Vinyl Siding is so ugly! Especially in the cities! Anyone else think so? (hardwood floors, new home)
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What is fake siding? Even though its made of vinyl it is still real.
If you posted that you hate vinyl siding I would understand your post but to say it's fake is not right.
I agree, vinyl is not fake....it's vinyl siding! We all know this. What I find to be a fake approach is huge "brickface" McMansions with vinyl siding on the sides and rear of the house. Its basically sayin, "I want to look like an all brick house but don't want to spring for it." Vinyl siding is nice if the facade and curb appeal is nice. It's been around for decades so it's doing something right. I have vinyl siding on my 1960's bi-level; it transformed my home from 1962 to all the other homes around me in 2007 for $12K (roof, siding, soffets, gutters)!
What is fake siding? Even though its made of vinyl it is still real.
If you posted that you hate vinyl siding I would understand your post but to say it's fake is not right.
Well, I guess that's just me showing my age. The entire point of vinyl siding originally (as well as the aluminum siding that briefly preceded it) was a product that pretended to look like wood siding but was more maintenance-friendly. It isn't wood, and so it's fake. To me, anyway.
Sorry, I'm a pre-plastic child. Did you know that Tonka trucks used to be made of metal? That playground equipment and swing sets used to be made of metal, too? That shampoo came in glass bottles? So did soda.
The entire world has turned plastic in the past 40 years or so, including the exterior of houses. I know that's not going to change, and the vinyl certainly is more inexpensive and easier to keep up than wood or other natural materials, but it will never look as nice as the real thing, IMO. I think it just cheapens the look of even the more expensive houses.
What I find to be a fake approach is huge "brickface" McMansions with vinyl siding on the sides and rear of the house. Its basically sayin, "I want to look like an all brick house but don't want to spring for it."
A brick facade with non-brick sides and rear isn't new to McMansions; many older houses have it too.
I think the issue with vinyl siding is the architecture; on houses with very short horizontal segments, it's going to look busy. When used on something like the back and sides of a colonial, or on a cape cod, which have long horizontal stretches, it looks fine.
You can get vinyl siding which looks like shakes rather than like clapboard, but of course it costs more.
Sorry, I'm a pre-plastic child. Did you know that Tonka trucks used to be made of metal? That playground equipment and swing sets used to be made of metal, too? That shampoo came in glass bottles? So did soda.
Yep, I used playground sets made of metal (with leather swing seats), and remember glass soda bottles (but not shampoo, now that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Glass, water, slippery shampoo, hard tiles/porcelain to break the glass on on, and bare feet). I was a plastic transition child; we had a metal swingset with plastic seats. Tonka trucks aren't metal any more? Now that's sad.
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I know that's not going to change, and the vinyl certainly is more inexpensive and easier to keep up than wood or other natural materials, but it will never look as nice as the real thing, IMO. I think it just cheapens the look of even the more expensive houses.
Brick facades have gotten cheaper, though, and people mostly like them better, so you'll see more of those. They're real brick, just really thin brick. I don't think vinyl looks any worse than the clapboard it imitates, but I'm not a real fan of that either. My 50-year-old house has wood shakes; I don't know what I'm going to do when they need replacement.
Yep, I used playground sets made of metal (with leather swing seats), and remember glass soda bottles (but not shampoo, now that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Glass, water, slippery shampoo, hard tiles/porcelain to break the glass on on, and bare feet). I was a plastic transition child; we had a metal swingset with plastic seats. Tonka trucks aren't metal any more? Now that's sad.
Brick facades have gotten cheaper, though, and people mostly like them better, so you'll see more of those. They're real brick, just really thin brick. I don't think vinyl looks any worse than the clapboard it imitates, but I'm not a real fan of that either. My 50-year-old house has wood shakes; I don't know what I'm going to do when they need replacement.
Yes, there were some in-shower disasters with those glass bottles of shampoo, lol. But the blood washed right down the drain, so it was all good.
I always liked brick houses. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I live in a small condo. It was built in 1986 and has mint-green vinyl siding, but I've got that layer of brick on the front, too!
I guess another plus is that termites don't eat vinyl.
Well, I guess that's just me showing my age. The entire point of vinyl siding originally (as well as the aluminum siding that briefly preceded it) was a product that pretended to look like wood siding but was more maintenance-friendly. It isn't wood, and so it's fake. To me, anyway.
The main point of vinyl siding was and is that it doesn't require the maintenance of wood. What's so great about wood?
[quote=Sorry, I'm a pre-plastic child. Did you know that Tonka trucks used to be made of metal? That playground equipment and swing sets used to be made of metal, too? That shampoo came in glass bottles? So did soda.[/quote]
There's cheap plastic and good plastic, but glass has many disadvantages
[quote=The entire world has turned plastic in the past 40 years or so, including the exterior of houses. I know that's not going to change, and the vinyl certainly is more inexpensive and easier to keep up than wood or other natural materials, but it will never look as nice as the real thing, IMO. I think it just cheapens the look of even the more expensive houses.[/quote]
Location: Splitting time between Dayton, NJ and Needmore, PA
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Originally Posted by ann_lepore
It doesn't look any cheaper than wood to me.
Not to sound harsh, but it doesn't appear you have really looked carefully at either product.
If wood is maintained appropriately, it will look many times better than any vinyl siding. Quality paint on good wood can truly enhance the look of any building.
Vinyl siding does have its place on some buildings such as out buildings where minimal maintenance is essential. However on existing buildings, especially in older neighborhoods, it is one of the worst options to choose specifically because it looks out of place and fake.
Not to sound harsh, but it doesn't appear you have really looked carefully at either product.
If wood is maintained appropriately, it will look many times better than any vinyl siding. Quality paint on good wood can truly enhance the look of any building.
Painted wood = wood coated with acrylic, unless you're so historically correct as to use linseed oil paint. So when you look at painted wood, you're looking at plastic.
The main point of vinyl siding was and is that it doesn't require the maintenance of wood. What's so great about wood?
There's cheap plastic and good plastic, but glass has many disadvantages
It doesn't look any cheaper than wood to me.
Everything, of course, is subject to one's opinion. I think it looks much cheesier, probably because I have a preference for more natural materials in housing, such as wood or stone.
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The entire point of vinyl siding originally (as well as the aluminum siding that briefly preceded it) was a product that pretended to look like wood siding but was more maintenance-friendly. It isn't wood, and so it's fake. To me, anyway.
