Should You Paint Your Old Aluminum Siding And Keep It Or Replace It All With Vinyl?
If you have an older home with aluminum siding that's looking dull and dirty, you may have wondered if you should give it a coat of paint or simply replace it all with vinyl siding. While cleaning and painting your aluminum siding will refresh its appearance, having to paint your home's entire exterior can be a huge job.
Pulling off all of the aluminum siding and switching to vinyl is often an appealing choice due to the fact that vinyl siding doesn't need to be periodically painted, and it can be easily cleaned with a garden hose. Read on to learn how you can figure out if you should replace your aluminum siding with vinyl or if you should paint your existing siding and keep it.
Is Your Aluminum Siding Dented?
One of the biggest downsides of aluminum siding is that the aluminum slats are very thin, which makes them susceptible to denting. Hail can cause severe denting to a large section of siding, warping it and making it look unattractive. Falling tree branches, stray baseballs, and rocks kicked up by a lawnmower can also all cause highly visible dents in the siding.
While it's possible to hammer dents out of aluminum siding using a rubber mallet, this is a laborious process that won't be able to fully restore the siding. Since the aluminum slats are thin, hammering dents out of them will warp the siding on its own, causing the slats to appear uneven. If your aluminum siding has numerous dents, it's better to simply replace it all with vinyl siding in order to improve the appearance of your home.
Are You Frustrated With the Upkeep Requirements of Aluminum Siding?
As long as it avoids becoming dented, aluminum siding will last for a long time. However, it will require periodic painting in order to maintain its appearance. Over time, sunlight will cause the paint on the siding to fade, and the sides of your home that receive full sunlight during the day will become noticeably lighter than the shaded sides of your home. In order to even out the color, you'll need to repaint all of your siding.
In order to paint aluminum siding, you need to wash it very well using trisodium phosphate and water, let it dry, and then apply a high-quality exterior latex paint to the slats. While the process isn't too difficult, having to paint all of your siding every few years when it starts to fade can be a hassle, especially if you need to paint aluminum siding on the second floor of your home. Installing vinyl siding on your home will eliminate this upkeep requirement.
Do Other Homes in Your Neighborhood Have Vinyl Siding?
Homeowners are increasingly replacing their aluminum siding with vinyl siding as the aluminum gets damaged or as they tire of the maintenance needs of aluminum. If all of your neighbors are replacing their aluminum siding with vinyl, it may be time for you to switch as well. Installing vinyl siding will help your home blend in with the rest of the neighborhood. Aluminum siding has a distinctive appearance, and you'll stand out compared to your neighbors if they've all switched to vinyl.
Ultimately, if your aluminum siding is still in good condition and you're comfortable painting it periodically in order to keep its color even, then keeping your aluminum siding is a good choice. However, siding replacement is becoming a common choice in order to get rid of highly damaged aluminum siding or ease burdensome maintenance requirements.
If you think that replacing your aluminum siding would be the best option for you, call a siding replacement contractor in your area and ask about their vinyl siding options. Replacing your aluminum siding will be more expensive, but replacing damaged siding will improve the appearance of your home's exterior.
Contact a local siding replacement service to learn more.
