Thread: Siding Choice Question

Hardie Plank is a great product and too me creates much greater curb appeal than a metal or vinyl siding.

Ouch, I was afraid of that. Of course it cost more than vinyl. Hope to hear from other members but I am leaning toward Hardie.


Thanks for your input,
Connie

I would agree with the previous post. Hardie siding is much better from a resale standpoint; it gives much more curb appeal and it's a sign of quality. If you have a lower price point house however I don't think it's worth the extra money.

Go with the HardiePlank. Though if you were keeping it I would say the Vinyl as long as you liked the looks of it. Now days most mid to higher end vinyl is a better product, however, troubles with some types of Vinyl early leaves some thinking that Vinyl is a subpar product. That is not the truth but this feeling is likely to stay around for sometime. Another issue with Vinyl is that alot of people do not like the idea of having a "plastic house." Or at least that is how I have had it explained to me.

Yes, Hardi-Plank is a way better product but the more important question is what does the rest of your neighborhood have for siding? If the majority of the homes have vinyl, you will be over-improving your home with the hardiplank and will not get your money back.

I am a siding and roofing contractor. There are a couple of issues that you should consider. With the vinyl w/ green guard and w/ insulated vinyl, the wall surface will be build out between 1" - 1.25". This means that all of your trim will more than likely sit recessed from the siding. To me this looks horrible. If you are going with vinyl, just do the vinyl w/ house wrap. the added r2 or so on your walls wont make any difference. Most of your energy loss will go through windows, doors, and your attic. Most energy loss in your walls are through gaps, which a good house wrap job would take care of. Hardie is a more desireable product and its available prepainted. You mentioned that your house is a rambler. I dont think that the cost of Hardie over vinyl will be more than a 1000. You will have to consider other things with Hardie as well. Trim has to be installed at in and out corners at the least. I happen to be in Alexandria also. Call me if you want an estimate.

-Joon

IMHO, the verdict on hardiplank has not come in yet. I know builders who will not use it because of its quirks. HP can not stand up to water so you have to paint and caulk it religiously.

Put a piece of HP in a bucket of water and in a couple of days you have mush. So, if you use it, make sure it is blind nailed to keep the water out of the nail holes, the ends of any cut boards get painted before installation and all of the other installation procedures are followed to the letter.

This is part true. In the early days of HP, their POS display had it in a jar of water. This is not the case anymore. Whether they changed their manufacture process or just realized it doesn't work, I don't know. Around the same time that they removed this display, they also revised their installation guide. All standard installation per their guide keeps any constant exposure to water from the product.

Installation is key.

Mike Taylor, once again makes a good point as to what is common in your neighborhood. But, ultimately you will not recieve your money back on residing the home period. It is just one of those things that buyers tend not to pay extra for as most do not understand its importance.