Slacker
Gold Member
Looking at siding for my hunting/get away cabin. I'm thinking about using the insulated siding. Its pretty new on the market, but all comments about it seem to be really positive. Has anyone used/installed this stuff?
Insulated siding? Anyone installed it?
- Thread starter Slacker
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slowrev
Elite Member
I have to wonder about it messing up the breathing of the house walls. Perhaps trapping moisture in the walls causing damage ?Slacker said:
Vapor barrier goes on the inside, now if you put another one on the outside.....
Ben
RayH
Banned
Ive never hung the insulated siding but I've made it and shipped it. Certainteed siding to be exact.
I wouldnt waste money on it. You would be better off putting foam board insulation and an air barrier such as Tyvek, under standard vinyl siding. probably about the same price if not cheaper, much better at insulating and probably alot easy to hang. Just something to consider.
I wouldnt waste money on it. You would be better off putting foam board insulation and an air barrier such as Tyvek, under standard vinyl siding. probably about the same price if not cheaper, much better at insulating and probably alot easy to hang. Just something to consider.
Egon
Epic Contributor
In Nova Scotia many older homes are resided with insulated vinly siding. Seems to work well here.
Egon
Egon
RayH
Banned
Tyvek is not really a "vapor barrier". It breaths but resists moisture infiltration and mass air movement. So, the proper thing is to have an actual vapor barrier such as plastic sheeting on the inside next to the drywall, then insulation, then Tyvek just under the siding.Doc_Bob said:
slowrev
Elite Member
I have the same wall breathing concerns with the fold out foam insulation that is commonly put underneath vinyl siding.
Bird
Rest in Peace
Our house has a 21' x 25' "shop building" 12 feet from our back door (across a 12' breezeway). The front of it is bricked just like the house and everything is under the same roof. However, the other 3 sides of that shop building are T1-11 siding. So this last month, I had Tyvek placed over the existing siding, then Alcoa Structure vinyl siding installed. I liked the idea of the foam attached to the vinyl and not leaving an air gap behind the vinyl; now of course that's with no technical knowledge at all as to whether one is actually better than the other. The building already had plenty of insulation so I really wasn't concerned about that aspect. The companies I talked to about doing the siding "usually" put 3/4" foam insulation on the walls first, then vinyl siding, for one price. But if you didn't need the additional insulation, for a little less money, they'd use 1/4" foam or the siding with the foam attached to it for the same price. Maybe you can see the blue foam attached the pieces in the picture.
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dholly
Platinum Member
Less than a year ago I looked at the Certainteed insulated siding for my new garage/shop project. Price aside, it looked like a great product to me but my wholeseller buddy talked me out of it.
He said bonding rigid foam insulation directly to the vinyl provided greater strength and structural integrity, particularly for the wider 'doubles', which increased durability and lessened the tendency to crack or shatter when hit.
Also, the backing all but eliminated the 'waviness' associated with temp contraction/expansion of standard siding. However, the same expansion/contraction had in some cases caused the backing to separate from the siding after it was installed, and he noted it was harder to replace broken pieces of insulated siding if necessary (can't bend them to finesse in).
Basically, he said don't buy it for the negligable insulation properties, rather, buy it if you want a good looking, straight and durable siding product. IIRC, the insulated siding was even more expensive than HardiPlank. On my garage, the premium price was not worth it to me and, since I already planned fiberglass wall batts, it would have added very little insulation properties and did not make economic sense.
Personally, assuming you actually need insulating properties, I would just hang 1"x4'x8' High-R board and side with regular vinyl. Or, if your cabin is in the woods, perhaps something more rustic like rough sawn mill wood as I did on my old cabin. Came out great don't you think? HTH.
He said bonding rigid foam insulation directly to the vinyl provided greater strength and structural integrity, particularly for the wider 'doubles', which increased durability and lessened the tendency to crack or shatter when hit.
Also, the backing all but eliminated the 'waviness' associated with temp contraction/expansion of standard siding. However, the same expansion/contraction had in some cases caused the backing to separate from the siding after it was installed, and he noted it was harder to replace broken pieces of insulated siding if necessary (can't bend them to finesse in).
Basically, he said don't buy it for the negligable insulation properties, rather, buy it if you want a good looking, straight and durable siding product. IIRC, the insulated siding was even more expensive than HardiPlank. On my garage, the premium price was not worth it to me and, since I already planned fiberglass wall batts, it would have added very little insulation properties and did not make economic sense.
Personally, assuming you actually need insulating properties, I would just hang 1"x4'x8' High-R board and side with regular vinyl. Or, if your cabin is in the woods, perhaps something more rustic like rough sawn mill wood as I did on my old cabin. Came out great don't you think?
