Should You Choose Steel or Vinyl Siding That Looks Like Wood?

Lots of people love the look of wood siding — but not the maintenance headaches that come with it. While there are various types of vinyl siding that look like wood, some homeowners aren’t keen on the idea of a plastic-based exterior. It is true that vinyl offers better strength than wood, but it still comes with concerns. 

So, what’s the best solution for giving your home’s exterior the curb appeal of real wood without all the extra work?

Steel siding may be the answer. Below, we’ll explore the maintenance headaches that come with real wood. We’ll also show you the advantages and disadvantages of wood-look vinyl siding, and discuss why heavy-duty, hyper-realistic steel siding options may be the right choice.

Why You Should Think Twice About Wood Siding

Traditional wood siding is a popular choice because of the character it adds to homes — but it comes at a cost. Wood is a natural material, and because of this, it is extremely vulnerable to the elements. Wind, moisture, sun, heat, ice, and insects are all major threats to the beauty and structural integrity of wood siding. 

Unfortunately, wood-sided houses see a lot of exterior damage, and the routine maintenance costs can add up to a ton of time, money, and energy.

How Does Moisture Damage Wood Siding?

Because wood absorbs moisture and dries slowly, rotting and moldy boards are one of the biggest problems you’ll face. Excessive moisture can also lead to peeling paint. The scary thing about this is that moisture damage can occur in any climate — not just in areas prone to flooding or rainy, humid climates. However, the risk is even greater in humid coastal regions as well as areas that see regular rainfall or snow and ice in the winter.

How Does Temperature Affect Wood Siding?

Temperature swings can also drastically affect natural wood siding. In hot weather, wood swells and expands, while cold temperatures cause it to shrink up again. Seasonal weather changes and even larger temperature swings between daytime and nighttime put a lot of pressure on wood siding. 

With all the constant swelling and shrinking, you’ll notice cracking and peeling paint in addition to warped, loose, or cracked boards.

How Do Pests Damage Wood Siding?

Last but not least, there’s the concern over insect damage and pest control. Termites are usually the first thing that comes to mind when you think about pests damaging wood siding — and while they can do a lot of damage, they’re by no means the only wood-destroying insect to worry about. Carpenter ants, carpenter bees, boring beetles, and powderpost beetles can also wreak their fair share of havoc.

There is plenty of wildlife that considers wood siding the perfect place to explore and nest too. Woodpeckers, squirrels, chipmunks, and even rats and mice will all bore or chew holes while searching for nesting sites or attempting to gain access to the indoors. This sort of damage can be both frustrating and costly to fix.

Is There a Durable Alternative to Wood Siding?

Yes, there are actually a couple of options that are more durable than wood. You can invest in either wood-look vinyl siding, or you can get the ultimate in durability and realism with wood-grain steel siding that comes in log, lap, or board and batten styles. Let’s explore the ins and outs of both options.

Vinyl Siding That Looks Like Wood

All of wood siding’s maintenance woes lead homeowners to seek out alternatives — like vinyl siding that looks like wood. After all, it really does have a charming appearance that many find desirable for their home.

Vinyl outperforms wood in all the above-mentioned risks. It does not absorb water, and while temperature changes do cause some expansion and contraction, it’s not at nearly the same rate as natural wood. Vinyl siding is also less attractive to insects and woodpeckers — although rodents will occasionally chew it. 

However, before jumping to vinyl, you should note that while it may be better equipped to handle some of the areas where wood fails, it’s certainly far from perfect. In fact, vinyl shares a few downfalls with wood that we haven’t talked about yet, like flammability and weakness to high winds. 

Wood is also slightly more impact resistant than vinyl. It’s unlikely that hail or the odd stone thrown by your mower will do more than make a dent in the wood, but these things can shatter vinyl. 

On top of that, vinyl siding is a plastic based material, which means it isn’t particularly eco-friendly. If you want to cut down on plastic-based materials in your home, wood-look vinyl siding won’t be a suitable option.

Before we check out an even better alternative to wood, let’s answer some common questions about vinyl siding.

