When it comes to siding for new construction or an exterior facelift, you'll find quite an array of materials to choose from. Each material has its own advantages and drawbacks. Here's a look at three popular siding materials: plastic, plywood and solid wood.

Plastic siding is molded with color throughout its thickness. This means that scratches are not obvious, and this siding is dent-resistant. Plastic sidings come in two types: vinyl and polypropylene. Vinyl is the more widely used siding, and it can be smooth or textured to look like roughsawn wood bevel siding. Polypropylene is only available molded to resemble cedar shingles, brick or stone.Plastic siding has a reputation for good durability and color retention, and the modern versions of it have only improved characteristics. However, any plastic siding can buckle in hot weather if improperly installed.

Plywood siding is the least complicated siding to install. It comes in 4-by-8-foot, 4-by-9-foot and 4-by-1O-foot sheets and in several grades. The better grades have fewer patches, which replace knots, in the face veneer. The siding is grooved to look like vertically installed wood siding, and it is often used on houses with contemporary or modern architecture. Contractors often refer to all plywood siding as T-111 (a specific type of plywood siding by Georgia-Pacific Corp.), but there are several different models. Plywood siding is applied vertically, and the horizontal seams where the panels meet are often covered with a piece of 1-by-4 wood trim. A piece of aluminum flashing is bent to step behind the upper piece and over the lower piece where the panels meet. The panels can also be installed so the top piece overlaps the piece below it, in which case the flashing is omitted.

Plywood siding and its trim are most durable if you protect them with a heavy-bodied stain or a paint. To stay flat and remain attractive, plywood siding needs to be fastened in an orderly way using corrosion resistant nails.

Wood siding is often the choice of traditionalists, and when properly cared for, it is extremely durable. There are several types of wood used to make siding: redwood, cedar, southern yellow pine and white pine. And while western timber harvests have been curtailed in recent years driving up the cost of white pine and redwood, these sidings are still available. So is cedar, which mostly comes from Canada.

Wood siding has rich colors, textures and shadow lines. Cedar and redwood also have notable natural decay resistance. These woods are available as horizontally applied bevel siding and in other patterns, such as with a cove shaped edge. You can also apply square-edged lumber vertically with narrow wood battens to seal the joints between each piece. This is known as board-and-batten siding. Of all the wood sidings, only cedar is commonly sold as individual or panelized shingles.

Aside from the style of siding, you also have several grades to choose from. The better grades have fewer knots and are more expensive. Also, the best grades of cedar and redwood can be ordered with edge or vertical grain. This orients the wood's growth rings perpendicularly to the siding face, improving paint-holding ability. Maintenance intervals for wood siding may range from three years between touchup of stain or preservatives to five to seven years between paint jobs or complete restaining.

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