We're moving into a wood home we bought. I'm considering having some kind
of metal or vinyl siding put on it, and need some thoughts as to how that
compares with painting.

What's a good range for how many years a house can go between paintings?

I've got an estimate of cost of painting, and an estimate of siding cost.
What's missing is how often we'd need to paint in order to do a long term
cost comparison.

RB wrote:
We're moving into a wood home we bought. I'm considering having some kind
of metal or vinyl siding put on it, and need some thoughts as to how that
compares with painting.

What's a good range for how many years a house can go between paintings?

I've got an estimate of cost of painting, and an estimate of siding cost.
What's missing is how often we'd need to paint in order to do a long term
cost comparison.


That depends on many things which we have no way of knowing. Is the
house in Arizona or on the coast of Maine? What condition is the
wood in? How many layers of existing paint is on there, what kind was
it, and what shape is it in? What kind of paint are you planning to
use?

In my experience, quality paint correctly applied to a good base in an
average environment will generally last 7 to 9 years. And IMO, if you
have good quality wood siding, that looks superior and adds value to a
house compared to vinyl siding, so I would not cover it up.

In article , RB says...

We're moving into a wood home we bought. I'm considering having some kind
of metal or vinyl siding put on it, and need some thoughts as to how that
compares with painting.

What's a good range for how many years a house can go between paintings?

I've got an estimate of cost of painting, and an estimate of siding cost.
What's missing is how often we'd need to paint in order to do a long term
cost comparison.



A job done well, at least here in the northeast, can last up to ten years.
That's with not scrimping on prep or paint quality.

You can found out what neighbors' experiences were, and maybe get some
estimates, taking the middle of the estimates and only believing the ones that
will include a lot of prep. Then make your comparison with what a siding cost
would be.

But it's not just cost. Think about what you want/like as far as esthetics, and
how important low maintenance is to you.

Banty (will side it this year)

Metal siding definetly interferes with cell phone reception vinyl is
a better choice

Honestly your better off with siding, your existing wood probably has
lead based paint Repaining is a never ending job, and when it comes
time to sell low maintence is a advantage.

unless your home is in a historic district!...............

Expect siding to cost about 4 times the cost of repainting.

figure painting abut every 7 years to keep house looking good. every 10
is pushing it. the longer between repaints the more the wood repair.
that adds costs too.

wrote:
Metal siding definetly interferes with cell phone reception vinyl is
a better choice

Honestly your better off with siding, your existing wood probably has
lead based paint Repaining is a never ending job, and when it comes
time to sell low maintence is a advantage.

Low maintenance may be considered an advantage by some, but many people
prefer the look of real wood. Well maintained, quality, real wood,
always looks better than siding. If it didn't, you'd see vinyl siding
on custom high end homes, yet you never do. Put vinyl on one of those
homes and you'd lower the market value, because then it would look like
one of the cookie cutter homes.




unless your home is in a historic district!...............

Expect siding to cost about 4 times the cost of repainting.

If it costs 4X the price of painting, then the savings in maintenance
costs is questionable. Assuming you paint a wood home every 8 years,
it would take 32 years to break even, and that is without discounting
the present value of money. Factor that in, and it's probably 40+
years, which is about the life of vinyl siding. Plus, with paint you
can change the color periodically if you want a different look.



figure painting abut every 7 years to keep house looking good. every 10
is pushing it. the longer between repaints the more the wood repair.
that adds costs too.

"RB" wrote in message
. ..
We're moving into a wood home we bought. I'm considering having some kind
of metal or vinyl siding put on it, and need some thoughts as to how that
compares with painting.

What's a good range for how many years a house can go between paintings?

I've got an estimate of cost of painting, and an estimate of siding cost.
What's missing is how often we'd need to paint in order to do a long term
cost comparison.



Without knowing where you are, the condition of the siding and the quality
of the prep work that will go into the job I agree with all the other
posters. 5 - 10 years if you want to protect the siding and keep the house
looking good. This presumes a quality paint and prep job over siding in
average condition.

Colbyt