Are you in the market for a modern cladding material that will reimagine the exterior of your building? Odds are, Aluminum Siding is or will be on your shortlist. Aluminum is a popular cladding choice for its affordability, resilience in outdoor use, and the many design freedoms it affords.
If you are considering this product for your next project, this article will explain the pros and cons of Aluminum Siding so you can clad with confidence.
What Are Pros and Cons of Aluminum Siding?
Pros of Aluminum Siding
The upside of Aluminum Siding is enough to get an architect, contractor, or building owner excited. It is no wonder that this cladding product has enjoyed steady popularity for over 60 years.
Affordability
If bang-for-buck is what you favor, Aluminum Siding will be a clear front runner when it comes time to pick a cladding material. Aluminum’s price point sits slightly above cheap options such as PVC and Vinyl while remaining well below the cost of more premium options such as ACM, HPL, and natural wood.
The best part is that aluminum dresses for the status it wants, not the price it has. Its signature metallic finish fits elegantly alongside even the most extravagant modern cladding products.
Its luxury will be felt by everyone and everything but your wallet–paired with the benefits listed below, there is no better value in cladding than in Aluminum Siding.
Elemental Resilience
If you are looking for cladding in southern Ontario, elemental resilience should top your list of considerations. In a four-season climate, the risks to your building’s envelope come from all sides.
Heat, sunlight, rain, wind, snow, and salt are all usual suspects–being paired with new environmental concerns such as acid rain.
Aluminum, the thirteen elements on the periodic table, is the most corrosion-resistant of all the metals. This makes Aluminum Siding the best for people who are tired of dealing with rot, rust, mold, and the typical ailments to building products that have to spend years bearing the brunt of mother nature. Insects and other pests mince away at natural products, making metal a great option for cladding.
But this benefit means little if the neighborhood creatures are getting in through openings left by corrosion–making Aluminum Siding’s elemental resilience king when you need to stand tall against whatever nature throws at you and your building.
The marks of such attacks do not linger, as Aluminum Siding is a breeze to maintain and clean–all you need is light soap and water!
Design Options
Design is fun, explorative, and innovative–when you are working with flexible and infinitely customizable materials like Aluminum Siding. Aluminum is one of the easiest metals to cut, bend, and fabricate–making it easy to ensure every plank is working in full service to your blueprint, however intricate, unique, or funky it may be.
Most notable are the decisions you will have to make in the way of color and finish–there are too many options to list here because any color you can think of is at your disposal with Aluminum Siding.
Wood grain finishes are also popular and readily available. Emulating some of the most luxurious and exotic wood species that the world has to offer gives you all the warm and natural look of wood without the headache that organic cladding products demand.
Installation
When pricing out your next cladding project, it is essential to consider the cost of construction along with the base cost of the materials.
Aluminum Siding makes budgeting this part of your project stress-free because the lightweight and intuitive nature of Aluminum planks make installation expedient and straightforward, saving you money on labor compared to more elaborate products that are a hassle to install.
It is also a safe process. Unlike toxic cladding materials such as PVC and Vinyl, there is no need for respirators, nor will your Aluminum cladding need time to air out before the air surrounding it is pleasant to breathe.
Property Value
Warranties for Aluminum Siding products can be as long as thirty years–a testament to how long your property will enjoy the protection of this metal cladding miracle.
Aluminum Siding is a clear step up from alternative options overused in the residential market, so the modern gloss of Aluminum brings a curb appeal that calls out at first glance.
Pair this with a low point of entry in the way of initial cost and general ease of maintenance–this is a worthwhile investment that will be felt immediately by all who visit your building.
By nature, exteriors are the first thing that home and building inspectors note when evaluating a property. Make that first impression count with crisp Aluminum Siding.
Cons of Aluminum Siding
Nothing is perfect, right? Aluminum Siding has one important flaw to note, so you can make an informed decision if this product is the one to meet your needs.
Softness
Aluminum, for the protection it offers from corrosion, is notably soft in comparison to other metals. This is a benefit during fabrication and installation, but it leaves your building’s exterior vulnerable to denting in the wake of the impact.
Some Aluminum Siding products are produced using aluminum alloys, which introduce certain supplementary metals to improve the strength of the cladding product. The tradeoff is that the more you introduce other metals, the initial corrosion resistance that makes Aluminum great is reduced.
As with anything in construction, consideration of the best materials is always about balancing pros and cons to the needs of your building. If you are dealing with a building that is commonly at risk of physical impact, Aluminum Siding may not be for you.
Conclusion
Aluminum Siding is an excellent cladding option for anyone looking to get all of the advantages of modern cladding at a value-packed price point.
It has all the luxury of contemporary design at a fraction of the cost of premium materials, unparalleled corrosion resistance that suits it for a long life of exterior use, and everything from installation to maintenance is intuitive.
If you land on Aluminum Siding as the perfect match for your building’s next project, we want to connect with you! Wiedehopf is an industry leader in the design, supply, fabrication, and installation of Aluminum Siding in the Greater Toronto Area!
To close the gap between you and the modern exterior design of your dreams, give us a call at +1(905) 761 979.