HTH.Attachments
Bird
Rest in Peace
dholly said:bonding rigid foam insulation directly to the vinyl provided greater strength and structural integrity, particularly for the wider 'doubles', which increased durability and lessened the tendency to crack or shatter when hit.
Also, the backing all but eliminated the 'waviness' associated with temp contraction/expansion of standard siding.
Basically, he said don't buy it for the negligable insulation properties, rather, buy it if you want a good looking, straight and durable siding product.
Maybe I did good, then.
Because that's exactly the reason I bought it; durability and not having to ever paint those walls. Of course, it was expensive. Just those 3 walls, and the trim around two windows and one door cost me $2700 (I did have a $2100 bid from another guy, but was a bit leery of him).dholly
Platinum Member
Looks great Bird, and there is plenty good to be said for the maintenance characteristics [or lack thereof, hah!] of vinyl. That's why I used it instead of the HardiPlank, sick of staining the house and cabin every few years. Now, had I been building an UN-insulated garage and didn't have the added expense of the fiberglass wall batts (we need lots of insulation up here ) and interior finishing, I think I would have favored the insulated siding. Because it lays so flat and consistent with the bonded backing, I think it looks much nicer than standard siding.
[edit] I found a pic of the Double 4" regular Certainteed siding I used for comparison. You can really see how even the more narrow regular siding reveals have a slight concave to them. Your wider backed siding shows no sign of that. Much more pleasing to my eye. Looks like we picked purty near the same color too!
) and interior finishing, I think I would have favored the insulated siding. Because it lays so flat and consistent with the bonded backing, I think it looks much nicer than standard siding.[edit] I found a pic of the Double 4" regular Certainteed siding I used for comparison. You can really see how even the more narrow regular siding reveals have a slight concave to them. Your wider backed siding shows no sign of that. Much more pleasing to my eye. Looks like we picked purty near the same color too!
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Bird
Rest in Peace
I had a choice of the double 6" or single 7" and actually told the contractor I didn't really care which, but thought the 6" might look a little better and that's what I got. It's a color Alcoa calls Desert Sand.
RayH
Banned
The concave look that regular vinyl siding has is formed in that way. Its supposed to be there. The shiplap or dutchlap siding also has a concave form in the angled area.
Most of the siding you see buckled and warped is not the fault of the siding, its the fault of the people hanging it. Most contractors, in an attempt to speed things up, use air nailers to nail siding up. You almost have to do it by hand to do it right because it can not be nailed tightly. The siding should be able to slide freely, if it doesnt, it will buckle as it expands and contracts with temp. This is also one of the reasons I dont like the siding with foam glued to it. The siding and the foam have different expansion characteristics. The foam will either eventually seperate from the siding or cause it to buckle.
Most of the siding you see buckled and warped is not the fault of the siding, its the fault of the people hanging it. Most contractors, in an attempt to speed things up, use air nailers to nail siding up. You almost have to do it by hand to do it right because it can not be nailed tightly. The siding should be able to slide freely, if it doesnt, it will buckle as it expands and contracts with temp. This is also one of the reasons I dont like the siding with foam glued to it. The siding and the foam have different expansion characteristics. The foam will either eventually seperate from the siding or cause it to buckle.
Bird
Rest in Peace
That makes sense to me and was one of the concerns I mentioned to the contractor, but they weren't concerned about it. The nails were put in by hand so the vinyl can move, and the foam supposedly has enough "give" to it to prevent that. I hope they're right.
Hi guys,
Just moved into a new summer place this spring. Here is what my insulated siding looks like. It is vinyl log siding and has a small piece of insulation slid behind the vinyl. Probably more to get the siding to hold its form when pushed on than for insulation properties. My buddy said "so thats what logs look like in the city". LOL
Just moved into a new summer place this spring. Here is what my insulated siding looks like. It is vinyl log siding and has a small piece of insulation slid behind the vinyl. Probably more to get the siding to hold its form when pushed on than for insulation properties. My buddy said "so thats what logs look like in the city". LOL
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Bird
Rest in Peace
Yep, Marty, those are some pretty uniform logs. I think that looks good, too. I got the viny siding with the insulation bonded to it, but the contractor did mention a kind that you just slip the insulation behind each piece, as well, of course, as the original where they put the sheets of insulation up first.
I think that looks good, too. I got the viny siding with the insulation bonded to it, but the contractor did mention a kind that you just slip the insulation behind each piece, as well, of course, as the original where they put the sheets of insulation up first.
