The Pros and Cons of Different Types of Siding

With so many different options for siding, it can be hard to choose which is right for your home. Take a deeper look at each to help decide before you buy.

If homeowners could have three wishes for their homes’ exteriors, they would likely be these:

• It’s beautiful.

• It’s budget-friendly.

• It requires little maintenance.

Is there anything that wins this siding trifecta?

There are at least a dozen types of siding you can put on your home — everything from wood and engineered wood to vinyl, composites, aluminum, fiberglass, brick, stone and stucco, says Dave Lincon, a home improvement expert for Sears Home Services.

Here are the pros and cons of the most popular materials.

Vinyl

There’s a reason vinyl is the number one choice of most homeowners. “It’s virtually maintenance-free,” Lincon says. “Maybe every few months you should wash off cobwebs, mud or superficial algae.”

And vinyl has come a long way in terms of aesthetics. There are numerous grain patterns — smooth, oak and cedar — that weren’t options in the past. New extruding methods saturate the vinyl with color that lasts.

“We have 29 colors, ranging from tans and clays to blues, mosses and deep red brick, and we offer good/better/best thickness options,” Lincon says.

Vinyl is easy to install, and, depending on the amount of rotted wood that needs replacing before the siding can be put on, a Sears Home Services crew completes an average-size job in two to three days.

Composites

Composite siding is a mix of two or more materials — such as wood fiber and cement, or wood fiber and polymers — manufactured to resemble wood.

The newest composite on the market launched in 2020 and is a composite cladding made from glass fibers, polymers, graphite and polystyrene. Sold under the name ASCEND® Composite Cladding by Alside, it has several advantages over engineered wood and earlier composites: it never needs painting, it insulates better, it takes less time to install, and it comes with an excellent warranty. ASCEND® Composite Cladding is available in 20 colors.

Wood

Wood looks great, is environmentally friendly (it’s a renewable resource and biodegradable), can be painted or stained any color and comes in a lot of styles. That being said, it can also be costly to maintain and is a target for pests, water damage and rot.

Engineered wood is also an eco-friendly type of siding, and the biggest plus is that it’s designed for long-term use and high performance in all environments. But it too has some of the same issues as natural wood: It has to be painted or stained, requires maintenance to avoid rot and is susceptible to moisture problems.

Brick or Stone

Brick or stone siding is durable and long-lasting and doesn’t need to be painted. Trouble is, these types tend to be heavy and may require structural changes if used on an existing home. There also can be maintenance issues with mortar cracking or deteriorating. ­

Stucco

Stucco, too, is long-lasting, but over time it can crack as a home expands and contracts.

Take the next step

Want to learn more? Let Sears Home Services help you find and install the right siding for your home. Request your free siding installation consultation now.