Questions to ask when purchasing Vinyl Siding
Purchasing vinyl siding for your home can be a big step, and its not something that you want to take shortcuts on. Often when we are not familiar with a line of products, we really don’t know the proper questions to ask when we are researching it. Lets look at some questions that should be asked when purchasing Vinyl Siding.
Style of Lap
There are two common styles of lap in vinyl siding, Dutchlap and Straightlap and both of them have there pros and cons. If you are using the siding on a older home, or you know that the wall substrate has some imperfections, you might want to choose a Dutchlap siding. Dutchlap siding tends to hide wall imperfections better because of the profile. Straightlap Vinyl siding is very popular in some areas because of its clean profile, and is gaining in popularity every year.
Thickness of the Siding
There are several thickness of siding that are common, among them are .040 .044 .046. Which thickness is best for you really depends on your budget and your long term goal. A thicker panel will cost some more, however the panel will be stiffer, and will be able to stand up better to the elements. Many of the darker colors are not available in the thinner panels.
Recycled material
Another question to ask is if the siding is made using recycled material. All siding goes through a extrusion process, however many company’s will use recycled vinyl for the middle and back layer of the siding. This process is more economical for the siding manufacturer, but some shortcuts are not worth taking. Using recycled material can cause color changes on cut laps, and also lower the siding resistance to fading.
Warranty’s
Warranty’s are something that tends to make everyone’s eye’s gloss over, and often we only skim through and don’t really pay attention. There are however distinct differences in siding warranty’s, and you can tell how much a siding manufacturer believes in their product. Some things to look for are– Amount of fade that is excepted? When does it begin to pro-rate? Is labor included? Is the warranty transferable? Does the warranty lose value after it is transferred?
Here at First Choice Exteriors, we stock Vinyl Siding by Royal Building Products, because we believe that Royal products exceed in all these category’s and more. Give us a call today for more information.
The information provided is for reference only and may change without notice
