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Choosing the Best Aluminum Siding for Your Home

Mamta Mule
Aluminum is a highly popular material, when it comes to adding a siding on the exterior walls. With some plus points over pricey materials, aluminum remains a favorite of many homeowners. But choosing the best aluminum siding for your home from the available options is very important. Here are a few tips for this job.
The exteriors of our house often get damaged due to extreme weather conditions. To avoid this, many builders and house owners consider adding siding to the exteriors of their property. Siding not only adds a protective cover to the exteriors and helps shed water, but also heightens the esthetic appeal of your house.
With a quality siding added to your exteriors, you need not worry about extreme weather conditions. While there are many options available in siding, it is essential to choose the right one to ensure that you get maximum benefits out of it.
Aluminum siding is one of the top picks in the industry. Yes, aluminum, being durable and long-lasting, makes a great option for house sidings. Moreover, it is inexpensive as compared to other siding options like vinyl or cedar shingle.
Aluminum, like any other material, has its set of pros and cons. It is prone to dents and hence, choosing the right quality of aluminum matters. Moreover, the choice of color plays a primary role in the entire procedure.
Though it is considered one of the best in terms of price and maintenance, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind while buying the same. Here are some important points to help you know how to choose one for your home.

Parameters to Consider

Thickness and Size

You can find aluminum panels in different qualities and its price will vary accordingly. Aluminum is known to develop dents easily, which makes choosing panels of proper thickness very essential. Thin panels are prone to dents, so opt for thick ones.
Heavy gauge aluminum is the best pick for areas susceptible to hail damage. You need to check whether you will need 12x36 inches or 12x48 inches panels for complete siding. To avoid any unnecessary dents, care needs to be taken during its installation procedure as well.

Types of Seams

Apart from the size of aluminum panels, the width and type of seams on the panels make a huge difference in the appearance of siding when the entire installation is over. Panels with narrow seams are popular for traditionally designed homes.
Those with wide seams are among the best picks for a modern or contemporary home styles. They look rich and perfectly play up the beauty of the exterior surface. You can choose from R-panel aluminum, corrugated aluminum, V-Beam panels, panels with flat, narrow seams or flat, wide seams.
While panels are available in vertical and horizontal orientations, the latter ones are hugely popular in terms of looks.

Painting the Panels

Color is an important factor while choosing the best aluminum siding. You can find aluminum panels in raw finish, which can be painted with colors of your choice. In this case, the paint job needs to be done nicely. It is best to get it done from a professional.
Airbrush technique is known to give the best results, when used to paint aluminum siding panels. A coat or two of primer is very important before the sheet is painted with the actual color.
There's no need to mention that quality of the color must be the best and well-suited to ensure that it lasts longer on the aluminum surface. If you decide to buy the raw pieces and paint them, opting for lighter shades is a good idea as the same can help you easily change the shade later on, if required.

Choosing the Right Colors

Color-coated aluminum panels, which are a little costlier than the raw ones also make a good choice. Fading, peeling or chipping of color is hardly a problem in case of good quality panels. Choosing the colors depends upon the design style of your house.
It is recommended to consider the colors of neighboring homes. Of course, you need not use the same color, but just make sure that your exteriors will look great among them and not appear dull or odd.
Choose a good trim color as the same helps in highlighting the overall appearance of the siding. White trims look great on dark-colored sidings. Make sure that you choose a trim color that looks fresh and gives a well-defined look to the siding.
With these tips, you can definitely have a good material for protecting your exteriors. Remember that you can further improve the aluminum siding by adding foam backing, which will add a layer of insulation.
Hire an experienced professional to install the siding and follow the care and maintenance routine to have a great looking and durable exterior surface.