Hail-Proof Siding: How Close Can You Get?

A hard hailstorm can turn a quiet afternoon into an expensive emergency. Dents, cracked panels, and chipped finishes can compromise your home’s siding, leaving it and the structures beneath vulnerable to the elements. 

Hail-resistant siding options are often incorrectly labeled as “hail-proof siding,” which creates confusion for homeowners. In truth, no siding materials are completely immune to every hailstone or weather event, but some are more hail-resistant than others. 

Below, we’ll show you what kind of damage hail can do to your siding and what makes siding hail-resistant. We’ll also compare different siding options so you can make an informed decision about which is ideal for your home and climate.

How Does Hail Damage Siding?

Hailstones don’t need to punch through siding to cause trouble. While you may find holes after a hailstorm, it’s also common to find cracks, chips, and dents. High winds and hail impacts can also loosen panels, damage seams, and compromise protective coatings. Wind-driven hail can be especially destructive because high winds not only increase impact force, but also change the angle of each impact by angling hailstones toward the side of your home rather than allowing them to fall straight down.

While some storm damage is primarily cosmetic, other damage can threaten the siding itself or the weather barrier beneath the siding. Cracked vinyl, split wood, fractured fiber cement, loose panels, and damaged seams can allow moisture under the siding. Chipped finishes can lead to decay; fiber cement may swell, exposed wood will weather faster and eventually rot, and metal siding like aluminum or steel may rust or corrode if the protective coating is compromised badly enough. 

Does Hail-Proof Siding Actually Exist? 

Unfortunately, no — there’s no such thing as truly hail-proof siding. Different types of siding have varying levels of hail resistance, but even options that offer excellent resistance can still be damaged by larger hailstones or wind-driven hail. 

While there are no hail-proof siding options, it’s smart to prioritize hail resistance if you live in an area that gets even occasional hail. Improved hail resistance reduces damage when hailstorms do occur, saving time and money on emergency repairs. 

It can be the difference between a handful of small dents that can safely be ignored, or chips that can wait a few weeks while you gather the funds, tools, and materials to fix them, versus completely shattered siding on one or more sides of your home — a problem that requires immediate (and expensive) repairs to keep the underlying wall structures protected against moisture and the elements.

What Makes Siding Hail Resistant?

There are several factors behind the hail resistance of any given type of siding. Thickness, rigidity, panel profile, backing, fasteners, and the way the siding was installed will all influence performance. High-quality siding materials over a sound wall assembly will generally handle severe weather — including hail — better than thin or poorly secured alternatives. 

Age matters, too. Brittle, weathered, loose, or previously damaged siding is more vulnerable to hail damage.

Comparing Popular Siding Types for Hail Resistance

So what types of siding offer the highest levels of protection? Below, we’ll go over today’s most popular siding materials, how hail can damage each, and which ones offer higher levels of impact resistance.

Vinyl Siding

Vinyl siding remains popular because it’s affordable, low-maintenance, and is available in many colors and profiles, including horizontal lap siding and vertical siding. It’s also highly moisture-resistant and doesn’t require painting. 

Its hail performance, however, varies widely. Smaller hailstones may leave little damage, particularly if the panels have insulated backing, but large hail and wind-driven debris can crack, puncture, and break vinyl. Cold weather makes the material more brittle, increasing the chance of fractures.

Hail-damaged vinyl siding typically requires costly repairs. Punctures, cracks, and warping usually can’t be patched effectively, which means replacement is the only option. Since vinyl siding’s color fades with UV exposure, you may also find yourself replacing larger sections or even all of your siding just to ensure a color match, even if the storm only struck a few points.

Wood and Engineered Wood Siding

Traditional wood siding offers natural warmth and curb appeal, but homeowners sometimes avoid it because the threat of pest and moisture damage makes wood high-maintenance. It needs to be inspected regularly for pest and moisture damage, and repainted every 5 years or so to protect the wood from moisture.

That said, while hail can still do a number on wood, it is usually more hail-resistant than vinyl siding. Impacts can cause dents, split boards, and chipped finishes. Once the finish is compromised, moisture can reach the wood fibers, causing swelling, rot, or peeling.

Engineered wood siding typically offers somewhat better impact resistance than natural wood — it’s less likely to split — but it can still suffer dents and chipped finishes, which results in the same problems as natural wood: swelling, rot, and peeling paint. 

Repair costs can vary widely depending on the extent of the damage. If only one or two boards or sections are damaged or chipped, you can usually replace and repaint them without a massive investment. 

That said, widespread damage — like chipped paint along one or two sides of your home — may mean you need to refinish the entire home to ensure the wood is well protected. Full replacement is typically necessary only in extreme situations, like massive wind-driven hailstones that cause extensive damage to your home’s exterior.

Fiber Cement Siding

Products like Hardie Board and other fiber-cement siding are valued for their resistance to moisture, pests, fire, and everyday wear and tear. It requires moderate maintenance, such as repainting every 10 years or so, and you should regularly inspect the edges for swelling or chipping, which are signs of moisture damage.

Fiber cement’s performance varies against hail and impact damage, depending on whether it’s installed flush against a backer board or as cladding, which leaves an air gap behind the siding. Moderate hail can chip the finish on fiber cement, and larger hail can crack or fracture boards and planks. Cladding is more prone to cracking and fracturing because it lacks a solid backing.

As with wood siding, repair costs can vary widely depending on the scale of the damage. Minor to moderate damage may mean replacing a couple of boards or planks or patching paint in a few spots, while more extreme hail damage may require replacing large sections of siding or repainting your entire home.

Aluminum Siding

Aluminum siding requires relatively little maintenance. It typically features a baked-on finish that can start to fade or become chalky after years of elemental exposure, which means you’ll need to repaint around the 15-year mark.

Aluminum holds up pretty well against hail compared to other materials. Extreme hail damage can leave behind punctures, but more commonly, you’ll experience dents, dimples, and chipped finishes. Both are usually difficult to remove — but you may not need to worry about them unless the damage is widespread enough to cause a cosmetic concern, in which case, replacement panels or complete re-siding may be required. 

If hail chips the finish, however, then you’ll need to act right away. Bare aluminum exposed to the elements won’t rust, but it will corrode, which will affect the siding’s integrity. If there are only a few chips, you can just patch the chipped paint, but if the damage is significant, consider refinishing the entire home.

Steel Siding

Steel siding offers low-maintenance protection against rot, pests, warping, and moisture absorption. On top of that, TruLog steel siding is made from 26-gauge steel and carries a Class 4 impact rating, which is the highest available. But it can still take damage in extreme weather conditions. 

Still, it’s more rigid and harder to dent than aluminum, and it avoids the cracking and chipping patterns associated with vinyl and fiber cement. Heavy-gauge panels can absorb substantial impact, although exceptionally large hail or flying debris can cause cosmetic dents or damage the finish. 

Unless dents severely impact curb appeal, homeowners often ignore them, and larger dents can be repaired by a qualified contractor using dent-pulling tools. Scratches and chips are where post-hailstorm repairs are really required since exposed steel can rust. However, this is usually an inexpensive repair that involves priming and sealing the scratched area with paint that matches the siding shade. 

How to Choose the Right Siding for Hail-Prone Areas

Lots of regions experience hailstorms regularly, but some are more prone to extreme hail than others. That’s why the decision-making process should start with your climate. If you experience small, pebble-sized hail once or twice per year, you may not need to worry as much about higher levels of hail resistance. However, if you live in an area where baseball-sized hail isn’t all that unusual, high impact resistance should be one of your biggest priorities.

Budget should typically be your next consideration — think not only about purchase and installation costs, but also about maintenance, replacement, and repair costs for hail damage. For example, vinyl siding may seem like a budget-friendly choice, but it can quickly become expensive if you find yourself repairing and replacing large sections after summer storms. Even though the upfront and ongoing costs are higher for wood and fiber cement, they can be a better choice than vinyl in areas that regularly see larger hail. Steel siding is among the top options because it offers both long-term value and some of the best impact resistance available. 

Last, don’t forget about looks and long-term value. More durable siding options like fiber cement and steel tend to provide longer-lasting protection without sacrificing aesthetic appeal, which makes them a wise choice no matter your climate.

Protect Your Home With Hail-Resistant Siding From TruLog

While no type of siding is immune to hail damage, some offer far more peace of mind than others. Vinyl is more prone to cracks and punctures, while wood and fiber cement siding may need replacement boards or repainting after a hailstorm. Metal siding tends to perform best — and TruLog’s steel siding stands at the top with its Class 4 impact rating, chip-resistant protective coating, and heavy-duty steel construction.

Want to learn more? Contact us with any questions you may have, or check out our Visualizer to see how TruLog siding will look on your home.