How to Choose Vinyl Siding: 6 Questions to Ask

Is your home ready for a new look? Give it a face-lift this season with vinyl siding.

It’s that time of year again—time to spruce up the outside of your house! Why not go for a total makeover with new vinyl siding? Not only will you love the look, but vinyl siding can also help increase your home’s curb appeal and is consistently near the top of the list for greatest return on investment if you’re thinking of selling your home. You can recoup up to 75.6% of your cost, according to the Remodeling 2019 Cost vs. Value Report.

Vinyl siding is the most popular and cost-effective type of siding, and it’s durable and virtually maintenance-free.

Here are the six questions you need to ask to choose the best vinyl siding for your home.

1. What’s my budget?

Vinyl siding is a great budget-friendly option for homeowners, compared to painting wood siding every 10 years or installing other types of siding. Sears even has financing options and special offers to help you manage the cost.

2. What colors are available?

“Sears carries many different colors in each of our good, better, best options of vinyl siding,” says Dave Lincon, a home improvement expert for Sears Home Services. “New technology has allowed vinyl to be made in darker pigments that won’t warp or change color,” he adds. “You can get vibrant, richer tones that won’t fade.”

Choose from neutral colors such as Antique Parchment or London Brown — and many others in-between. Or maybe a bolder color such as Cape Cod Blue or Coastal Sage is more to your taste.

“In our higher-end option, we offer an additional 10 darker tones,” Lincon adds. These vibrant hues are in the Architectural Color Collection, which includes Autumn Red, Somerset Wheat, Walnut and more.

3. Which siding option is right for me?

Siding from Sears is available in options to suit every budget.

4. How much maintenance does vinyl siding need?

Compared to other siding options, vinyl requires little maintenance except occasional cleaning with a hose or power washer, soap and water. It gives your home a freshly painted look that’s resistant of scratches, cracks and weather conditions.

Vinyl siding has more benefits as well, Lincon says:

—It won’t warp, rot, peel, split or fade.

—It doesn’t need to be repainted, caulked or repointed.

—It’s insect resistant.

5. What do I need to know about installation?

For the best outcome, hire a professional to install your siding, rather than doing it yourself.

“There are pretty technical things you’d need to do to install siding correctly,” Lincon says. “Vinyl siding expand and contracts. If it’s nailed tight to the wall, you’ll see warping and buckling. A professional has the right tools and know-how to hang siding correctly to avoid these problems.”

Siding installers such as the experts at Sears know to remove existing rotted, warped, cracked or bug-infested siding before installation. “You can even cover over stucco,” Lincon says. “Professional installers make sure your underlayment is properly sealed before putting anything over it.”

6. What about energy efficiency?

Siding, combined with insulation, can make your home more comfortable and energy efficient. It helps you stay cooler in the summer by keeping the heat at bay and warmer in the winter by acting like a blanket to help retain the heat inside.

You can choose what type of insulation thickness you want.

“The thicker insulation can help with R-values, which measure energy efficiency, and with the rigidity of the vinyl,” Lincon says.

No matter what you decide on, “siding is really the best thing you can do to upgrade the exterior of your home,” Lincon says.