5 Essential Siding Style That You Need To Know

Choosing the style for your home’s exterior is crucial. This will define the final appearance of your house. Siding is a great way to give your house a transformation while maintaining its functionality as a protective outer cover for the structure. Luckily, there is more than one siding style that you can choose form. However, making this decision can be tough. Knowing your options is the first step to making the right decision. As such, a list of the 5 main siding styles has been compiled for you.

Horizontal Lap Siding

Also known as plank siding, the lap siding style is likely to be the most commonly used and known siding style. It involves the use of log planks that are placed horizontally around the house. They are installed in such a way that they slightly overlap each other where they meet for the purpose of water-shedding, reducing the chances of moisture damage. This is a style that has existed for years and as such, they are commonly found in traditional homes. Nonetheless, the traditional horizontal style with trim boards can be slightly altered to give rise to a more contemporary look.

This simple siding style has evolved over the years to include different styles such as the Dutch lap, the beaded seam, and clapboard among others. It can be manipulated to give different designs and finishes. The widths of the planks can also vary and are sometimes alternated in the same design to give it a pattern. Horizontal lap siding style is a great option if you are looking to save on time and money since it is quick and easy to install.

Vertical Siding

As opposed to the horizontal lap siding style, vertical siding runs vertically from the top of the house all the way to the bottom. They are usually made of tall and wide panels. Vertical siding is typically characterised as a modern siding style. This is due to the simple and clean look that it gives which is ideal for that contemporary feel. This siding style especially goes well with earthy dark tones.

You can use vertical siding for your home’s entire exterior to give it a sense of height and make it stand out. You can also use it to highlight certain features of your home. This siding style can be used in different styles, lengths, and finishes. You can also mix colors to give the house different color columns. This style, however, takes more time and effort to install as compared to the lap siding style.

Shingle Siding

Another siding style for you to consider is the shingle siding. Also known as the shake siding, it is commonly used as an accent to other siding styles. For instance, it can be used on the roof globe while the rest of the house uses the lap siding. Although it works perfectly as an accentuating feature, it is not confined to this purpose alone. It can still be adopted as the main siding style of a house, even if in conjunction with other styles.

The shingle siding gives a house a nice textured look. Typically, wood would be the main building material for this siding style. Nonetheless, other modern building materials have been used with time.

Board and Batten

This style borrows from vertical siding by having wide boards run up and down the house. However, it differs from it by having smaller boards, known as battens, placed at regular intervals at the meeting point of the two larger boards. The board-and-batten style gives a rustic appearance which is great for a farmhouse-style house. It is a popular siding style that has been used for years.

The board and batten siding style is versatile, and, can be made to fit in a more contemporary setting by reducing the space between the battens. It can be made using actual wood, engineered wood, or vinyl among other building materials.

Scalloped

This is another great style for accenting your home’s exterior. The scalloped siding style has the appearance of small half sounded shapes placed together to form some sought of a pattern. They resemble fish scales, from where they get their nickname from. This siding style gives a rugged country look which makes it very attractive. Vinyl siding is the main building material used for this style.

These are the 5 essential siding styles that you can choose for your house. You should pick one depending on the look that you want to give your home. Nonetheless, you do not have to go with just one. You can mix and match different siding styles.