What Is the Cost of Putting on Vinyl Siding?

Background

• Vinyl siding is composed of polyvinyl chloride. It is available in many colors, which go through the depth of the material, reducing the visibility of scratches or gouges. Manufacturers make the surface of the siding to look like natural materials, including wood. It requires only occasional washing with a garden house or pressure washer for maintenance, and any damaged panels are easy to replace.

Basic

• According to Cost Owl at the time of publication, contractors generally estimate vinyl siding jobs by the square, which is equal to 10 by 10 feet, or 100 square feet. The minimum average cost of vinyl siding installation is $250 to $300 per square for basic siding .3 inches thick with minor insulation value of R-1. The R-value is a measure of thermal resistance, with higher numbers offering more resistance. This puts the total cost of siding a 2,000 square foot home at $5,000 to $6,000. If the cost doesn't include soffits, fascia and windows channels, each square foot of these features will add $3 to $10.

Premium

• The Cost Owl does not recommend siding of less than .4 inches, however. Premium vinyl siding, with thicknesses approaching the maximum of .5 inches thick, costs $400 to $600 per square or more, increasing the price of siding a 2,000 square foot home to $8,000 to $12,000. Premium siding can also feature rigid foam plastic insulation, with R-values of 2 to 5.

Considerations

• Because the wages of installers and the price of materials vary by city, the geographic location of the installation can affect the final cost. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that pay for construction laborers is the highest in Hawaii at a mean $24.63 per hour and less than half that rate in Texas at $11.83 per hour. Other factors affecting price in addition to the size of the home, include the number of stories and the complexity of its design; whether old siding is stripped or simply installed over; and the number of windows and doors that require trimming (wrapping with protective material such as aluminum).