What are vinyl and stone siding? There are major differences between vinyl and stone siding. Picking one over the other will depend on how much money you are willing to spend. Siding comes in a variety of...
Siding comes in a variety of materials. Two in particular are vinyl and stone siding. Whether you're looking for quality or convenience, here there are many factors to consider when buying siding for your home. Scott Seiler, Marketing Director for ABC Seamless, says vinyl and stone siding both have their advantages and disadvantages.
"Vinyl siding is plastic. The expansion and contraction ratio is huge on it, so when you put vinyl siding on, you have to overlap it every 12 feet. When it gets real hot, for example, in the Texas sun, your siding is going to expand over and back along those seams. If it is nailed too tight to the house, it's going to warp and bend. Sometimes it can only expand and contract so many times and then it just cannot do it anymore. It is just going to shrink. So in between where it was supposed to overlap on each vinyl panel, you can actually see the house, because it does not expand anymore. You can see an inch or so gap on some homes because of the constant expansion and contraction. It does not hold up well in the wind. They discontinue the colors every year. They do bring new ones on every year, but they also discontinue the other ones. If you try to match up existing colors, more than likely it's not going to happen," Seiler says.
According to Seiler, vinyl siding also has another drawback. In the end, it just depends what you are going to use it on.
"The fading is horrible. It's probably one of the worst sidings out there as far as the fade factor," Seiler says.
On the other hand, vinyl siding does have one advantage.
"It's cheap. That is it. That is its strong suite," Seiler says.
As far as stone siding goes, Seiler says this is the best quality siding. Many people opt to go for this luxury siding, because of its durability. Stone siding does have its disadvantages though.
"That is a very durable product and it makes homes look nice. The only thing with that is you have to keep it one color- I mean once you brick it, unless you want to tear down the brick and do it again, that is it," Seiler says.
Because stone siding is so durable, there are some stipulations attached to it. And for all you do-it-yourself types, you're out of luck on stone siding.
"The cost and the expense of transporting is the biggest thing. You need to have professionals install it, as well. It looks great in homes, and you see more of the upper income level people using that for their homes. They also do a couple of different things. They may put brick on the bottom level of homes and then some other type of siding in the upper end. It is a nice durable siding. It looks good, and it's a one-time application," Seiler says.
Whether you're going for quality or value in siding, consider your options before you buy. Always ask a salesperson about the lifespan of the product. Then, you can decide which is the best fit for you.
