What are metal and aluminum siding used for? Metal and aluminum house siding both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you're trying to decide whether to go with metal siding or aluminum siding for...
If you're trying to decide whether to go with metal siding or aluminum siding for your home, there is some important information you should know-just ask Scott Seiler, marketing director for ABC Seamless with more than 33 years experience in the home improvement business.
Metal is one of the strongest siding products on the market. If you've been looking for the perfect siding for your home, metal may be the product you want to go with, Seiler says.
"It has durability. It is a very strong, durable product. With all the technology and research that manufacturers have done with all the chemicals, they have found that steel bonds the paint and reduces the fade issue of our color on steel. With steel, you are getting great color retention; you are also getting a great durable product on your home that you never have to maintain. The biggest thing that we tell every homeowner is - maybe once a year because of rain and the dirt that it carries - you may have to just hose down your house. It's sort of like washing your car," Seiler says.
Metal siding can cost you some money. That is its biggest disadvantage, Seiler says. However, you don't have to worry about fading color, and cleaning it is easy. If metal siding is not the way you want to go, you have other options.
Aluminum siding is a lot cheaper, but the quality doesn't compare, Seiler says. Aluminum siding isn't easy to find nowadays. In the past, many issues arose from the quality of the product. Many mobile homes were and are made with this type of product.
"Aluminum siding, in the 50s and 60s, was very popular. There was a company called Louisiana-Pacific that received a lot of lawsuits against it because of what happens with the aluminum and the painting that they put on it. It starts chalking, and dust builds on it. It loses its luster. It really loses its color. Overall it was okay, but the color factor just threw it in the dumpster. That was the biggest problem - the chalking. Also when the sun shines on the paint, it just doesn't work well. The siding doesn't have a nice bond to it, and so that affects it. You rarely see anyone using aluminum siding now, because of all the repairs that have to be done on it," Seiler says.
The aluminum siding of today is a lot different, but Seiler suggests that the quality still doesn't compare to metal siding. If you are a mobile home owner, your house may be covered with this. Seiler suggest you replace it with metal siding for more durability.
"When we install our siding, most of the time we put on what we call an insulation backer on it. Not only does it help with energy efficiency for heating and cooling seasons, it also helps as a noise barrier for outside noises. When you add steel, it is very strong. When you put that onto a trailer home or mobile home, it's going to help to reinforce it," Seiler says.
