Our Milwaukee siding services are ideal for several classes of buildings including residential, commercial and even industrial markets.
View GallerySiding or cladding as it is sometimes called, comes in a wide variety of materials. Materials include: natural materials such as stone, brick and wood. There is also an extensive list of man-made materials used to side our homes including steel, aluminum, fiber cement, engineered wood and vinyl to name few. When choosing the right kind or kinds of materials that are right for your home there are a few things you should consider: budget, ease of maintenance and aesthetic appeal. Here are a few pros and cons to the above mentioned materials.
Has an excellent life expectancy of 100+ years. It is fairly low maintenance, requiring regular upkeep to the softer mortar joints throughout its lifetime. Its major draw back is price. Brick and stone is one the most costly cladding in
today’s market due to its labor intensive installation process.
Wood: Many consider natural wood siding to be the most aesthetically pleasing of all the claddings in the market. Many of the man-made claddings strive to imitate its look. It is very easy to spot repair if needed, however has many draw backs to consider. Wood is the highest maintenance cladding in the market, requiring paint or stain every 4-9 yrs, it is also susceptible to ants, termites and wood peckers. Wood cladding and install is priced mid to high depending on the species and style.
Steel/aluminum: Has a long life expectancy of 50+ yrs. Is low maintenance, comes prefinished in select colors. Will require painting around every 20yrs or so. Metal siding is unrepairable, and difficult to spot replace damaged panels. Metal siding is very susceptible to dings and dents from hail or anything that comes in contact with it. It is priced moderate to fairly high due to current market values of raw metal materials.
Most brands come with a 30 yr warranty and an optional paint warranty if the product comes prefinished from the factory. Fiber cement has a more natural and realistic wood look. It comes in a variety of different board sizes similar to wood. It is fire retardant and a good natural insulator. However it is difficult to install and requires specialty cutting tools to reduce dust. Fiber cement is one of the more expensive products to install and usually costs more than natural wood cladding.
Has a 50yr product warranty and an optional paint warranty if the product comes prefinished from the factory. Engineered wood products have a more natural and realistic wood look, it like fiber cement also comes in a variety of different board sizes similar to wood. Engineered wood installs just like natural wood. It is priced comparable to natural wood cladding combined with the price of painting or staining.
Has a 50+ year warranty and comes in preselected colors. Vinyl is low to no maintenance, requiring an occasional power washing if desired. It is easy to install and the least expensive of all the claddings on the market. The drawback to vinyl siding is despite its best effort to look like natural wood siding, it looks least like it compared to all the other man-made claddings. It also requires a good water resistant underlayment because vinyl allows significant water penetration behind vinyl cladding.
