When my husband finally allowed me to get estimates on our home for the installation of vinyl siding, I was thrilled. We had been hiring a local painter every other year to come and do touch ups on our wood house. The cost was really starting to add up since we would have to pay him to paint the entire house every three to four years. We were just ready to give our home a low maintenance exterior and save some money. Since just about everyone else in our neighborhood had already installed the vinyl, we knew that it would also improve our curb appeal.

The amount of options that there are these days is unbelievable. The vinyl sidings of today are nothing like the old choices you used to have such as aluminum and clapboard. I was even a little overwhelmed when the salesman showed us all the colors and styles. We decided to go with a style that it seemed some of the other neighbors had chosen; this way it blended well with the other homes surrounding us. We also received a few upgrades with the brand of siding we purchased. We were able to get new trim around the windows and they covered the eaves with vinyl also.

When the new siding was installed, they also put a layer of insulation under it before installing the low maintenance vinyl. This has provided an extra layer between the elements and the inside of our home. I believe it has helped to decrease our energy cost significantly. Since we had some interior insulation put in at the same time it is hard to say how much it has contributed to the lower heating and cooling bills.

Our home has had the vinyl siding for about five years now, and my husband and I are both thrilled with the way it has been low maintenance. If it gets a little dirt on it, we can just use the hose to clean it. We had a professional pressure washer come out and clean the siding last year, and he recommends that in order to keep it looking great, we should have it cleaned  every other year. This is a much cheaper service than having the painter come out. The vinyl does not start to flake and fade as the wooden painted boards used to.

If you are thinking of having vinyl siding installed on your house, I would really heavily weigh all the pros and cons. If you have been having your house painted, or maybe even doing it yourself, you should add up all the labor, hours and material costs and compare it to a onetime fee to have the vinyl siding installed. You may even want to have a few different contractors give you an estimate on the cost of installation because you may find someone who can do it cheaper.  When you see all the numbers in front of you, I am sure that you cannot help but see how much more money you will save in the long run on maintaining your home's exterior.

I think that it has got to be one of the smartest things we have ever done to our home. I would never go back to having to pay those costs of having the painter come out all the time to do the touch ups and I do not miss having to purchase all that paint to do the entire house every few years either.

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