The problems I have with vinyl siding is the cupping of the 'boards' and the use of J-channel. Both are give aways that the siding is made of plastic.

Pricing for vinyl will be all over the lot, brand and model specific, but it is plast and will last dam near forever. Cons are the "J" channels and all other accessories look like vinyl siding. Hardi is expensive but an inert material that as long as the instructions are followed to a "T" will last years. Coupled with the proper trim and corner boards it will offer a far superior look.

I just researched this and have had a few bids on getting our houses re sided. Two different contractors discouraged me from Hardi. We have long runs and they both said it was difficult to seam invisibly. Also that the nails show through over time In addition, they had both had houses where after 8 + years the house needed painting and that was a huge expense. It was estimated 20K for our midwestern home .

Both suggested the insulated vinyl as it gives a straighter more wood like appearance. Unfortunately it so very pricey.

We have decided that the existing exterior isn't too bad!

Vinyl looks like vinyl. And over time it doesn't look good. I rented in a community of very expensive condo townhouses and after 10 years, those corners on the vinyl did not look like they belonged on those expensive homes. Plus the vinyl looked like it needed painting. The color had faded,..a lot!

Two different contractors discouraged me from Hardi.

Sure because vinyl is a heck of a lot easier to install.

We have long runs and they both said it was difficult to seam invisibly.

Hogwash. All houses have long runs. My house has Hardie upstairs (stucco down) and my seams are not noticeable.

Also that the nails show through over time

If it is put on properly, the board above it covers the nails so no, nails never show. Again, hogwash, or they are incompetent in using Hardie.

In addition, they had both had houses where after 8 + years the house needed painting and that was a huge expense. It was estimated 20K for our midwestern home .

Yes, eventually the house will need painting. But then again, vinyl color will fade with enough sun.

Maybe some vinyl is more robust than others but in our neighborhood when we had a big hail storm all the vinyl homes looked like they'd been shot up with a machine gun. The Hardie homes were unscathed. Granted you could live your whole life without such a storm but thought I'd mention it as it was such a dramatic difference and it made me thankful I didn't have vinyl.

My in laws have vinyl and it looks like vinyl. We have hardie and I love it. We have two different types. The siding and panels. No nail holes have popped up and 4.5 years later we are still very pleased with the product.

We have vinyl on a beach house and after storms and randomly, they need to be popped back in place. We had a side rip off during a hurricane. We used cheap vinyl. Our neighbor built at the same time had to paint after 5 years and our vinyl - 12 years now - looks fine. We did a light color so that fading wasn't a big deal.

Hardi certainly looks better but painting is seemingly as expensive as new siding. You can get pre-painted and I think that has more durability. I think the cost is comparable since you save the painting cost.

Agree that the nail and long run arguments are total BS.

We didn't paint our inland home with Hardi and we left after 9 years. Suffolk county has a good amount of coast line and various sun loads (ie lots of trees in some areas). That would factor in the replacement/paint time lines.

In the long run, brick is cheaper than all in my area ..

We used Hardie and it looked great. I didn't like that for all that money, though, it would need to be repainted. We lived there five years after we put it on, so I can't talk to the longevity of the product.. Next house, we opted for the vinyl shake on the front of the house and matching horizontal siding on the back. I really love it. I don't know how much the vinyl shake is compared to the Hardie, though.

I'm in SW FL, 3 blocks from the bay and my house was painted 5 years ago. It looks just as good today as it did 5 years ago.

Where in Suffolk are you? Inland or by the water? (I grew up and only moved south a few years ago.)

I grew up Port Jefferson, so I know Suffolk pretty well too.

The neighbor ocean front house that I spoke of - I didn't think about this but it was built on spec. So who knows what quality of paint they used and it is a fairly dark brown which may have been part of the issue. And I realize that I didn't say it was Hardie.

To give you an idea, they did exterior trim in wood. Something I wouldn't do inland let alone on the coast. A lot of that got replaced in 5 years also.

It is truly amazing what some builders will do when building on spec.

"Hardie board" is a common generic term for all James Hardie products. Tell us which siding you're considering:

Hardie Plank Lap Siding, Hardie Panel Vertical Siding, Hardie Shingle Siding or the Architectural Collection (Artisan Square Channel, Shiplap and V Groove Siding)

The same goes for vinyl siding. What are you asking about?

It is truly amazing what some builders will do when building on spec.

My sister had a house built in Old Brookville back in the mid eighties, so you know what the quality should have been. In reality, it was truly a piece of garbage.

BTW: I spent most of my life in Nassau country.