What Is the Thickness of Vinyl Siding?

Description

• Vinyl siding is the most popular siding material in the United States, according to "Consumer Reports," and can hang vertically or horizontally outside the home. Because it is a synthetic, it is naturally impervious to damage from mold, rot and insects such as termites. It receives its color at the factory during its creation, so it does not need repainting. Its outermost layers can receive texture imprints, so it can look like wood or other material from a distance.

Standards

• The American Society of Testing and Materials defines the standards of vinyl siding thickness. It specifies a minimum of 0.35 inch, with an ideal at 0.42 to 0.45 inch, according to VinylSiding.net. If the thickness required for soffits is included, the best vinyl thickness runs 0.50 inch. One advantage of vinyl is its ability to respond to temperature changes. Even when at maximum thickness, vinyl siding flexes and moves, avoiding any danger of falling off the side of a house.

Grades

• One objection to vinyl siding is that it can show imperfections from the wall beneath it. But this is avoidable with thicker and costlier product grades. The material is generally divided into five grades. Builder grade measures 0.40 inch, according to Siding4U. Thin residential grade measure 0.42 inch, standard residential grade is $0.44 inch, thick residential grade is 0.46 inch and super thick grade -- the thickest of the grades -- runs 0.50 inch.

Examples

• An example of vinyl siding is the Royal Woodland double 4.5-inch designer siding. It comes in panels measuring 9 inches high by 16.25 feet long and looks like two wood-grained panels mounted on top of each other. It is 0.46 inch thick, has an exposure of 9 inches and projects 0.675 inch. It comes in 14 standard colors.

  Mainstreet double 5-inch siding also shows two wood-grain boards mounted together in a 10-inch-by-12-foot panel. It is 0.42 inch thick, with an exposure of 10 inches and a projection of a half-inch. It comes in 11 colors. Monogram double 5-inch rough cedar siding is molded from rough cedar clapboards with a low-gloss finish to simulate real painted wood. It appears as two boards on a 10-inch-by-12-foot panel and is 0.44 inch thick. It has 18 colors, an exposure of 10 inches and a projection of 0.75 inch.