturer.
• Does it prevent moisture damage, insect damage, mold, and mildew? Yes, it resists insect damage and moisture, which reduces the likelihood of developing mold and mildew.
• Does it last for years? The name-brand Hardie board comes with a 30-year warranty, but it is said it can last upwards of 50 years with proper installation and care. However, Hardie board wasn’t invented until the mid-1980s, so we haven’t yet reached the 50-year mark to be certain of its longevity claims.
• Is fiber cement energy efficient? Similar to stucco, fiber cement board works as a thermal barrier, which can improve your home’s energy efficiency.

• Will it need replacement during your lifetime? Hardie board probably won’t need to be replaced during your lifetime, which is important because it can cost up to three times as much as vinyl. However, you may find that your home isn’t well-suited to fiber cement siding.

  This type of house siding weighs 300 pounds per 100 square feet. For the average home in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, or Oklahoma, this amount of weight can lead to structural issues. You’ll need to ask an unbiased professional to evaluate whether your home can withstand this excess weight on its framing.

Brick or Brick Veneer

The survey found that 18.5% of new builds featured brick or brick veneer as their main form of siding.

• Does brick or brick veneer require maintenance? True brick siding and properly installed brick veneer requires very little maintenance, unless you decide to paint it. Then, you’ll need to regularly repaint as the paint chips or wears away. Only certain types of paint should be used on brick siding.

  You may also need to have the brick tuckpointed every 25 to 30 years, a process that involves removing the existing mortar from between the bricks and applying new mortar.

• Does it prevent moisture damage, insect damage, mold, and mildew? Yes, brick siding performs well if it is in good condition. However if water begins seeping through due to improper maintenance, the brick face may flake off and turn to dust.
• Does it last for years? Yes, brick siding, when properly installed and maintained, can last 100 years or more.
• Is it energy efficient? The energy efficiency of clay brick is up to 50% greater than fiber cement board, vinyl siding, or synthetic stucco.
• Will it need replacement during your lifetime? You probably won’t need to replace it in your lifetime, but if you do, beware of its price tag, which is much higher than other types of house siding.

Wood or Wood Products

Just 5.1% of 2023 new-build homes in the survey had siding predominantly made of wood or wood products, such as engineered wood.

• Does wood or engineered wood siding require maintenance? Yes, wood and engineered wood siding, such as LP SmartSide, are one of the more maintenance-intensive materials that are used for house siding. It requires repair after sustaining water damage and regular repainting and recaulking.

• Does it prevent moisture damage, insect damage, mold, and mildew? LP SmartSide’s manufacturing process combines wood strands with resin, waxes, and heat pressing to make it more durable and water-resistant. Finally, zinc borate is applied to protect against termites and fungal decay.

  Although these modern engineered wood siding products are more long-lasting than they used to be, their preventative measures aren’t perfect. Wood is always susceptible to rot and wood-boring insects, which create a path for moisture to enter your home and cause mold and mildew.

• Does it last for years? Engineered wood siding can last for multiple decades with the right care and upkeep.
• Is it energy efficient? Compared to vinyl siding without added insulation, engineered wood siding has a greater r-value, a measure of insulating properties. It can help reduce your energy expenses related to heating and cooling.
• Will it need replacement during your lifetime? LP SmartSide comes with a 50-year limited warranty, but other brands of engineered wood siding may not have this same guarantee. This means you run the risk of needing to replace your siding. At the very least, you will need to remove areas that have rotted and patch them with new materials.

Other House Siding Options

The survey also asked about stone, rock, concrete blocks and an ambiguous category of “other” siding, but their use was reported very infrequently as a primary siding material.

The survey only asked about new single-family homes. There isn’t a follow-up with the new owners who report back on how that siding performs over the years or whether they’re satisfied with the amount of upkeep these materials require.

The survey also didn’t ask whether the new homeowners planned to upgrade or change their siding to a material better known for its durability, performance, and energy efficiency, such as seamless polymer siding.

Seamless Polymer Siding

Seamless polymer siding, invented and patented by Jerry O’Neal, Continental Siding’s founder, helps solve many of the frustrations that homeowners have with other types of house siding.

• Does seamless polymer siding require maintenance? Seamless polymer siding is almost completely maintenance-free. You’ll never need to paint it. You can, however, clean it with a hose or power washer.
• Does seamless polymer siding prevent moisture damage, insect damage, mold, and mildew? Yes. Its watertight installation method and polymer construction mean that it won’t develop mold or mildew and it will keep your home and family safe and dry. Insects can’t chew through it, so you can avoid issues with termites and carpenter ants altogether.
• Does it last for years? Seamless polymer siding from Continental Siding comes with a limited lifetime warranty, which means you can expect it to be a lifetime investment.
• Is seamless polymer siding energy efficient? Seamless polymer siding comes with form-fitted insulation that can reduce your heating and cooling bills by as much as 20%.
• Will it need replacement during your lifetime? With a limited lifetime warranty that guarantees your new siding is free from defects, you won’t need to begin planning for new siding installation during homeownership.

The Choice Is Yours!

Ultimately, the right type of siding for your house is one that will protect it and your family. More than 50,000 homeowners in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas think our made-in-America seamless polymer siding was the right choice for their homes for that reason.

To learn more about seamless polymer siding, request a FREE estimate from Continental Siding. To deliver your estimate, we’ll send a friendly product specialist to your home to answer your questions and let you see and touch samples. The product specialist will give you a down-to-the-penny price quote based on your home’s unique situation and explain the financing options we offer to every customer. If you’re ready to LOVE YOUR HOME, the product specialist will help you get on our installation schedule.

The Continental Siding team would be honored to help you, and we look forward to hearing from you.