Vinyl Siding Basics

Re-doing the siding on your home can be a big undertaking. Our vinyl siding basics is a good place to get your feet wet when it comes to exterior cladding. We have put together a vinyl siding guide that can help you answer some key questions to help you understand the replacement siding process much better.

Selecting The Best Siding

The first question to nail down is the type of siding material you want to use on your house. There are many types of siding, but vinyl siding is definitely the most popular replacement material. Perhaps the most important division in siding materials is between man-made / synthetic (vinyl, fiber cement, etc.) and natural materials such as cedar and brick. Natural materials usually cost a bit more, require much more maintenance and look very authentic and natural. Man made or synthetics can cost a bit less, require less maintenance and look less authentic.

Many homeowners who live in the country opt for natural materials to match their surroundings, while lots of urban and suburban owners prefer a vinyl or synthetic option. You typically will make the choice in conjunction with finding a good manufacturer and a solid contractor. The best approach is to collect information on the different styles or materials and begin to imagine what would be the best long term fit.

Siding Prices

Siding prices will vary based on a whole of factors. The most important of which include the material you select, the amount of trim, soffits, accessories you include in your design, the quality and type of contractor you go with, whether of not they need to tear off your existing siding, your location and the time of year that the install takes place. Here are siding price ranges for five of the most popular cladding options.



Select Your Material
Area Square Footage
Siding Brand Quality
Zip Code




Aluminum
$5 to $8 per square foot installed

Cedar
$3.50 to $6.50 per square foot installed

Engineered Wood
$3 to $7 per square foot installed

Fiber Cement
$5 to $10 per square foot installed

Vinyl
$1.50 to $5.50 per square foot installed

Quality Installation

Quality installation starts with detailed bids from at least 3 local companies or contractors. They will come out, take a look at your home, discuss what you want and then write up a bid for the different materials you are considering and some different options. Getting three bids will hep you make sure that the contractor in question is not throwing out a super high or low bid. Getting the bids on different types of cladding is a good way to compare the material prices, but also lets you get a better sense of what they are charging for labor or installation.