Aluminum vs Vinyl Siding: Which is Best for Your Home?

What if you could transform your home with a single renovation?

Adding new siding to a home is a great way to increase its value and its visual appeal. However, many people have trouble deciding between aluminum and vinyl siding.

Wondering which one is best for your home? Keep reading.

Multiple Factors

Homeowners deciding which siding is best for their house want the decision to be nice and easy. Unfortunately, many different factors determine the answer.

For example, the cost is an important factor. And it’s easy to imagine the cheapest choice is always the best. But that cheap choice may not last long.

And if you continually have to replace your siding, it’s no longer a “cheap” renovation.

The best choice between vinyl or aluminum siding depends on several different factors.

Cost Differences

The cost of the siding isn’t the most important factor in your decision. But it is one to consider.

On the surface, the costs of aluminum and vinyl siding are generally similar. Although if you search, you may find a slightly better price on the aluminum.

But aluminum siding is easier to damage than vinyl. If your area is prone to extreme weather, vinyl may be a safer choice.

Do some real estate research before you make your decision. In many areas, vinyl siding improves the resale value of your home more than vinyl.

Material Endurance

It’s important your siding endures many weather conditions. And vinyl and aluminum each offer unique advantages.

Both forms of siding are very strong, sturdy and durable. It’s one reason you see so much of the same old siding cling to houses across the decades.

While each kind stands up to standard wear and exposure, your area may pose unusual risks to your home’s siding. And this is another circumstance where vinyl shines.

For example, aluminum siding dents and scratches more easily than vinyl. A tossed baseball can dent aluminum so it’s difficult to repair.

Vinyl is much thicker than aluminum. It’s more resilient to scratches, dents and other neighborhood dangers that may impact your home’s appearance.

Ease of Maintenance

Most of us don’t want our siding to be an ongoing project. What’s the point of a home renovation if you never get to enjoy it?

This is why it’s important to evaluate the maintenance requirements of your siding options. Specifically, find out which will create less work for you.

As we said, aluminum siding is more prone to dings and dents. If this happens, you’ll need to fix the dent yourself.

Over time, aluminum siding may fade. If you don’t want your home to look abandoned, you’ll need to give it a fresh coat of paint from time to time.

Vinyl resists dings and dents, and its colors don’t fade. In fact, your primary maintenance is to manually clean it every so often.

Although neither type needs extreme maintenance, vinyl ultimately creates less work.

Visual Variety

We’ve focused on siding cost and durability. But there’s another important consideration with any home renovation: How does it look?

Because no two homes are exactly alike, visual variety is important. You want a range of choices. So which siding provides you better options?

In a word: vinyl. While aluminum has changed a bit over the years, its visual options are very similar to what they were decades ago.

Meanwhile, vinyl offers many different options. You can get scalloped sides, Dutch laps and many other options on top of standard siding.

This is especially important if you hope to boost your home’s resale value. Siding variety gives you a chance to make your home look unique.

Energy Efficiency

By itself, durability only goes so far. What you really want is new siding that positively impacts your quality of life.

A big factor in the quality of siding is energy efficiency – how well your siding keeps hot and cold air inside the house on a seasonal basis.

Again, vinyl siding is the better choice. Aluminum absorbs heat and makes it hard to cool your house during the summer.

And since aluminum is more likely to be damaged vinyl, damages mean you lose energy efficiency. That leads to the worst outcome – rising temperatures and a drained bank account.

Which Is Best?

So that brings us back to the central question of which siding is best.

We think vinyl siding is your best choice. It’s durable, long-lasting and visually appealing. And it enhances your home’s energy efficiency.

But aluminum still has its benefits. For example, it can be cheaper and provides a vintage look to your home’s exterior.

Ultimately, you’re the only one who can decide.

Bottom Line

Now you know how to decide between aluminum and vinyl siding. But do you know who can install it?

We specialize in roofing, siding and more. To learn how we can make your home look better than new, contact us today.