# Siding Options Vinyl vs. Fiber Cement



## powrus (Nov 17, 2005)

This may all come down to a matter of personal taste. Personally, I see Fiber Cement siding as a superior product when compared to vinyl siding, for several reasons.

Just my 2 cents worth.


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## 747 (Feb 11, 2005)

I went with vinyl last year i didn't know that hardi came prepainted in different colors from manufacturer. If i would have known that i would have went with it. I say hardi all the way.


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## powrus (Nov 17, 2005)

I should probably just leave my 2 cents worth (above) and let others voice their opinions, but since installing vinyl on my home 10 years ago I have been an UNhappy camper. Regardless of the quality of vinyl siding, you cannot escape the seams, the expansion/contraction factor, the need for occasional cleaning, and the myriad of insects living between the vinyl and the exterior wall boards. 

This product (vinyl) is extremely popular due to cost and/or installation ease. Entire subdivisions now show off their look-alike sidings. Certainly less maintenance than painted surfaces and great for cover-up applications over weathered and deteriorating siding ... but that's about the end of the "positives" ...... (IMHO).


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## Builtrite Residential (Aug 25, 2005)

Hardi plank is a far superior product in my book trimmed out with azek. I guess the downfall is the caulking recomendations for the expansion gaps but if prepainted boards and colored caulking I feel the hardi plank is the right choice in my opinion.


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## mostlyprobably (Jan 27, 2011)

*two cents from someone COMPLETELY clueless *

I am redoing the entire exterior of my house, windows, doors, siding, and roof. I am a noob to this whole remodeling business (so who knows why I bought a fixer upper anyway? oh... price tag...) but in my research, the fiber cement siding seems to be a much better deal in every way possible but the price tag. We have aluminum siding on the house right now and as a result, the house looks even junkier than it is. I will pay more for fiber cement and do my part for the environment than put vinyl on my house.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

not a big fan of the standard fiber cement panels,too small of a panel projection reminds me of the old asbestos siding,there are thicker fc products out there that more closely resemble wood siding but are considerably more expensive,as far as material i don't see a big difference why it is better than vinyl...different not better


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## Inergy (Feb 1, 2011)

WE just went with hardi. Easy to work with but man is that stuff heavy.


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## bernieb (Mar 20, 2010)

Consider this.....white vinyl siding reflecks heat in the summer, goes up quick, last a very long time, just don't nail up tight, and can be installed with insulating backer boards, even helps to keep siding from getting wavy (a problem with vinyl) . If you have any outside wall plumbing, you can remove vinyl siding much quicker for repairs, instead of tearing out cabinets, or ceramic tile for the repair. What state do you live in?


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## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

Vinyl looks like crap when its fresh and doesn't age well.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

well that's just in your limited opinion but i'll give you the ageing well part,that's mostly because people have been told it maintenance free but there is no such thing with any siding product


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Remember the days were things weren’t covered in plastic and cement?


Don’t be disillusioned that Vinyl or Hardi are forever or maintenance free.


I like Wood, it has character and sometimes even personality that you’ll never get with today’s alternatives IMO.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

i'm with you Ron:thumbup:

here's an addition ive been working on recently


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Now that’s what I’m talking about.


Looks great Tom.:thumbsup:


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## loneframer (Mar 27, 2009)

I've installed many types of siding, but I put vinyl on my own home. Price was a big consideration, but moreso, value for my dollar.

All siding products have positives and negatives. Personally, I don't find vinyl all that offensive.


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## waterman1971 (Apr 19, 2009)

Remember folks, Vinyl is final!


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## forresth (Feb 19, 2010)

waterman1971 said:


> Remember folks, Vinyl is final!


Ha ha hahaha ...... haha :laughing:

I've seen way too much vinyl in need of replacement (for a variety of reasons) to buy that line.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

very limited


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## loneframer (Mar 27, 2009)

forresth said:


> Ha ha hahaha ...... haha :laughing:
> 
> I've seen way too much vinyl in need of replacement (for a variety of reasons) to buy that line.


 OK then. How about "plastic's fantastic"?:wink:


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

They both have their pros and cons...... Well, the workmanship looks good, LF....but they skipped a step...

Obrian, *where *are you located?

Welcome to the forum!

Gary


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## loneframer (Mar 27, 2009)

GBR in WA said:


> They both have their pros and cons...... Well, the workmanship looks good, LF....but they skipped a step...


 Care to elaborate?


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## fungku (Jul 27, 2008)

uh oh


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## remodel23 (Feb 25, 2011)

I am residing my home. One siding contractor is telling me that you can not put insullation behind hafrdie board. The other says they will install 1/2" insullation behind the hardie board. Whos correct?


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## remodel23 (Feb 25, 2011)

Has anyone heard of Raindrop housewrap and if so, what are your thoughts?


