Hmm. Following. I’ve been advised (at least in our area) materials on both of those items are similar, but hardie installation is higher, and it requires regular painting (so more maintenance than the vinyl).

No personal experience vinyl, but it fades over time. We have used hardie plank when replacing trim on our old house. You need a special saw blde because it is so tough. Paint last well and no bug or squirrlel It looks better than vinyl and it is stronger. There is also pre painted Hardie Plank.

I believe the hardie is fireproof.

No contest...go with Hardie board. Our house is almost twenty years and we re-painted it for the first time a couple of years ago because we wanted to change the color, not because it needed it. No deterioration of any kind. I've never had vinyl siding, but I can guarantee, based on friends of mine who have it, that it won't last nearly as long as Hardie board. Hardie board won't warp or sag like vinyl can. And Hardie board is not going to melt like vinyl if there is a fire.

Jalarse, stunning home, stunning location! May I ask, what does the Hardie require underneath it? I’m impressed with it/paint surviving saltwater. I have snow/cold to deal with, but if the paint lasts longer, that’s a consideration. Thank you.

HB, we just used Tyvek house wrap as a vapor barrier under the Hardy board. Sometimes after a storm we have to go out and hose of the back windows on the water side to get the salt spray off. Have a great day.

Great house Jalarse! Do you remember what type of siding and what exposure 5” or 6” etc?

We are trying to decide whether to order it prepainted or do what you did and set up sawhorses and paint it ourselves before it goes up. Did you ever consider prefinished? Just curious.

myrica4, we used the 5”. We thought for the Cape Cod style of the home the 5 looked better. Probably more expensive only because you have to use more of it. When we put it up so long ago it did not come in prefinished colors, only what we called “puppy poop tan”. We are old school so we used roller and brush on each board before it went up. Just me but roller and brush put a better coat than spraying. Plus when your doing it yourself it cuts down on the cost. Best of luck to you.

Vinyl doesn’t need painting, but it does need cleaning. The vinyl on the north side of our house gets mildewed and looks pretty bad. Cleaning that off using a scrub brush and mildewcides is not what I consider no maintenance. I use a power washer and take my chances. But it’s still needed yearly. We have damage periodically if something hits the house and have had to replace pieces.

We put Hardiboard on a new garage 15 years ago and while we no longer live there, it still looks good from the street. I’d pick that over vinyl again.

Look into something called rain screen instead of regular housewrap with either product.

I have new vinyl and would have preferred Hardiboard (I think it looks better). Things I dislike about the vinyl -- the seams are quite visible, more so than the aluminum was, the trim pieces catch debris, and the stuff is noisy on a sunny warm day- creaking a popping with expansion - can't hear it inside but for sure outside!. Plus colors, although it seemed many, in the end none were quite what I wanted, and it actually wasn't possible to completely match the trim, gutters, porch posts and garage door -- I discovered after all were installed that the trim and gutters were very close but the posts and door are noticeably off.

Comparing Vinyl to Hardiboard is like comparing a Fiat to a Mercedes. Vinyl, IMO is junk.

Thanks Jalarse, the 5” exposure looks great.

Hardie board hands down! We put up pre finished grey Hardie siding 2 years ago to replace our 28 year old Masonite color-lok siding. About the same time most of our neighbors replaced their's -some with vinyl and some with Hardie. The Hardie looks so much richer. Some of the vinyl seems to have mildew problems. Every time I drive up to my house I realize how glad I am we did Hardie. It is important to use a certified Hardie installer for warranty purposes.

Also get multiple estimates. There was over a $10,000 difference in the quotes we had for the same job.

What happens if you don’t use a “professional installer”, do the wheels fall off? Sounds like something a “professional installer” said. $$$$$$$$$ it’s hardie board. Ain’t rocket science.

You may not need a professional installer, but you do need someone experienced with Hardie board, or someone willing to go online and learn the proper techniques. It is cement board, not wood, so some of the cutting and handling is different.

Someone already mentioned how quickly it will chew up saw blades, so the contractor has to be prepared. And when you buy it in long lengths (e.g., 16") you need to make sure it is fully supported while being installed. For example, you can hold one end of a 16 foot piece of wood siding with 12 feet sticking straight out and it will support itself. Try the same thing with Hardie board and will definitely sag, and may even break the board. There is a lot of information out there on proper installation, but not every contractor will read it and do the job correctly.

Bruce

Because it eats up saw blades, some installers score it with a carbide-tipped knife and snap it. This has the advantage of not raising the clouds of dust you get when you saw it. Others use an electric shears with carbide blades.