Looking for new siding for a ranch home? You’ve probably explored a variety of different siding ideas — but because siding is one of the larger investments you’ll make in your home, it’s a big decision that warrants careful consideration.
For the ranch home style in particular, vertical siding is one of your best bets. There are several different vertical siding styles to choose from — and they’ve got the right aesthetic for a ranch house’s profile, plus a few other benefits that you can’t get from horizontal siding styles.
Below, we’ll examine vertical siding for ranch homes and why it’s a great choice.
What Are the Elements of the Ranch Architectural Style?
Ranch homes are usually single-story homes with open floor plans — although sometimes they can feature a split-level one-and-a-half-story design. Their most defining characteristic is that they have a long, low roofline. This is due to the fact that ranch homes consolidate all living areas on a single floor and also because they typically have attached garages that create a more rectangular shape.
In order to liven up their look, designers typically take care to build visual interest through modern farmhouse-inspired architectural features like multiple gables, small front porches over entryways, or even dormers to help break up larger sections of the roofline.
The ranch style originated in the American West and became popular across the United States in the 1950s and 1960s for its functional design and modern styling. Today, it’s considered a classic but timeless style that allows homeowners to lean into modernism while avoiding the boxy, geometric look of modernist or mid-century modern architecture.
What Siding Looks Good on Ranch Homes?
Since ranch homes are all about modernism and clean lines, the siding styles that you choose should match this aesthetic. That usually means either board and batten siding, shiplap, or tongue and groove to create clean vertical lines, or lap siding if you prefer horizontal lines.
While some homeowners do choose materials like shingles, this can result in an overly busy or dated look that clashes with the contemporary style created by a ranch home’s long, low profile. Similarly, you could choose brick or stone — but these materials are usually best used as accents to the more sophisticated look of board and batten or lap siding.
Is Vertical or Horizontal Siding Better for a Ranch Home?
When it comes down to choosing between horizontal or vertical siding for ranch homes, it’s largely a personal choice based on the aesthetic you’d like for your home. That said, before you make that choice, you should know that these days, vertical board and batten siding tends to be more popular than shiplap, tongue and groove, or horizontal lap siding.
This is because board and batten siding has a number of aesthetic and practical advantages. Read below to learn about them.
Enhances Curb Appeal
If you’re looking for one way to seriously enhance your home’s curb appeal, vertical siding is it. That’s because ranch homes naturally have a contemporary, almost minimalist feeling. Vertical board and batten siding is the exterior siding style that is best suited to enhance this vibe, although you can get a similar look with shiplap or tongue and groove siding. Whereas lap siding can make a home look dated or traditional, vertical siding on a home with a contemporary profile creates a sleek, modern look.
Creates a Sense of Height
We’ve illustrated how ranch homes typically feature a low, single-story design. Vertical siding is an ideal choice for this architectural style because the vertical lines draw the eye upward, which helps create a sense of height.
It’s a subtle but important way to enhance a home’s exterior design. If you opt for horizontal siding instead, the home’s design runs the risk of appearing squat and bland.
Lowers Maintenance
When people consider siding options, they mostly think about aesthetics — but maintenance should be a concern too. Vertical siding has the advantage over horizontal siding in that it’s easier to maintain.
For example, when you need to wash your siding, it’s much easier to clean or power wash the flat surfaces of vertical siding whereas it can be challenging and time consuming to remove grime from beneath every single lap on lap siding.
If you need to repaint siding, you’ll find that vertical siding is the better option here, too. You can use a sprayer or a roller to coat vertical panels and battens easily whereas with lap siding, shingles, or other types of siding, you’ll spend a lot more time working with a brush to get under each lap or in all of the grooves.
Improves Drainage
Moisture can be an issue, especially if you’re going with natural wood siding over options that have greater moisture resistance, like steel or vinyl siding. And even if you are using moisture-resistant siding materials, it’s still a wise idea to choose a siding design that sheds water easily to prevent moisture from settling on the siding or seeping into cracks.
Vertical siding wins out where drainage is concerned because the vertical design allows water to flow down and off of the siding. On horizontal siding, water tends to gather on each individual lap to drip from the edges. It stays wetter for longer, which increases the odds of moisture damage or seepage into seams, around fasteners, or beneath laps.
Enhances Energy Efficiency
Vertical board and batten siding enhances energy efficiency through a design that features fewer gaps and thus fewer opportunities for drafts to infiltrate your home. In board and batten siding made from wood or fiber cement, the gaps between siding panels are sealed by vertical battens, which can then be caulked to provide extra protection against drafts and moisture. Vertical steel and vertical vinyl siding come as panels that lock together with few seams between panels.
By contrast, wood or fiber cement lap siding are made from dozens of individual laps, which means there are narrow gaps or seams around every board. Horizontal steel or vinyl siding can be a better option because there are fewer seams. However, keep in mind that vinyl siding is a flexible material that easily shrinks, expands, or shifts with changing temperatures or high winds — and that can allow the material to be drafty during weather conditions when it needs to offer the most protection.
Can Steel Siding Be Vertical?
Yes, vertical siding for ranch homes can be found in a variety of different materials, including steel. However, vertical steel siding has advantages that most other types of materials simply can’t match. Let’s take a quick look:
- Natural wood siding isn’t moisture-resistant or pest-resistant. It requires a lot of maintenance in the form of regular repairs and repainting in order to keep it looking good.
- Vinyl siding is available in vertical styles, and while it is moisture-resistant, it’s not a particularly durable material. It can crack, shatter, or warp easily due to extreme temperatures, storms, hail, and impacts.
- Fiber cement siding is more durable than wood or vinyl, but it’s also more expensive, more difficult to install. It should be repainted every five to 10 years to maintain its moisture resistance.
When it comes to steel, it’s difficult to find siding that offers the shiplap or tongue and groove look — these siding styles are almost exclusively available as less durable wood or fiber cement products. However, TruLog offers steel board and batten siding that delivers the vertical look you want in your new siding while also addressing all of the issues above — and then some.
TruLog steel is impervious to moisture and pests, and it never needs to be repainted. That’s because it features a solid steel core coated with an anti-rust galvanized alloy, followed by protective clear coats that preserve the finish against UV radiation.
Steel is also a naturally durable material. Extreme temperatures and high winds won’t cause it to crack, warp, or shift. Impacts that hit hard enough to cause dents or scratches are rare and easy to repair.
All of this adds up to a low-maintenance house siding that requires minimal care — just yearly cleanings to rinse off dust. On top of that, TruLog steel makes siding installation easy. If you’re into DIY home improvement, you’ll find the interlocking design of these panels makes for quick and simple work.
Explore TruLog Vertical Siding for Ranch Homes
Vertical siding for ranch homes offers the best in both aesthetics and functionality — especially if you choose TruLog steel siding. Vertical siding offers a minimalist modern look that works perfectly with the ranch architectural style, and it helps to give these low-slung homes a greater sense of height. On top of that, it’s a siding style that comes with lower maintenance needs, greater energy efficiency, and greater moisture resistance, all by design.
Choosing TruLog steel for your vertical siding only builds on these benefits. Our siding is built to last a lifetime with virtually no maintenance required apart from yearly cleanings. To learn more about available vertical siding colors and other details, download our free catalog.
