Get the Look with Vinyl Siding
Popular architectural styles using vinyl siding and other polymeric siding include:
- Horizontal profiles
- Vertical profiles
- Shakes
- Scallops
- Fish scales
- Dutch lap
- Clapboard
- Beaded
Horizontal profiles / Clapboard Siding
This is one of the most common types of vinyl siding. It is the oldest type of vinyl siding and mimics the wood clapboard style that has been used for over 100 years. Clapboard vinyl siding looks like a flat piece of wood that runs horizontally across your home; every section of siding overlaps the piece beneath it. It can come in various sizes:
- Single 7” & 8”
- Double 4”, 4.5”, 5”, 6” 7” & 8”
- Triple 3” & 6”
- Quad 4”
The wider the section of siding, the fewer nails used per square foot. Because of this, the larger the piece of horizontal or clapboard siding, the less resistance it has to wind. It’s important to take this into consideration. If you live on the top of a hill that has constant wind, it might be best to go with a smaller size.
Board and Batten Vertical Siding
Board and batten is very similar to vertical siding, but it has an added strip to mimic real wood board and batten features. It has a wide strip of vinyl called the board and a narrow raised strip called the batten. Typically we install it as a single 12” siding with battens at the edges or double 10” siding with a batten in the middle of each strip. Mostly, we install this on sheds in your back yard and in some cases on the home itself.
Vertical profiles / Clapboard Siding
This style is very similar to board and batten, but there is no batten. It’s essentially clapboard siding installed vertically. There are size differences, but there are not as many options as there are with horizontal siding. You will often see vertical clapboard siding on barns, sheds, and sometimes on the gable of a house. Vertical siding is often used to make the peak on a roof or building appear higher than it really is. This vinyl siding style comes in the following sizes:
- Single 12”
- Double 5”, 6” & 10”
- Triple 4”
Shake Siding or Shingle Siding
Shake siding or shingle siding is made to resemble wood shake siding. Mostly, it mimics cedar shakes or shingles. It is not installed in strips like clapboard or Dutch lap. Instead, it is installed in smaller pieces. This adds to the installation time and the overall costs of your siding project. With the higher-quality vinyl available today, these vinyl shake siding pieces look remarkably like wood. From the street, only a discerning eye is able to tell the difference between vinyl and real-wood shake siding. There are a variety of types of shake styles, which offer different looks. There are no real benefits to one over the other, so it really just depends on the customer’s preference.
The different styles include:
- Traditional shake
- Cape Cod shake
- Hand split shake
Scallops Siding or Fish Scale Siding
Scallop siding and fish scale siding is the same thing. In some regions of the country it is called one name, and in other parts of the country, it is called another name. In Northwest Arkansas, it is usually called scallop siding. Scallop siding is really just a shape of shake siding and doesn’t belong in a category of its own. However, we often consider it as its own category because it’s seldom, if ever, used as the dominate type of siding on your home. Instead, it is used as an accent. We install it in the dormer or above a window up to the peak of the building. If your budget allows and you really want to distinguish your home from your neighbors, you should consider scallop siding accents. It is truly a beautiful way to improve the aesthetic beauty of your home at a very small increase to the cost of your siding job.
Dutch Lap Siding
Dutch lap siding is the most common form of siding used today. This is because it has a nice, natural look that appears much like real wood siding. Dutch lap siding has a beveled, 45-degree edge on the top. The bottom edge hangs at a 90-degree angle. Dutch lap takes its name from the settlers that brought the style of siding with them from northern Europe. It was used extensively in the northeastern United States during the colonial period. It is more stylish than clapboard siding as the angles of the bevel produce more shadow, which adds a look of depth to your home.
It comes in the following sizes:
- Double 4”, 4.5”, 5”
- Triple 4”
Beaded
Beaded siding is a horizontal siding with a rounded bead at the top and bottom of each section of siding. The function of beaded siding is the same as Dutch lap. It adds depth to your home by creating shadows on the siding. The most common size of this style is 6.5” wide.
Cabin Board Siding or Log Home Siding
Manufactured to look like stacked logs, cabin board siding delivers a rustic appearance like you might see on a cabin in the woods. There are many different options in log-home or cabin-board siding. There are also many different materials that can be used to create the effect. Cabin board siding is available in profiles from 7” to 10” wide.
Insulated Vinyl Siding
Insulated siding has a foam backing applied to the inside of the siding. Insulated siding can be purchased in various types and thicknesses to create different R-values, ranging from R-2.0 to R-5.0. The higher the R-value, the better job the material does at resisting the flow of cool air out of your home during the summer and hot air out of your home in the winter. Insulated vinyl siding does significantly increase in the cost of siding your home, but if heat loss in the winter or cool-air loss in the summer is a major concern to you, then you need to consider the extra expense.
