Steel or Vinyl Siding in "DEATHMATCH 2008"

June 2, 2008 8:16 PM

Steel or Vinyl Siding: Leaving the general offense to aesthetics of both out of the equation (mostly), which one is better in the Midwest.

My 62 year old aunt's house was part of a neighborhood-wide sweep from the city and, along with all her neighbors, she was issued various violations and given a court date. Part of what she has to do is repair the house's wooden siding and paint or get new siding. She has no plans to move, so resale value is not a concern at this time, so siding is attractive because of the low-maintenance and because she's also getting new gutters and windows at the same time.

So far, she's gotten two bids from local contractors. One said he would do seamless steel siding because, generally, it's more expensive than vinyl, but with high oil prices, it's pretty much the same price. The second contractor offers seamless vinyl siding and says it's far superior to steel because it's easier to repair. Both estimates have come in at roughly the same price, so that's not a big concern, either. What I need to know is which is better. Of course, both contractors say theirs is superior, but that's expected. Either my google-fu is weak or there isn't anything really definitive out there regarding the advantages of steel or vinyl in the siding department.

From what I've found, steel is more robust in resisting damage, but when it is damaged from a hail storm (which are becoming distressingly common in Kansas City, where she lives), it's expensive and hard to replace. Vinyl fades, looks cheap and even when Styrofoam-baked (which is what my aunt was considering), it's not very damage-resistant and prone to cracking in cold temps (which, again, kinda common for where she lives). However, it's much easier and cheaper to repair when damaged. She's getting her windows redone at the same time, so architectural concerns aren't that pressing.

Which one should she go with?

posted by quakerjono to home & garden (5 comments total)

Will either contractor offer a warranty on the installation, so that if when it fails or is damaged they (or the manufacturer) will replace it?
posted by Rock Steady at 9:25 PM on June 2, 2008

Blue Vinyl is a 2002 documentary that won an award at the Sundance Festival, looking at the cradle to grave environmental effects of PVC siding. Although at times it feels like AgendaFilter, it does a good job of discussing the environmental issues of PVC, and if an answer to your question is worth the $21.56 + shipping a copy costs, or if you can rent or borrow a copy somewhere, by all means see to it that your aunt sees it.
posted by paulsc at 9:37 PM on June 2, 2008

We've had both aluminum siding when we lived in the midwest, and vinyl siding now in the northeast. From my experience, the vinyl is better, and we've lived with it for 9 years. Though we have more cold than hot here we haven't experience fading or cracking with the vinyl, and it stands up to small dents much better than metal. From our experience, they've improved on the technology over the years, and it's gone beyond the "looks cheap" claims.

One of our neighbors has a third alternative that your aunt might consider - concrete or cement siding. It goes up much like wood clapboards, comes pre-finished, and holds up really well to the elements.
posted by SteveInMaine at 2:44 AM on June 3, 2008

I'd say vinyl is the way to go. I reluctantly went with vinyl on my house (upper Midwest, it gets quite hot and quite cold here) several years ago when I realized that the wood clapboards I had were not going to be repairable or replaceable. I installed it myself, and I have yet to see any fading or cracking.

I have no firsthand experience with steel, but I'm pretty sure it has to be repainted periodically, which would be a big minus in my book.
posted by bricoleur at 6:11 AM on June 3, 2008

Steel is better. A good quality steel siding finish will last 25-40 years before needing painting. And then it'll last another 20-30 years. It is more durable than vinyl and looks better IMO. It's 100% recyclable in practise.

I can't see how steel would be any worse to repair than vinyl. In both cases you are remving the damaged sheets and replacing with new. One advantage of steel is damage from hail is usually a cosmetic thing where repairs can be put off, vinyl needs to be repaired because damage usually results in breaks which need immediate attention.
posted by Mitheral at 6:30 AM on June 3, 2008