What kind of siding do I have?

Siding is the outer skin of your house. Its job is to shed rain and protect the wall behind it. Knowing what kind you have tells you how to clean it, how often it needs paint or caulk, and what a repair will involve.

Most homes in North Carolina, Georgia and Texas have one of five types: vinyl, fiber cement, wood, hardboard (often called Masonite) or brick veneer. Many have more than one, such as brick on the front and lap siding on the sides. This guide shows how to tell them apart and what each needs. For what repairs cost, see siding repair.

Quick ways to tell them apart

Type	What to look and feel for
Vinyl	Plastic panels that sound hollow when you tap them and flex if you press. The color goes all the way through, so a scratch or cut edge is the same color. Panels overlap at the ends, and windows are trimmed with plastic channels.
Fiber cement	Hard, heavy boards that sound solid and don't dent when you press with a fingernail. Edges look like fine stone or cement. Usually painted or factory finished.
Wood	Real wood grain, knots and slight differences from board to board. A fingernail can leave a dent in soft woods like cedar.
Hardboard (Masonite)	Looks like painted wood, but the grain is a stamped, repeating pattern. Damaged areas look swollen, puffy or soft, especially at the bottom edges of boards.
Brick veneer	A single layer of brick on the outside of a wood-framed wall. Look for small open joints (weep holes) in the bottom row of brick and above windows and doors.

If you can see the back of a loose or removed piece, look for a manufacturer's name. Some siding products are stamped with it. If you're still not sure, a contractor can tell you.

Vinyl

Vinyl does not need paint. The Vinyl Siding Institute says routine cleaning needs only a garden hose, mild soap or household cleaners, and a soft brush for textured panels. [1] It also notes that many manufacturers void their warranties if vinyl siding is painted. [1]

What to watch for: cracked or loose panels, panels that have come unhooked after wind, and warping from heat, such as a grill set too close. Damaged panels can usually be replaced one at a time, though matching the color of older siding can be hard.

Fiber cement

Fiber cement is made with cement and wood fibers. It is tough, but it still needs its joints sealed and its paint kept up. James Hardie's care guide for its siding recommends [2]:

Washing the siding every 6 to 12 months with a garden hose and a soft brush. If you use a pressure washer, keep it below 1,500 psi with a wide fan tip held at least 6 feet from the wall. [2, 8]
Re-caulking joints and openings when the caulk wears, using a sealant labeled permanently flexible.
Keeping about 6 inches of clearance between the siding and the ground, and not piling soil or mulch against it.
Trimming plants back from the wall and aiming sprinklers away from it.
Replacing pieces with damage larger than a dime rather than touching them up.

Check your own product's care instructions, since requirements vary by brand and finish.

Wood

Wood siding looks good for decades when its finish is kept up, and rots when it isn't. Paint usually fails first at the ends and edges of boards, where water gets in. [3] The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory lists typical lifespans on wood siding of 7 or more years for paint, 3 to 7 years for solid-color stain and 3 to 8 years for semitransparent stain. [4] It recommends repainting when the top coat has worn enough that the primer is just starting to show, and warns that painting too often builds up too many layers. [4]

What to watch for: peeling paint, soft spots near the ground and at joints, and caulk that has cracked or pulled away. See exterior painting and trim and caulking.

Hardboard (Masonite)

Hardboard is a siding product made from wood fibers. [5] Its weak point is water. Forest Products Laboratory testing found that hardboard siding fails first where the paint cracks at the bottom edge of a board, and that the board then swells at the edges. [5] Keeping the paint film intact, especially on those bottom edges, is the key to making it last. [5] Older guidance from Purdue Extension and the Forest Products Laboratory also notes that paints and solid stains give hardboard the most protection. [3]

What to watch for: swollen, soft or crumbling bottom edges, boards that have buckled, and rot near the ground or under windows. Damaged pieces are replaced and the rest is kept caulked and painted. See the Masonite siding present and damaged Masonite siding findings.

Brick veneer

On a wood-framed house, brick is usually a veneer: a single outer layer held to the wall with metal ties, with an air space behind it. [6] The Brick Industry Association describes brick veneer as a drainage wall: some water gets behind the brick, and flashing and weep holes at the bottom of the wall and above openings let it drain out. [6] Weep holes need to stay open, so don't fill them with caulk or bury them under mulch or soil.

What to watch for: cracked or missing mortar, cracks through the brick, and rusted steel lintels (the supports over windows and doors). When mortar is replaced, called repointing, the new mortar should match the old in hardness. Hard, cement-rich mortar can damage softer older brick. [7] Cracks that keep growing can point to foundation movement: see foundation and structure. Related findings: brick veneer cracks or mortar gaps and rusted lintels.

Habits that help every type

Keep siding clear of soil and mulch. See inadequate siding ground clearance.
Keep gutters clean and downspouts pointed away from the walls.
Cut shrubs back so the siding can dry.
Walk around the house once or twice a year and look for gaps, cracked caulk and peeling paint.

The ground around the house matters too. Our guide to grading and drainage around your home covers how water should move away from the walls.

When replacing beats repairing

Spot repairs make sense when the damage is limited to a few pieces. Replacement starts to make more sense when:

Damage runs across most of a wall or several walls, not just a few boards.
The siding is discontinued and patches won't match.
Water has gotten behind the siding and damaged the sheathing or framing, which often isn't known until the siding comes off.
Hardboard keeps failing piece by piece year after year.
You would need to repaint a whole side anyway to blend in new pieces.

HomeCloud is a licensed general contractor that evaluates homes and prices and does the repairs. We can tell you what you have and send you a priced estimate to repair or replace it.