Re-finishing the outside of your home can alter its whole appearance, including a lot to the “curb appeal” that raises property value value or just making you proud of a home you plan to keep on living in. Some of the most common options for an exterior update are painting the exterior or installing siding. As with the majority of home improvement projects, cost is a significant deciding factor between the two methods.

Price of Materials

Siding is a significantly larger up-front investment than painting. Vinyl, the most common type of siding as of 2013, can run from $2 to $7 per square foot, depending on style, quality and place. Paint runs between $1 and $2 per square foot. If you plan to do the work yourself, siding requires specialized tools which cost up to $100. Most homeowners have basic painting supplies available, with replacing gear costing closer to $50.

Preparation

In case your house now has siding, a contractor will remove and dispose of the old cover for $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the size of your home and your area. Preparing a painted house for new paint necessitates cleaning and scraping, a process most painters can do for $500 to $1,000. In either scenario, you might receive a discount on preparation if you buy it from exactly the same contractor you hire to employ the new paint or install the new siding.

Installation

Installing vinyl siding on a one-story, three-bedroom home costs as low as $3,600 as much as $13,000, depending upon your area and which contractor you hire. A specialist paint job on the exact same sort of house costs between $1,500 and $3,000. Although the real prices on any given house will fluctuate widely from this instance, it clearly illustrates the difference in price between either sort of home improvement.

Durability

High-quality exterior paint jobs last up to eight years until they start to visibly chip and fade, with most paint jobs showing wear four to seven years. Material data reports on vinyl siding claim lifespans of 20 to 50 years, although vinyl siding for a product is less than 50 years old, so no data confirms the long end of that claim. At three to five times the lifespan, the cost efficacy of vinyl siding can be approximately the same as painting your home if you plan to remain in it for a long moment.

Insulation

Vinyl siding comes with integral insulation and is rated at 25 percent more energy efficient than paint, which can mean long-term energy savings and short term green energy tax breaks. Although this won’t benefit you at the cash register, it is worth considering when comparing the total cost of both alternatives.

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