Vinyl Siding Yes/No

[AndyM]

...toxicity of gasses from the material when it burns.

Since I don't plan on burning my siding, I went with vinyl.

 

[Dusty]

Most of the items in your house will be toxic if you burn them. The bottles that your soda (pop/tonic) is also toxic if you burn it. Your monitor of your computer contains a lot of lead, and your computer itself has lots of harmful things inside of it if you burn it. Tell me what isn't toxic today in one form or another? Dusty

 

[tallyho8]

The mold or mildew is a result of the siding getting wet and not drying completely. It has nothing to do with the vinyl siding, but everything to do with where the siding is installed in relationship to the weather. Even if it were wood or metal siding, you will get that mold on some sides of the house where the material doesn't dry fast enough. I have some mold on my North and West sided so the house, but not on the East and West sides. On the North side, it is behind some shrubbery and on the West side, down low to the ground behind the propane tank. If there were anything toxic in vinyl siding, it would be all over the news and they wouldn't be installing it any longer.
Dusty

But the strange thing is that there are 4 houses on the same block with vinyl siding. The siding on 2 is over 45 years old and were the first houses in the area to have vinyl siding and have never mildewed. The other 2 are only a few years old and mildew bad every year. They face the same direction, have the same vegetation around them and should get equal amounts of moisture and sunlight. What I was wondering is, if the 45 year old vinyl had been treated with something to keep it from mildewing and if this treatment had been taken off the market for environmental reasons.

 

[N80]

I had to re-side my large-ish 25 year old home a few years ago. Originally it had G-P masonite on it. Despite the problems associated with masonite it held up fine for 25 years. We looked hard at vinyl and did not like the look of most of it. We did find some that we liked but it was quite expensive. We ended up opting for Hardi-Plank. I really like it and it is holding up well.

We are getting some green mold in some places. Way to many trees up close to the house and certain areas don't get enough sun. I'll have to pay for a spray washing soon. Would like to cut down about 15 trees but it costs a ton.

 

[thatguy]

We just built a new house and went with vinyl siding, mainly due to the lower cost.. I believe brick would have added another 15 to 20% cost increase..

We did go with a heavy duty, 'beaded' siding, that IMHO does look a little better than the other styles of siding.. BUT for the most part either you love or hate vinyl it seems..

As far as cleaning the siding.. use Jomax (sold at walmart/lowes).. Mix it with bleach and water.. Spray on.. let it stand...Rinse off.. Done..

But BEWARE, do not stand on a ladder in the back of your truck (held in place by a loving wife) and spray the gutters directly above your head without some sort of respirator (not just a filter mask).. You will end up with chemical burns in your lungs that will take a steroid nasal spray to get cleaned up.. NOT that I would know anything about that though.. LOL

Brian

 

[RegL]

You have to cover your house with something. Whatever you choose will have some effect on the environment, be it brick, wood, aluminum, or even a blue plastic "tarp".

Have I mentioned that I HATE painting yet?

We bought a new home a little over one year ago. It's 2/3rds brick exterior, with vinyl clad windows, Vinyl siding and a standing seam copper roof. I plan on NO painting and very little exterior maint. My personal "environment" will be much happier and healthier now, due to me not having to prep and paint every few years. In my eyes, vinyl is the real deal. And I'm a 4th generation carpenter.

NO WOOD ON THE OUTSIDE OF MY HOUSE!

All of the above plus the porch floor and railings are plastic. I've never seen a paint brush I really liked either. When is that plastic sheet rock coming out?

 

[2nstonge]

Ahhhh, vinyl.

The best thing a previous owner did for my house and barn 45+ years ago was put vinyl on it. They weren't into exterior maintenance and thing is like a time capsule. It's now so brittle that a stiff wind cracks another piece and it looks bad. So, last year I ripped the vinyl off the barn and the wood beneath is in great shape - just gotta paint it.

The house will be de-vinyled next year. Not sure if I'll go with Hardiplank or cedar but the original siding (1790's vintage) has seen better days. Today it has the same issues as the barn did; cracks, splits and spider webs if someone so much as brushes against it.

As for vinyl maintenance...I do a fair amount of work in a historic village north of me. Some of the houses were vinylized years ago before the hysterical, er historical commission came into being and now the vinyl needs annual maintenance to pass muster. Yes, I'm painting houses with vinyl siding to keep them looking good. Any divots (like in my house and barn) usually require a complete replacement of the side that's been hit because of the difficulties/cost with trying to match old patterns.

BTW, old vinyl siding is not recyclable - you gotta toss it in a landfill.

-Norm

 

[tallyho8]

The house will be de-vinyled next year. Not sure if I'll go with Hardiplank or cedar but the original siding (1790's vintage) has seen better days. Today it has the same issues as the barn did; cracks, splits and spider webs if someone so much as brushes against it.
-Norm

I finally found someone with siding as old as mine. (from the 1790s) My parents tore down a house on Bourbon Street that was given them during the depression and rebuilt it with the same siding on the same sides. Cypress siding on the north side, redwood on the east & west sides and pine on the south side. I can't figure out how they got redwood siding there in the 1790s.
The siding was in bad shape when I had vinyl installed a few years ago. The vinyl looked great (when cleaned) and made the value of the house go up more when I sold it then the vinly cost me. Now I live in a brick home.

 

[Highbeam]

Up here in the NW vinyl is a definite downgrade. If you go to sell a house, you should be ashamed of the vinyl. Kinda like trying to minimize the single pane windows.

Maybe a comparison is that vinyl to real siding is like linoleum to a tile kitchen floor. It might be more practical but it is a perceived downgrade.

I suppose I could go out and spray paint my car since it is cheap and easily touched up. Dang practical and rustoleum will surely last a good while.

I do believe it is a regional and trendy thing. Nothing to do with environmental issues.

 

[Mike_Lipke]

I am in a position to know something about plastics.
When you buy a steak wrapped in clear shrinkwrapped in clear stretch wrap, that is vinyl.
PVC to be exact (P olyV inylC hloride)
Vinyl siding is made of PVC as well.
Environmental issues? We wrap our food in it.