Home Siding Options

New developments in architecture and construction are often the result of looking to the traditional for inspiration.  Lap siding (or bevel siding) is a prime example of this in today’s building material world.  What was once (and still is) used as a wood siding for frame construction built homes has now made its way into the arena of non-wood siding.  The same horizontally placed and overlapped process is used, just with different weather resistant materials.  That’s not to say that wood isn’t still used with some regularity – it is.  The difference now is that there are a variety of lap siding options.

With diminishing resources becoming more and more of a concern in the area of construction, many of the man made siding options have developed their own alternatives to lap siding.  It should be noted that real wood lap siding still is a very popular choice.  However, some of the newly developed lap siding alternatives to wood have given the builder and consumer more options.

Some of the alternative materials from which you can choose for lap siding are aluminum, engineered wood, fiber-cement, vinyl and even steel.  Manufactures have taken the aforementioned materials and produced the same style that was once dominated by wood only.

The consumer can elect his or her preferred siding material first and, almost assuredly, will be able to find a manufacturer that produces a lap siding using that same material.  If you are sold on the fiber cement option, for example, it would behoove you to consider siding solutions from James Hardie Building Products, Inc., CertainTeed, GAF, Nichiha and MaxiTile, just to name a few manufacturers.  With a creative use of colors and color combinations, many homeowners have been able to replicate the look of traditional wood lap siding while enjoying the benefits of truly weather resistant and termite resistant material.

If vinyl is your material of choice, there are certainly many choices of brands of vinyl lap siding as well.  CertainTeed, in addition to manufacturing siding of other materials, also is a leader in the vinyl category.  Alcoa and Georgia Pacific are a couple of the industry leaders that you might look over.  Color choices and creative use of textures has help improve the sophistication and quality of vinyl by leaps and bounds.

For the most original look, stay with the original – wood lap siding.  Though many of the newer materials are able to recreate a reasonable facsimile of the traditional version, when it comes down to it, there is no complete replacement.  Wood grain, if maintained properly, will last for years and years as well.  If you are willing to protect your investment and must have wood, there is no reason to settle for anything less.

Weigh your options and decide on what your priorities are as a consumer.  That, combined with material pricing, will help you determine what kind of lap siding you ultimately choose.