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

Hardie says you can


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## woodmeistro (Jul 7, 2011)

I have vinyl siding on my house that is about 10 yrs old. Things I don't like about vinyl, it expands and contracts a lot, especially here in Ga, the weed eater tears it up no matter how hard i try not to hit it, it sags and is wavy, it looks cheap, and i had a rock hit it from the lawn mower and now there is a hole in it. I cannot find the color that matches and after 10 yrs in the sun, it wouldn't match anyway. 

I would like input on options, hardi plank is better, but still requires maintenance. if I would have known better back then I would have bought brick. 

I saw an new product at Lowe's the other day, it was morterless brick veneer. I like the idea because it can be installed on a house that wasn't built for brick (no brick ledge), and doesn't require a mason to install, meaning I can do it
. has anyone out there ever used this stuff.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Now you see why stucco is such a popular option in California......no seams....get any color you want....cracks are easy to fix...etc...

I did both stucco and vinyl on my garage. It kept it from looking like a stucco brick....

We are doing a 2-story addition right now.....most of it will be stucco...but we are going to use vinyl shake for the upstairs front face. Shake does a good job of now showing seams...loneframer's house is a good example.....he should get 30-40 years of service out of his siding before he needs any real attention.


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## woodmeistro (Jul 7, 2011)

good lookin shop. I have worked with hard coat stucco and effs (foamboard with dryvit on it) and would not use the later because of it being easy to damage. I have thought about vertical painted metal. Low maintenance is what I want. I work for a commercial GC and everything we do is LOW maintenance stuff but it is all really expensive, so I am looking for cost effective but low maintenance. I have never had any experience with vinyl except this house and i will never do it agian. One of these days I plan to build but only when I can afford to build my way, I want to build a houe that will be around in 2-3 hundred years. Concrete and steel. I have always been dissapointed with the quality of residential houseing, most builders only build to meet minimum standards and can barely meet that. There isn't much differance between the 800 thousand and the 100 thousand dollar house behind the walls, it just cosmetic finishes.


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## algray (Sep 3, 2011)

How do you fix a piece of siding that has come loose and pulling away from the rest?


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## algray (Sep 3, 2011)

*vinyl siding*

how do you fix a piece of vinyl siding that is coming loose and pulling away?


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## waterman1971 (Apr 19, 2009)

*embed*

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## almostnormal (Jan 27, 2011)

Are any of you familier with this fiberglass stuff? http://www.apexsiding.com/ Its something I'm thinking about...


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

to fix a peice of vinyl thats coming off all you need is a $8 zip lock tool, it unlocks peices when you need to repair it. once unlocked you can get at the nails on the course below

as for harti, you can allow for the waviness in the wall. simply shim behind the rain screen furring and eye down the wall as you go looking for high spots and low spots. in regards to insulating behind it, i do it all the time every house i side gets 1" of rigid foam put on the entire house before the siding goes on.

any siding job can look like crap, it takes patience and proper prep work is what makes it look like a million buck:thumbsup: just ask the man with 50 nail guns:whistling2: howdy riz


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## Decoramould (Nov 16, 2009)

woodmeistro said:


> good lookin shop. I have worked with hard coat stucco and effs (foamboard with dryvit on it) and would not use the later because of it being easy to damage.


EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finish Systems - your "foamboard and dryvit") can be reinforced with a second layer of heavy-duty mesh. While it's generally less impact resistant than other claddings, it can be *easily reinforced*. It adds about $2 per square foot to the area that requires it, which is not the entire house (high foot traffic areas and doors). See link below.



wooworkbykirk said:


> as for harti, you can allow for the waviness in the wall. simply shim behind the rain screen furring and eye down the wall as you go looking for high spots and low spots. in regards to insulating behind it, i do it all the time every house i side gets 1" of rigid foam put on the entire house before the siding goes on.


You'll want to be careful with this. Installing EPS over a wood sheathing without a proper weather barrier or drainage layer between is a recipe for disaster, especially in Canada.

Fiber Cement is becoming more popular up here, and from what I've seen of the installers' practices, it's not something I'd want on my time. If installed properly, it can be real nice and long lasting without concern for moisture. But that's not what I've seen.

Given the choice between vinyl and fiber cement, I'd go with fiber cement. Given the choice of those or EIFS, I'd go with EIFS (ensuring it's installed properly). You can get around the "softness" of EIFS by having it reinforced with an additional layer of "heavy duty mesh" (or "high impact", or "panzer") - see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZcbVinkaaY&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLDAB25161D20F4244


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

when we put foam on we use extruded poly, not expanded. the only issues that have been seen with it locally have been complaints from neighbors when small peices of scraps blow into their yard. as long as the product is installed properly and proper flashing techiques are used its fine


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## Decoramould (Nov 16, 2009)

wooworkbykirk said:


> when we put foam on we use extruded poly, not expanded. the only issues that have been seen with it locally have been complaints from neighbors when small peices of scraps blow into their yard. as long as the product is installed properly and proper flashing techiques are used its fine


XPS is fine as well. Most EIFS manufacturers are beginning to use geometrically defined insulation boards now however, of which I've only seen EPS.

And yes, as long as there is a trowel-applied weather barrier and drainage channels, there shouldn't be any issues.


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