When you rely on your home to provide you with comfort and shelter, you can't take any risks with its ability to keep water outdoors where it belongs. Great roofing is instrumental in the fight against the elements, because it helps to create the kind of environment you need to keep your home and family safe. Unfortunately, there are many homes that don't have strong, reliable roofs, which can cause problems in the long run. On this website, check out excellent ways to spot roofing problems and resolve them quickly. After all, your home is your most valuable asset, so protect it now.
Do you want to install new siding on your home, and you're debating between vinyl and fiber cement materials? There is a lot more to think about than looks when it comes to vinyl siding, which is why it will help to know about the following differences between the differences.
Installation
When comparing vinyl and fiber cement siding, you'll find that vinyl siding has a much faster installation time. The process of installing fiber cement is simply more complicated, which makes the entire job take longer.
Why does this matter if you are hiring a professional to do it for you? That's because the labor hours are going to be part of your final price for the installation. You'll end up paying more for fiber cement to be installed simply because it will consume more hours for the installers. The size of your home also plays a factor as well, since more surface area to cover in siding results in an even longer installation time.
Insulation
You may be wondering how these two materials are different when it comes to the insulation that it provides for your home. Both materials on their own are not going to be a sufficient form of insulation, and it will require that additional insulation is put behind the siding material. However, vinyl siding comes in an insulated variation that has insulation on the back of it. This allows you to take care of insulation issues at the same time by upgrading to a higher quality material that has more insulation. This is not an option for vinyl plank siding, which means separate insulation will need to be put behind the material.
Durability
You also need to consider how the material is going to withstand damage over the years and continue to look good. Don't assume that fiber cement siding is the better choice because of how dense and heavy the material is. Both do a fairly good job at resisting damage in their own ways. Fiber cement's thickness helps it resist impact damage, as does the flexible nature of vinyl siding. The difference between these two is how they deal with water damage, which is much more likely to affect your home.
Fiber cement is a material that is capable of absorbing water, which puts it more at risk of having water damage. The installation process of fiber cement also requires that a flashing material is put behind the joints to protect from the entry of water because fiber cement siding is not caulked at the seams. Not having a properly installed flashing layer can lead to water intrusion. This is not the case with vinyl siding, which does a better job at naturally keeping water out. For more information, contact a company like Leon Construction.