Low-maintenance Siding

Over the past few years, the housing boom has caused a few shifts in the siding market. Namely, homeowners have felt more comfortable spending money on upgraded siding materials and have increasingly chosen newer, more elaborate trim details and accents in an effort to differentiate their homes from their neighbors’. The recent downturn may affect the number of overall siding jobs and sales volume in the foreseeable future, but the trends of creating distinctive siding designs and the willingness to pay a little extra for an authentic-looking, low-maintenance material will continue to grow.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005 data on principal types of exterior wall material for new single-family houses sold, vinyl siding held 30 percent market share, with stucco second at 25 percent, followed by brick at 20 percent and other materials slightly below 20 percent.

Wood held a 5 percent share and aluminum was below 5 percent. The data also finds that vinyl siding is the number one choice for homes with price points up to $250,000 and second only to stucco at all price points above $250,000.

With a slightly different breakdown of the siding market, Steve Booz, director of sales and marketing, fiber cement division, CertainTeed, which makes WeatherBoards fiber cement siding, pegs siding market share as follows: Vinyl has 40 percent market share, fiber cement is between 12 and 14 percent, wood-based materials including natural wood and engineered wood products are at 8 to 10 percent, and the rest is divided among stucco, brick and block materials.

In terms of rank and position on that list, not much is expected to change when 2006 market share numbers are released, but the percentages are expected to shift. “Fiber cement is gaining market share quickly in many markets around the country, especially at the expense of wood and composites in the West and South,” Booz says. “In the Midwest and East, vinyl is still king, but fiber cement is gaining there, too.”

Regional Differences

In years past, the West generally was ruled by wood and wood-based siding, the Midwest and East definitely were vinyl territories, and the South was a mixed bag among vinyl and stucco, brick and block materials. But fiber cement is beginning to gain a stronghold there and elsewhere.

“Fiber cement is showing up everywhere,” says Gary Keeling, product manager, fiber products, Temple-Inland, maker of Endura engineered wood lap and panel siding, trim and accessories. “It’s becoming the dominant material in pockets of the South such as Atlanta and Texas. And in the mountain regions and parts of the West and Southwest, where wood was traditionally in higher demand, fiber cement and wood fiber is quickly gaining ground.”

Keeling notes the reasons for this growth are that homeowners love the authentic textures that these materials provide, and they love the durability and reduced maintenance. Improved manufacturing processes have spelled the end of delamination problems some of those materials may have had several years ago, and they hold paint very well. Warranties of anywhere from 30 to 50 years are common with these types of materials.

Style Varies

Lap siding has traditionally been king in most of the East, West and South, while panel siding and vertical styles tend to show up in the Midwest. Pockets of the Southeast and Southwest are dominated by materials such as stucco or adobe-type materials. But things are starting to change all over, and it can be hard to discern any real trends other than homeowners are looking to express themselves and differentiate their homes.

“People are moving around the country and bringing their sense of style with them,” says Van Garber, vice president of marketing for Owens Corning. “Someone from coastal New England might move to the Midwest and want their new house to look like the traditional Capes they grew up with, complete with cedar shake siding and authentic trim details.”