The Pros and Cons of Home Siding

Your home’s siding is a lot more important than most people realize. In addition to protecting your home’s structure from damage, it also defines your home’s style and design. Although a lot of people put off getting new siding due to its expense and the hassle of getting it installed, there are some tradeoffs you have to make when you get new siding installed. So, why should you have new siding installed? Here are some pros and cons to help you find out if it will be worth it.

Home siding is important for the overall design of your house

Improve Your Home’s Energy Efficiency

A major benefit of having new siding installed is that the right siding can improve your home’s energy efficiency. Siding can reduce the amount of heat getting into the home during the summer and act as additional insulation during the winter to help lower your energy bills. Siding does this by reducing the amount of air that enters or leaves the house, keeping the home cool or warm, depending on what the temperatures outside look like.

There are different types of siding to choose from

You Get to Save Money

In addition to saving money on your electricity bill, you also get to save money from not having to paint your home often. New siding, especially vinyl, aluminum or fiber cement siding,  does not need painting.

Boost Your Home’s Value

Installing new siding is one of the home improvements that have a very high return on investment. If you are thinking about selling your home, siding can make it more appealing and justify you asking for a higher price.

Boost your home’s value by adding siding

Maintenance

Maintenance can be both a benefit and a disadvantage depending on the siding material you choose. Vinyl siding is low maintenance as there is no finishing or painting required. Wood vinyl, on the other hand, requires a lot more maintenance because it is susceptible to the elements and pests. However, if you still want to use wood for your siding, you can opt for engineered wood.

Engineered wood is an eco-friendly siding alternative to actual wood and it is made out of wood fibers and durable resins. Engineered wood can also be coated with wax to make it waterproof and treated with zinc borate to protect it from damage by mold and insects. Because of all its properties, engineered wood has very low maintenance requirements.

Siding can also be eco-friendly

Hiding Structural Damage

When you have siding installed, it gets harder to see any structural damage that your home might sustain over the years. This damage can go unchecked and that could lead to even bigger problems down the road. The best thing you can do is to ask a contractor to check for any structural damage when replacing or repairing your siding. This way, you get new siding and the reassurance that your home is in good shape.

Home siding can also hide a few imperfections

Installation

The two things to think about regarding installation are the cost of the siding itself and the cost of having the siding installed. For siding that requires a professional such as vinyl siding, you would end up paying a sizable sum.

Siding does have its pros and cons. However, the pros do outweigh the cons, and this is why homeowners are advised to install home siding if and when they can.