Siding vs. painting the house - Page 5

 

wrote:


You can do the math by getting siding and painting estimates.
I've never had siding myself, but have dealt with painting wood
clapboard.  Since I painted it myself, it was cheaper to keep it.
If I had a clapboard house long-term I would probably get it vinyl
sided.
Another post mentioned sided vs non-sided home values.
When I was house-hunting I rejected wood-sided houses out-of-hand,
because I know the hassle of maintaining them.
Besides needing painting, wood siding is prone to splitting and
rotting.
Aside from "esthetics,"  there are other issues to consider.
Aluminum siding can get dinging, requiring repair/replacement
Vinyl may fade - I don't know that, but I suspect you better get high
quality vinyl if you want it to work long-term.
Color.  You can change paint color, but that's back to esthetics.
Some vinyl sidings offer insulation value.
It's really hard to talk about "long-term investment" value until you
run the numbers.
One other thing I might mention is "peace of mind."
As soon as your house looks like it will need painting, even if it can
hang on for 3 years. you'll be thinking your house needs painting -
for 3 years.
Went through that with my painted house, and with the wood windows in
my current brick house.
Their need of painting was nagging me for years.  I didn't paint them.
Bothered me for a few years, then I decided to get thermal, vinyl
windows put in.  The only time I think of window maintenance now is
when I think how those wood windows were always bothering me.
Should be somebody posting here with actual vinyl experience.
If not, try the DIY and home groups.  Google.

--Vic

 


I grew up in a house with wood siding. As one of 5 boys, we were up
there periodically to repaint a two story house.

What convinced my parents to switch was not the maintenance, but the
fact that when we replaced the wood with vinyl we could easily upgrade
the insulation and weather seal at the same time. It was less work to
put up the vinyl than to put the wood siding back after insulating.

James

 

thismailautodeleted@comcast.net says...

In my real estate market, vinyl siding can negatively affect the
price, because the prospective buyer is (reasonably) concerned
about what's underneath.  

Vinyl is often applied when the original siding has failed,
either due to age, or lack of maintenance. And often it is
covering shingles containing asbestos, which requires a very
expensive removal procedure.

--Gene

 

On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:29:21 -0500, Gene S. Berkowitz


I never got to the point of having a vinyl clad home inspected, and
never thought of that.
Don't believe it would concern me much, as bound asbestos shingles
usually don't present a disposal problem.
But you do raise a point of concern.
I have seen badly sided homes - waviness, gapped fittings - but I
don't really know how the surface if prepped for vinyl cladding.
As with any expensive work, you have to get some basic knowledge.
Most vinyl siding I've seen looks better than the original wood, maybe
because my experience with wood sees the flaws of multi-layered paint
and splitting, popped nails, etc.  I could just be prejudiced.
I really hate seeing anything that spells water/weather intrusion.
My last 2 homes have been brick, and both required tuckpointing, so
there is no panacea.  But tuckpointing lasts decades.
The rough brick isn't much more work than a good prepping/painting of
wood is, but I've hired pros to do the face brick.

--Vic

 

aesthete8 wrote:

   Maybe, maybe it will need replacing too, if it fades or you don't
like the color.

   Whatever you do, use good products. Paint is so labor intensive, and
good paints these days can last for decades, putting on cheap paint is
not frugal. I know, I've done it. I'd say that if your siding is in good
shape, repaint it. If not, think over the alternatives.

   The vinyl siding I see usually covers up something really bad!

   Jeff