[azasadny]

Originally Posted by MRM

That's a beautiful house. You have to retain the look of wood lap siding. You will get a lot of recommendations to go with James Hardi brand cement-based Hardiboard lap siding. These are basically planks of cement-based siding that looks like wood when installed and can be painted or ordered in any color. It is marketed as being stucco, but with the advantages of wood lap siding construction. I am very suspicious of Hardiboard because it will rot (just like your current product) if any water gets to the unfinished edges. That means every end that gets cut or nail hole that gets pounded has to be covered with paint or caulk. It is asking too much for builders to get every joint completely sealed and if they don't the unsealed section will rot. Stucco siding used to be the preferred cladding for high end homes in my area, until mold and water infiltration litigation put a stop to that. The alternative was to use Hardiboard. We're just now starting to see Hardiboard houses suffer water infiltration damage and rotting siding. I think we're seeing the tip of the iceburg, and that Hardi might not prove to be able to hold up to snow, rain, ice, and heat.

Your house is too nice for vinyl. Steel is an option. It looks nice, will give the same feel as wood, is maintenence free and is a proven product. Aluminum is the same as steel. Cedar would be my recommendation, but you'll have to keep that painted. If you don't want steel, aluminum or cedar, there are other hard board fiberous sidings that are not cement based that won't deteriorate when exposed to water. One of those would be acceptable too.

Whatever you do, do not use the synthetic fiber board trim to replace your wood trim that they try to sell people instead of real wood. It rots off houses so fast you'd swear it was carboard.

Edit: If your fiber board siding is a Georgia-Pacific product, there was a huge class action over it being defective and rotting off people's houses. Your house is about the right age for it. Check with your builder and see if your siding is part of the recall. Fiberboard siding can be good but you want something that will not deteriorate when exposed to water. That's one reason I like cedar.

Yep, this is the Hardiboard I was referring to in my earlier post. Very sturdy and attractive!