Vinyl siding

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vinyl siding is house siding made of vinyl or similar plastics.

The most common form imitates wood clapboard, sometimes even with imitation wood grain (though real clapboard is planed smooth). Each unit of vinyl siding typically is two 'clapboards' high and 12-16 feet long.

Other forms imitate wood shingles, brick, and stone.

Vinyl siding competes with wood, composite, and (formerly) aluminum siding in new construction. In renovations, is sometimes used to cover existing wood siding.

Its advantages compared to real clapboard include price, ease of installation, and decreased maintenance, as it does not need to be repainted periodically. Its disadvantages include appearance and the need to be replaced periodically (every 30 years or so). In renovations, an additional disadvantage is that it hides existing architectural detail and proportions. In recent years vinyl siding is being sold in an increasingly large pallet of colors in contrast to the small number of color options available when vinyl siding was newer to the market.

In the links section you can find a very detailed installation manual for vinyl siding provided by the Vinyl Siding Institute.