We used CertainTeed Impressions on our entire house. We get compliments on it all the time. In fact, people will go up and touch it, and then are amazed that it's not real shakes. Originally I was adamant that I did not want to use vinyl siding, but this product was so much better than anything else I looked at. I think what sets it apart from other vinyl shakes is that it appears seamless and the color is not a flat solid color. It has a bit of variation in the color like real cedar shakes, and it has some depth to the color and texture. I looked at Foundry vinyl shakes, and there was no comparison. The house is 5200 sq ft. As a comparison, the cost was $5,000 more than SmartSide. I didn't like the SmartSide because at the time they only had pastels, I thought it was way too shiny, and I didn't like all the seams. I think they've come out with many more attractive colors now. I've attached a picture of the back side of the garage. Not the best picture, but it is the best I have that shows the siding up close. I also agree with another poster that a more substantial trim around the windows makes a big difference.

Thank you, we are pleased with how our home came out. And it is a smaller home. It's fundamentally a 2 bedroom ranch with a finished walk out basement. We did not use insulating panels on the back as we built a green home. The living space in the house is sealed in an envelope of closed cell insulation. We also have 5kw of solar panels on the roof, geothermal heating and cooling, and passive solar design with only a few windows on the north side, many windows on the back, southern side. We have quite a few other green elements, but those are the main ones. This is our retirement home, so we built for low maintenance. All of the trim work is azek. The only wood that will need maintaining on the outside is the beadboard ceiling used in the front entry and the mahogany front door. And we installed a 50 year roof...which keeps shingles out of the landfill longer and it means we won't have to rip off the solar panels and reinstall just to replace the roof.

My current home has clapboard-style vinyl siding. The neighbor has the Dutch lap. Over the years I have come to prefer the Dutch lap. I almost had mine replaced, and I would have done the foam reinforced Dutch lap. Straight vinyl clapboard has a tendency to wave. Especially over long expanses. In our neighborhood almost everyone got a new roof in 2008 after a bad hail storm. Those that chose black regret it. It is too stark. These are mostly traditional homes. Go with the charcoal instead.

My house has white vinyl siding, and it requires constant maintenance in terms of cleaning. We live in the country (we're farmers), and the white shows everything - especially cobwebs, dead (and live!) insects, and dust from the road and surrounding fields. It is especially bad around my entrances and windows (probably because that's where I see it close up). We power wash the house in the spring and fall, and I constantly clean my entrances by hand so that it looks respectable. The house we are building will have darker wood siding and a grey metal roof. I have no doubt that the darker siding will also get dirty, however I think it probably won't show up as much as it does on the white siding.