The type of siding you put on your home here in Minnesota is one of the most important decisions that you’ll ever make.

Not only does the siding you choose determine how your home looks but also determines how durable your house is. When considering siding types, two of the most common materials used today are steel and vinyl. Both are well-known for being durable, but they have some very key differences. Keep reading to find out those differences so you can decide which option is going to be the right one for your personal needs.

Which Siding Is Environmentally Friendly? Steel siding is well-known for being safe and environmentally friendly. It’s easy to recycle and is recycled on a daily basis. If you use steel siding to protect your home, there’s an excellent chance that metal is going to find another life after you're done using it on your home.

Vinyl siding, on the other hand, is known for utilizing chemicals and for being notoriously difficult to recycle. Most vinyl siding ends up in landfills and is less than ideal from an environmental standpoint.

Which Siding Is Known for Durability

Steel siding is famed for its durability and should hold up through decades of regular use without issue. As a matter of fact, the first metal siding that Pat Quarve worked with over 35 years ago is still protecting the Minneapolis home he installed it on.

Our seamless steel siding holds up incredibly well to most situations; it even resists fires really well helping to add a durable layer of protection to your home. Steel siding doesn’t suffer from expansion and contraction like vinyl siding does, and it’s much tougher and more difficult to break or crack.  Here in the Twin Cities we get frequent hail storms, and you may have seen the damage even small pea-sized nuggets can do.  Steel siding holds up to hail marvelously. Which Siding Has a Beautiful, Long-Lasting Appearance?

While both steel siding and vinyl siding look quite nice at first, and can provide a refreshing look to an aging home, steel siding holds up better over time. It resists fading from direct sunlight and generally still looks very nice 20 or more years after installation. Vinyl siding doesn’t hold up quite as well. It suffers from sun fading much earlier after installation and is prone to cracking and excess wear. Vinyl siding shows its age much sooner, and will leave you wanting new siding just 10 to 20 years after it’s installed in many instances.

Compare the Cost of Vinyl vs Steel Siding

In terms of initial cost, vinyl siding wins hands down. It’s often much cheaper than steel siding initially. That doesn’t paint the full picture, though. Vinyl siding will save you money upfront, but will cost you much more when it wears out and requires replacing sooner. Steel siding is more expensive, but lasts much longer and represents a better long-term investment.

There are some very key differences between steel siding and vinyl siding. Both materials have their use-cases, but overall more people are happy with steel siding than they are with vinyl siding products. Speak with us here at Metal Roofing and Siding of Minnesota to find out more regarding the metal siding options available.