Actually I have seriously considered building a home of light clay and may do so someday. Ideally we should not be building with materials that will not, when we are done with them, be able to return to components that existed in the environment before we intervened. Stone, wood, metal, even ceramic or concrete can eventually break down to ancestor substances. Many plastics will not. The ones I personally object to most vigorously are the vinyls and the styrofoam-related ones. On the other hand, plastics can do wonderful things that other materials simply cannot match. My personal code is that they should be used only when they are the best material, and not when they are merely the cheapest. But I do not make decisions for others, or even want to. You will note that I said what I would do, not what Larimie should do. (In fact, it is just now that I am noticing what an old thread this is. By now the decision has long since been made.) As always, each person must make his or her own decision. It is a wide world, and there is room for difference of opinion. Rosefolly

If it's installed incorrectly it will. The better option is to remove it and replace it with rigid foam insulation before the siding is applied.

Hate on vinyl, if you must. But it is low-maintenance and inexpensive. If you take your time to try to hide things like J channel and generally remember how the real wood product would look - and emulate that - it's a reasonable choice. OP, I hope you found a product that will meet your needs. I DO find that if you hunt around online, you can find some profiles that are a little unusual. And, using something other than a D4 profile will, again, make it look less like vinyl. Using the longer lengths, to minimize seams can also help. There are more products available that you'll find sample boards for at a single supplier. And if you find something workable, you can often search for a dealer in your area, and behold! That said, the Certainteed product is the only one I see that is wider than 8" on a cursory search.

Alside and Georgia Pacific both have a 7 inch wide vertical board and batten vinyl siding. ABTCO also has some pretty colors in a 7 inch. Certainteed has an 8 inch and a 10 inch. A quick google search should give you info on how to find dealers in your area. You should probably post this in design dilemma rather than the flooring forum so you will hopefully get more responses.