Fiber Cement Vs Vinyl

According to the rsmeans 2014 residential cost data report the installed cost of vinyl siding is on average 201 per 100 square feet while fiber cement totals 300 for the same area.

Fiber cement vs vinyl.

In this article we will take a look at insulated vinyl siding vs. It can imitate materials like wood shingles lap boards logs and stone. However it falls short when imitating wood because it isn t as thick. Vinyl siding is a plastic siding material.

Wood products will soak up the paint but fiber cement does not absorb anything. And again you will never need that paintbrush. However it needs far less maintenance than wood siding. Fiber cement to help you determine which may be right for your project.

Finally because fiber cement is in part a wood product it will hold paint and have a surface luster that is nearly identical to full wood products. Another major consideration is that vinyl is a flexible material whereas fiber cement is rigid this can lead to chipping and cracking occurring in fiber cement siding. Whereas in conditions of moderately sized hail fiber cement will hold up better than vinyl. Fiber cement siding does require a little more routine maintenance than vinyl.

It is composed mostly of polyvinyl chloride resin. While there are many brands of fiber cement james hardie siding is the number one brand for fiber cement and the number one siding in america. Maintenance of vinyl vs. Vinyl generally has product warranties between 25 and 40 years versus fiber cement warranties which typically range from 30 to 50 years.

The styles are just as varied as fiber cement. The installation of fiber cement also replicates the slight irregularities of a natural material installation. While the vinyl will not need to be painted until it becomes faded in 10 years or so hardieboard will need to be painted periodically. Insulated vinyl siding is made of rigid contoured insulation permanently adhered to vinyl siding while fiber cement siding is made from a mixture of sand cement and cellulose fibers.

In terms of resistance to weather related elements vinyl usually fares better in high wind than fiber cement. Therefore vinyl siding is more durable than fiber cement. Similar to high quality vinyl fiber cement siding should provide a lifetime protection for a house. The overall installation costs are lower for vinyl with less mess and dust.

Vinyl siding didn t become america s most popular home siding material by accident. Fiber cement is composed of wood pulp sand portland cement and water. Lack of depth makes its stone replicas less textured. Even though vinyl products may mimic wood grain as a material vinyl is nothing like wood.