Why should I consider concrete siding?

Well, consider the two main functions of home siding-protection and appearance-and your decision just might become a lot easier. If you research your options, you'll see that each kind of siding offers good benefits. However, dig a little deeper, and one seems to stand out as the clear choice: concrete.

Concrete siding stands up to the elements.
The number one thing your siding has to do is protect your home. No matter where you live, this function will be challenged at some point. Mother Nature doesn't care if you prefer the mountains, the beach, the desert, or any other climate you call home. At some point, she's going to throw some kind of test at you.

If you have concrete siding (or cement siding), you can sit back and tell her to bring it on! For areas that see more than their fair share of humidity, rain, and snow, concrete siding provides superior moisture and water resistance. For areas that test the limits of both ends of the thermometer, concrete withstands both extreme heat and extreme cold. And for areas where airborne projectiles like hail and high-wind debris are a regular occurrence, nothing is tougher than concrete siding.

And no one ever wants to experience the unthinkable event of losing their home to a fire, but no other home siding material is as flame retardant as concrete. That's not to say that your home would be impermeable to an inferno, but your chances of a total loss due to an externally sparked fire would be substantially diminished.

Concrete siding stands up to the competition.
Have you already been shopping around and doing a price comparison of home siding? If you're reading this, chances are that you have. If not, you're soon to find out that concrete siding tends to come with a higher price tag than other options.

But when you discover why cement siding outperforms the competition-with a 50-year warranty to back it up-you'll see that the difference in price starts to make a lot more sense. Not to bash other options, but let's take a look at why other materials just don't cut the mustard compared to concrete.

• Vinyl - One good battle with a hailstorm, and vinyl siding will look like you covered your home in Swiss cheese. Plus, if the temperature dips a little too low or rises too high, it can quickly make the vinyl more brittle and susceptible to cracking.

• Aluminum - Its biggest drawback is that it dents - very easily. So, even if it doesn't have to stand up to a major hailstorm, aluminum has many more nemeses. Flying debris, baseballs, golf balls, poorly guided ladders - you name it, it can leave dimples. Which are cute on cheeks, not so much on houses.

• Steel - It's notoriously one of the tougher metal products available. But one small chip on the protective coating, and you guessed it - rust. And it doesn't respond well to exposure to the most humid climate either. A light rain, a misaimed sprinkler, a car wash turned water fight - it doesn't take much moisture to make steel siding look like your home is crying red.

• Wood - One of the more popular materials for its good looks, wood siding also has many downfalls. Bugs eat it. Water rots it. Objects impact it, causing chips and cracks. But don't worry. If it's the nice wood-grain look you want, concrete siding comes in styles that'll even fool the woodpeckers.

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