Repair Your Vinyl Siding or Replace with Solid Core?
In the past, vinyl siding suffered from a bit of an inferiority complex, largely the result of its unfortunate reputation as wood's ugly stepsister. For years, the best adjective many homeowners could come up with for vinyl siding was low-maintenance, a positive thing but not as easy to get excited about as beautiful or natural or even money-saving.
Vinyl siding has come a long way. Significant advances have created new vinyl siding that looks more natural than ever, saves you money on utilities each month, and maintains its low-maintenance siding roots. In fact, the improvement is so great that homeowners faced with significant vinyl siding repair may choose to replace the siding instead.
Solid Core: Energy Efficient Vinyl Siding
In response to the home construction industry's growing emphasis on using green materials and reducing energy consumption, the vinyl siding industry has created a technology known as solid core. Solid core vinyl siding features a foam core attached to the back of each piece of siding that interlocks, creating a solid foam barrier for your home. Added benefits of this new siding include:
- Siding lays much flatter against exterior walls
- Noise reduction due to reduced air filtration
- High-impact resistance
- Attractive trim
- Significant energy savings
In fact, solid core vinyl siding has become so energy efficient that the U.S. Department of Energy gave it the highly-coveted Energy Star rating. A product's R-value rates heat loss or gain--the higher the number, the better the product performs. Solid core siding has an R-value of 4.0, while other siding products like wood and traditional vinyl have a typical R-value of less than 1.0.
If you're building a new home or considering vinyl siding repair on an existing home, take a close look at the new options available. Today's solid core vinyl siding is no one's ugly stepsister.
