VinylThanks to new technology in the vinyl industry, the common stereotype of a “plastic” home has all but faded. New product offerings wood-like textures, shingles and shakes, deeper colors and more trim options are making vinyl a popular alternative to its high priced rivals. Vinyl is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which makes it immune to rotting and flaking, but even the best vinyl siding will crack, split and look dingy after awhile. The fact that it requires low maintenance - it can be washed with a garden hose - and that it is cheap - $1.50 to $2 per square foot, makes it very appealing. Not so appealing is the fact that it has limited color choices, provides virtually no insulation, is not easy to repair, can fade over time and doesn’t stand up well against Mother Nature.

EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Stucco)Synthetic stucco, also called EIFS (exterior insulated finish system) consist of a a polymer-and-cement mixture, which is applied in two coats over rigid foam insulation and a fiberglass mesh. You might want to double think using this product, because since it came on the scene two decades or so ago it has been unable to successfully keep the water out. Water gets behind many EIFS systems and can’t get out. What that means for you, is that your home will likely suffer some serious structural wood rot. Synthetic manufacturers are working on rectifying this problem by using special water management systems which collect the water and divert it back to the exterior of the home before it suffers water damage. Being a new homeowner, this may be one worry you’ll want skip. Synthetic stucco materials cost more than the real thing, but because it’s easier to apply it costs less.

The biggest trends in exteriors are vibrant colors and a wood lookInterior design has always been the big “in” when building a home, but now homeowners are starting to look outside. Let’s face it - first impressions go a long way, so your exterior home should really stand out. People are looking for something different and unique, but at the same time want low maintenance - in walks vinyl. Vinyl manufacturers are hard at work to meet the demands of homeowners who want a higher quality and more stylish vinyl siding. The big change to vinyl is that it’s coming out bright and colorful, now that it’s adding acrylics into its mix. Most color palettes for vinyl used to be very similar and pale, but now homeowners can find deep rich colors like forest green and barn red.

Another new look by vinyl is dressing up as cedar shingles. These cedar shingles come very close to looking like the real cedar. The real beauty to these shingles is that they won’t split, rot, flake, peel or chip like the real thing. Over the last several years, almost every vinyl manufacturer has come out with some sort of replica cedar product.

With everyone trying to simulate wood products, it would only make sense that someone would market a real wood siding product. That’s what Georgia-Pacific, who makes vinyl and fiber cement, has done with its Catawba hardboard siding. Catawba is 100 percent hard wood made out of pulp-grade wood chips pressed and bonded at very high temperatures. This process makes the wood very weather resistant. If you use two coats of paint you won’t have to paint it again for 10 years - double the time of traditional wood products.