I am trying to decide and be economical about the new siding on the house. Not a large area as most of the house is brick but need to add siding in a few areas where we raised the roof.

Hi,


When it comes to your home, Paying now and saveing later out-weighs saveing now and paying later.

Cement siding will watershed well for a long time when installed properly. It requires flashing weak spots such as joints (metal) and edges (trim). These are added costs most of the time. Cement siding is vunerable to freezeing moisture like all cement products and is somewhat vunerable to wind driven rain. It watersheds.

Cedar shingles properly installed will be waterproof for a long time reguardless of paint or stains or nothing at all. Laced inside and outside corners do not require trim or flashing and nailing does not show. (cement siding is FACE nailed) Windows and other penetrations are all that require flashings and are pretty tight. Cedar siding is wind driven proof when properly installed. The key to longevity is proper exposier wich is determined by the shingles height and not the thickness or width. R/R#1 is the best choice.(16"height is common) They come in pre-primed or clear and have no knots. Cedar siding is waterproof.

Just some info to consider with your decission.

Thanks so much. This is very helpful to me since all the guys giving me their opinion can't agree on the time of day! jill

I would go with the cement siding. It will hold paint better than the cedar as you do not have to worry about mill glaze, grain movement or knots. In most cases cement siding is blind nailed and I think it is face nailed were there is a threat of huricane force winds. I would also go with having it field painted with an acrylic primer and a 100% acrylic semi-gloss house paint and you can easily get 8 years or more out of the paint job.

One must remember that wood is a nutural insulator. Cement holds the cold like a freezer !!

When you are talking about something such as siding does it really make that much difference.

No, but I thought it was a good reply. It`s pretty durable stuff, holds paint forever. The only issues I`ve ever run into dealing with it or repairing it were bowing and nail pops. Both are temperature related and contractor failure to nail properly. Wood is more forgiveing when repairing it especially in the cold, vinyl just outright sucks in the cold. I`ve learned not to put my ladders on cement or vinyl if I can avoid it. Cedar shingles make inside and outside corner trim optional and weakness free.

oddball,I like the way your thinking! Thanks so much.