What Vinyl Siding Looks Most Like Wood? 

If you want realistic wood-grain vinyl siding, the two best options in terms of style will be lap siding or board and batten siding. Both styles are traditionally made with wood, and since most vinyl products are textured with a wood grain pattern, these will give you a fairly realistic approximation. 

While most vinyl siding is available in solid color options, you can also shop around to find vinyl siding in wood tones. Realism will vary from one manufacturer to the next, so be sure to order samples so you can better assess how the product will actually look once you’ve installed it.

Can You Paint Vinyl Siding to Look Like Wood?

Yes, you can paint vinyl siding to look like wood. However, keep in mind that it’s a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process. 

For starters, it typically isn’t recommended that you paint vinyl siding at all — and that’s because most paints don’t adhere to vinyl. You’ll need a vinyl-approved exterior paint, which is typically more expensive than the paint you’d use for a wood exterior. 

Where painting techniques are concerned, you’ll have two options: 

1. If the vinyl siding already features a wood-grain texture, you can paint in a solid color and let the texture show through so the final look is similar to painted wood. 
2. You can use faux wood-grain painting techniques. You’ll need two different paint colors, paint brushes, and specialized combs for creating faux wood grain. It takes some practice and experimentation — preferably on a piece of spare siding — but with enough time and effort, you can repaint vinyl siding to look like wood.

Wood-Grain Steel Siding

If you want an even better alternative to wood, TruLog offers several great steel siding options. 

First is the TruGrain Color Series. This is a premium product that delivers hyper-realistic wood patterns designed to give you the exact look and feel of real hickory. 

You can also choose from five different HD Wood Grain patterns that will give your home a beautifully realistic look. 

Both TruGrain and HD Wood Grain siding colors are all available as board and batten, lap, or log profiles. In addition to wood grains, TruLog also offers five solid color options in all three siding styles, which allows you to truly customize your home’s look.

Besides their natural look, what truly sets these siding options apart from wood or vinyl is the fact that they’re crafted from high-grade steel. This means that all of the upkeep concerns that you’d experience with wood — peeling paint, moisture damage, rot, cracking and warping, pest damage, and more — are not a problem. 

Vinyl can falter under high wind gusts and hail, but heavy-duty steel provides the enhanced durability that homeowners need to avoid costly repairs, thanks to a Class 4 impact rating. TruLog steel siding also has a Class A fire rating, making it a much safer option than wood or vinyl. Plus, eco-conscious homeowners enjoy steel siding because it cuts down on the use of plastics and can easily be recycled at the end of its lifespan.

Not only is steel siding incredibly low maintenance, but it also offers a super-easy installation process. These siding panels feature an innovative lock-in design that simplifies the installation process and speeds up siding projects overall.

All in all, steel siding is very cost effective compared to vinyl siding. In addition to low maintenance and installation costs, TruLog’s siding comes with a foam insulation backer that features an R-rating of 4, which will improve your home’s energy efficiency. It also has an affordable purchase price. TruLog steel siding ranges between $4 and $9 per square foot, which is on par with the $3 to $12 price range of vinyl siding.

How Does Steel Siding Compare to Vinyl in Appearance?

The answer to this question largely depends on the manufacturer. Both low-end steel and vinyl products often aren’t particularly realistic. However, a quality product like TruLog that is designed to look incredibly realistic will beat the look of most vinyl products. 

That’s particularly true in the long term. Vinyl siding is prone to fading, and elemental damage will degrade the look of real wood relatively quickly. TruLog’s durability and fade resistance means that you’ll enjoy the look of natural wood far longer than you will with most other wood-look siding products.

TruLog Steel Siding is Your Best Bet for a Wood-Like Look

Want the look of real wood without the maintenance headaches? Vinyl is one type of siding that can mimic the look of wood while offering increased durability — but it’s still prone to fading and damage from different weather conditions. 

If you want the beauty of wood plus extreme durability, low maintenance requirements, fire resistance, wind resistance, and fade resistance, TruLog steel siding is the right choice for your project. 

To learn more about our siding options, download our free catalog today!