Vinyl or metal siding

On the modern construction market, a whole range of materials are presented for exterior facade decoration. The times when the house had to be painted regularly or once again renewed plaster, have passed, and today various siding are very popular.

The types of this material may differ in shape, color, texture, but the main difference between them is what they are made of. Siding can be vinyl and metal. Deciding which one to choose siding - vinyl or metal - is based on their performance characteristics, as well as their own considerations.

Metal siding

Considering such a finishing material as metal siding, it is worth a little more detail to dwell on the description of its properties:

• The basis of this material, as it is not difficult to guess, is a metal coated with several layers of different polymers.
• The metal has excellent strength properties, which in combination with protective coatings makes it very durable. The service life of such coverage can be calculated for more than a decade.
• Metal siding может называться противопожарным покрытием, потому что не подвержен горению.
• Inside the metal material, parasites, like insect larvae or bark beetles, do not start, as is the case when wood panels are used.
• The material is quite simple to install and does not require any additional processing and maintenance.
• The metal is not deformed by various factors, such as ultraviolet, temperature or humidity changes.
• It has a huge number of colors.

However, the material has not only advantages, but also disadvantages. And among them are:

• Low noise insulation performance. This circumstance becomes especially noticeable in the rain, when droplets fall on a metal base.
• Being made of metal such siding will have considerable weight. If you hold a separate panel in your hands, this may not be very noticeable, but if you consider the total weight of the structure, you get quite decent indicators together with the metal crate. This means that the overall load on the foundation will also increase.
• Metal siding в значительной степени нагревается в солнечную погоду, что не лучшим образом сказывается на комфорте пребывания в помещении.
• Metal siding is not cheap.

Vinyl based siding

The direct competitor of the above material is vinyl siding. Its qualities are somewhat different from the metal counterpart. Among them it is worth highlighting:

• Less weight. Siding is made of polyvinyl chloride, so the weight of both individual elements and the structure as a whole is much less than that of the metal, and therefore the load will be less. In addition, this factor has a positive effect during the installation work.
• Vinyl siding is a more economical option than metal.
• Such material is completely unaffected by moisture, which means that corrosion will not occur, which means that the material will last for a fairly long time. 
• Vinyl is easily processed and is quite flexible material. Of course, if we are not talking about installation in the winter.
• PVC used for finishing the facade, is able to carry not only decorative functions, but also to act as a heat and moisture insulating material, as well as fairly well absorb external noise.
• Vinyl siding does not require complex care. In the event of contamination, you can simply pour it with water from a hose.

If we talk about the negative qualities of vinyl siding, should say about the following:

• The material is inferior to the metal in terms of indicators of resistance to mechanical damage. This is especially noticeable at negative temperatures, when the panels can crack even under insignificant loads. This should be taken into account if the facade plating is supposed to be carried out in the cold season.
• With temperature drops, PVC siding panels are able to noticeably change their dimensions, and when exposed to direct sunlight for a long time they can bend, forming gaps. This must be taken into account during installation work.
• When considering vinyl siding as a material for finishing the facade should be noted that it is subject to the accumulation of static electricity. Small dust particles, carried by the wind, will literally be attracted to the surface, which does not in the best way affect the appearance of the coating.

General rules of choice

As can be seen from the above, each type of siding has quite significant differences. However, it is clear to say which of the types of this material is better and which is worse, at least not quite correctly.

• Both versions are equally easy to install and their mounting technology does not differ. However, if the house is located in a place with strong and frequent winds, you should pay attention to the presence in the construction of special anti-burglar locks.
• With regard to the appearance of siding panels, I must say that they differ little in form and texture, more precisely, you can always find almost identical counterpart, but they may differ in size. In particular, metal siding panels can be of the most varied length, but siding panels made of polyvinyl chloride are usually produced about 3.5 m long. This fact must be taken into account, because if a house has long and even walls, then it would be more expedient to use metal material, and if the walls have a complex structure, with an abundance of protruding elements, then vinyl siding is preferable.
• When installing siding, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that in case of using metal panels, they should be fixed tightly, as the metal cannot be deformed and resized as a result of temperature drops, unlike the vinyl analogue, during installation of which you need to leave gaps of a few millimeters between the nail head or screw and the panel.
• Installation of metal siding can, in principle, be carried out at any time of the year and in any weather, in contrast to vinyl, which is better to fix at positive temperatures. However, one should also avoid strong heat: in terms of mounting, vinyl siding is somewhat more fastidious.
• If we consider the options for cladding the facade with siding, then the metal material is stronger and more durable than the vinyl counterpart, but at the same time, the end parts of the panels can corrode, especially if the metal has been cut. Vinyl is not affected by this problem, but has less durability.

In conclusion, the description of these materials can be said that, in addition to the material of manufacture, differences in textures, colors and other performance characteristics, siding is of high quality and poor quality. Therefore, if you try to answer the question of what kind of siding to choose, you can safely answer that you need to choose a quality one. So it will be simply impossible to make a mistake. 

Video

If you have already chosen a siding, it will be useful for you to learn how to mount it on the facade: