Cedar siding is one of the most popular styles for the exterior of a home. There’s something about the appearance of wood siding that appeals to many homeowners, regardless of the architectural style or placement of their home. But wood siding has a lot of drawbacks.
Cedar is considered a softwood, which means that it’s not as durable as some other materials, and it can be impacted by moisture and some types of insects. To help protect it, the siding needs to be regularly painted or sealed.
But wood doesn’t take paint permanently; the color will always peel, chip, and begin to fade, which means that every few years you’ll need to scrape, sand, and repaint your home in order to keep it looking its best.
If you wait too long between paint jobs, moisture could begin penetrating the wood as well, eventually leading to dry rot and other problems. In the end, you may find that you need to replace many of the planks every so often to keep the problems from spreading.
For all these reasons, many people who love the look of real cedar siding will often begin looking for wood-alternative siding that looks like cedar instead. Alternative sidings come in a range of different materials, each with their own set of attributes.
Most are generally less maintenance than wood, and some may be more durable as well. Only one, however, is truly a low maintenance, durable option, that can give you the look of real wood for your home – steel siding from TruLog.
The Benefits of Steel Siding
Steel siding has a lot of benefits over wood. It doesn’t rot, isn’t affected by insects, and it has a Class A fire rating, so it’s non-combustible in the event of a fire. TruLog steel siding has several other benefits as well. It’s been treated with a zinc and aluminum mixture in the galvanizing process to help prevent any corrosion over time.
It’s also given a finish that’s environmentally friendly and durably made with polyester. This finish won’t peel, chip, or fade and doesn’t require maintenance. It has a 30-year warranty, which means that you can get many trouble-free years from your siding, particularly in comparison to wood.
Log-look steel siding is also backed with foam insulation, so it adds R-value and energy efficiency to your home. Sided in steel, your home will be more durable, lower maintenance, and more comfortable than if it were sided in wood.
Styles of Steel Cedar-Look Siding
One of the benefits of TruLog steel siding is the appearance. They have two options that can give you the look of real cedar for your home, with all the benefits of steel.
The first is their Red Cedar log-look siding.
This material is designed to give your home the look of a log cabin. It can be installed over any existing home or building and can give it the look of cedar logs but without any of the inherent issues that log cabins bring.
Your home won’t require frequent pressure washing and it won’t develop all kinds of cracks from the logs shrinking, expanding, or warping over time.
The log-look siding has a rich, red cedar color and a realistic texture from the polyester that helps it better resemble real cedar logs. The siding can be put on any style of home to give it the rustic look of a log cabin instantly, with none of the upkeep.
If you like more traditional appearances, there is also cedar-look board-and-batten siding. This has the appearance of vertical plank cedar siding with battens fastened over the seams.
In reality, the cedar-look board-and-batten is formed into single sections that overlap and nail down together, making the installation much faster and the finished siding much more air and weather tight.
The material is finished with highly durable polyester and comes in 8 attractive colors that can give you the look of either freshly stained cedar siding, or the look of weathered barn wood siding.
Any of the colors will hold up well regardless of your climate, and won’t require the same kind of scraping and repainting that cedar board-and-batten would need.
Both materials come with the same 30-year warranty and all the benefits that steel siding can bring, including durability, lower maintenance, and a Class A fire rating.
Get a Better Alternative to Cedar Siding
There are many materials on the market designed to give you siding that looks like cedar. Steel siding from TruLog not only gives you the look of traditional cedar siding, but it can also give you the look of red cedar log siding as well.
And unlike some other materials, steel siding won’t require the same level of maintenance or care. Choose TruLog’s steel siding that looks like cedar for your home and get the best material to complete your exterior.
