Hardiboard type stuff vs premium vinyl?

[Wild Turkey]

LOML has decreed "minimum maintenance" for new house.  Single story, siding over faux rock exterior.

Framers are supposed to start tomorrow so we have a little time to make our final decision so I'm looking for experience with cement board and the better vinyl siding. 

What brands do you like?  Any to avoid?  

What's your experience?

[Robert Adams]

Not a clue on siding. Don't even know any of it by brand name since sided houses don't meet code here(60%-75% masonry required in most citys) The only siding will be on a small portion of a second floor on these newer cheap houses that are 2 story because it's cheap to build... 

           But I have used hardie siding on out buildings and been very happy with it.  If you want really low maintenance you could go with brick. I personally don't  like brick because it's very hard to replace windows in later on and it is very hard to repair and make it look good unless you buy lots of extra brick. It also has drawbacks in our climate because it absorbs heat during the day and radiates it into the house all night long. Also you have the issue with moisture drive when it gets wet. When it gets wet and then the sun shines on it the moisture is driven into the brick towards the structure of the house. Good material but needs to be used in the right climate.

[Stwood_]

Hardie board...........I've never had vinyl, and never will. Sun fad.....mold.....
Currently have stucko. Low low maintence.

[Randy C]

Hardie board...........I've never had vinyl, and never will. Sun fad.....mold.....
Currently have stucko. Low low maintence.

I have hardie and love it.  Only problem is they charge a lot to install especially if you have hardie trim boards in addition to the lap. 

Other than that, it's great.

[R Clark]

Our previous house had vinyl siding, present house is Hardie board.

Prefer Hardie board.

We had the siding installed on the previous house.  The fiber hardboard exterior was failing, it wasn't our forever house, and we planned to sell at some point, so we went with a cost-efficient vinyl siding.  The installation was OK, probably not the best, but it was on a par with other houses in the neighborhood.  In my view, vinyl siding can be identified at a glance and the care given to details like faucet opening and other openings on the side make or break the installation.  Perhaps it would be better on new construction.

Our current house was built with Hardie board.  It's good stuff.  The exterior of the house and the shop building are both Hardie board.  We have had a couple of hail storms, one of which took siding off of many properties nearby (we live in rural area).  Our siding suffered no damage.  The hail ripped garden hose hangers right off the house, but the mounting holes were not damaged.  

We're thinking of repainting the house; the house is 15 years old, and the board and paint is in great shape.  But it's time to inspect and re-caulk, plus LOML would like to change the color.  But it's not due to failing color coat.

I'm a believer in the Hardie product.

[MsNomer]

We installed Certainteed Monogram vinyl in 1997. It looks like it was installed yesterday.

[mike4244]

LOML has decreed "minimum maintenance" for new house.  Single story, siding over faux rock exterior.

Framers are supposed to start tomorrow so we have a little time to make our final decision so I'm looking for experience with cement board and the better vinyl siding. 

What brands do you like?  Any to avoid?  

What's your experience?

I have installed both Hardiboard and vinyl siding many times. Your home insurance will be less expensive with Hardiboard because it does not burn. The installation costs versus  vinyl are great. Vinyl can easily be installed by one man. Hardiboard is heavy, must be handled with the edges vertical because it may crack if picked up flat. Two men installing and one man on the ground sawing and handing siding up . Precautions for dust control unless shears are used.
I do not think the vinyl siding fades like it did years ago when it replaced aluminum siding. My vinyl siding jobs that I have done in the past 15/20 years still look good. Hardiboard needs to be painted, it can come primed . Though vinyl siding can be painted  if a color change is wanted, I have not seen the results myself. 
Personally I prefer vinyl siding, I like the rough board look as opposed to the smooth finish of Hardiboard.
You will have to paint hardiboard. The southside may need to be painted every 5 years if a pastel color is used. Otherwise I'm guessing the house will need to be painted about every 10/12 years . Not sure about this , ask a painting contractor for better advice.
I won't recommend a particular brand of vinyl siding because I only have used CertainTeed. Probably several other brands that are as good. 

mike

[Snipe Hunter]

Hardie board...........I've never had vinyl, and never will. Sun fad.....mold.....
Currently have stucko. Low low maintence.

Mold? It may be but it's probably algae. That can happen on any siding, particularly on the north or shaded sides. The nice thing about premium vinyl siding is that it washes right off. Vinyl is one of the few sidings that can be power washed without worrying about loss of paint and it's the easiest to clean.

Stucco and Hardi both need paint/maintenance, caulking etc.

There are some very nice vinyl siding products. Just about every manufacturer sells a premium siding but it's worth reading the specs before buying.

If I wanted Zero maintenance, I'd use vinyl. I'd prefer Plastic siding but it's cost prohibitive, You almost have to touch to to realize it isn't really wood.

I know it isn't used much in certain parts of the country like the Pacific Northwest and has a negative reputation but I really have no idea why. Maybe they want to keep the painters busy.

Once we get our house done, it will be re-roofed and re-sided. It's a colonial and we intend to use Certainteed "Northwoods" (or something similar) at the front covered porch. It looks like painted cedar shake and the rest of the house will have horizontal siding. We live in the woods with a lot of shade and a lot green algae. Vinyl is the easiest to clean. 

Consumer Reports did a great Vinyl siding review (They rated all types of siding). IMHO, it would be worth paying to read the reviews. Certainteed did well but others did just as well for quite a bit less.

A couple things I want in my vinyl siding:

1. Double Nailing Hem. Much more resistant to wind damage and allows for more nails.
2. 16ft panels (assuming I'm not using a molded shake pattern), this has less seams.
3. at least a 25 year "transferable" warranty. Cheap siding is usually 5 years
4. Must contain Titanium Oxide, prevents fading.
5. Molded through color. You can tell by scratching the backside of the siding.
6. Virgin vinyl (+ additives if budget allows), not reprocessed if budget allows. Reprocessed usually has a thin color layer.
... There is  "Regrind and PVC Recycled" Regrind only has a thin layer of color. Regrind is a lower quality and has all sorts of plastics in it. PVC recycled is 100% PVC
7. Acrylic "crack stop layer", usually contains Titanium Oxide (sun screen)
8. .046 or .048" thickness, not less

[vernonator]

One word of warning. If you go Hardie make SURE they install it correctly. As in prime all the cut ends with the supplied primer, correct reveal, waterproofing under plank joints, etc. This applies to the hardie trimboards as well. We have them and when they were installed they did NOT prime the cut ends and after 14 years virtually every piece of trim on the house was swelling, waterlogged and peeling paint. This also impacted any planks that were exposed to water/snow/ice - think valleys or walls that terminated into the roof line. Had to replace all the trim and about 15% of the siding this summer by a contractor that I KNOW did it right (was here the whole time to see them work).

If installed correctly it holds up well - the only reasnb we needed to paint even after 15yrs was that we replaced so much trime/siding. The paint on the unaffected areas was rock solid with very little fading.

[meackerman]

I was going to install hardi board on my shop and the county would only allow it if I installed OSB or plywood under it for sheer.

Wasn't going to side it twice so I went with LP Smart Side.  Dunno if its the best thing or not.