Steel Siding for Single Family Homes?

[Bigtime]

Hoping I could gather some answers from those of you that may be in the know.

It looks like steel siding is starting to show up on some builds here in Calgary, everything from the corrugated to wider panel stuff. Also in different colours, from the typical silver to darker greys and blues, and even white.

We drove around Ramsay and Stanley Park last night and saw quite a few examples of it.

Our debate is thinking of replacing our 1984 vintage beigey-cream aluminum siding with it. Then accenting with cedar for the windows, soffits, front door, etc.

What are the pros/cons of going with steel? What do you think of it personally?

[O-tacular]

Could look awesome. I would just say to be careful with the corrugated stuff as it was big on 'modern' houses from the 90's though. Could look dated if done wrong.

[Bigtime]

Yeah I'm leaning away from the corrugated and instead going with the wider flat stuff. Kind of a plank look if you will.

That giant house with no stairs in Stanley Park has two different widths installed vertically, looks pretty sharp. However with our smaller house we'd just stick to one size.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Yeah I'm leaning away from the corrugated and instead going with the wider flat stuff. Kind of a plank look if you will.

That giant house with no stairs in Stanley Park has two different widths installed vertically, looks pretty sharp. However with our smaller house we'd just stick to one size.

Are you talking about the crazy Star Wars Sturgess house? Yeah, I think the flat stuff could be awesome. The contrasting wood accents would really pop. I'd be curious to see how it turns out. You should post update pics.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Are you talking about the crazy Star Wars Sturgess house? Yeah, I think the flat stuff could be awesome. The contrasting wood accents would really pop. I'd be curious to see how it turns out. You should post update pics.

Yup that is the one, it had a almost grey-dark blue steel siding on it. Then up on Stanley road there were a couple of houses with steel too, one had the corrugated and the other flat white with what looked like an ipe or rosewood accent on it. Looked very sharp.

If we do proceed with it I'll definitely post some pics of it here. We are also thinking it may be a little bit of a battle to approve it in our neighbourhood, but I think with contextual proof of it working in other communities like Stanley park we can carry the day.

[O-tacular]

Just curious how the price of metal siding compares to other options like that expensive flat stucco or hardyboard?

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Just curious how the price of metal siding compares to other options like that expensive flat stucco or hardyboard?

We're just starting to look into that, but it may be slightly cheaper than those two options.

[Surrealplaces]

Personally I like the look of steel siding. I don't know if there are any issues with it, but it can look great. I really like the look of corrugated, but I too would probably avoid it, simply because the flat plain style look would be more timeless.

[kw5150]

careful with massive hail storms..........

[93JC]

Originally Posted by kw5150

careful with massive hail storms..........

Vinyl isn't going to be any better.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by 93JC

Vinyl isn't going to be any better.

Not touching vinyl with a ten foot pole, it just looks so cheap. We are going between the steel and the hardiboard.

Originally Posted by kw5150

careful with massive hail storms..........

That's what insurance is for. We have the original aluminum siding on the house from '84 and it has weathered hail very well. Just a few dents and nothing more.

[Calgarian]

Id go with Hardi, but that's just because I think it looks better.

[hulkrogan]

Steel looks really funny on a house that isn't of a contemporary shape. If your house is traditionally shaped, Hardiboard is a much nicer looking choice IMO.

[craner]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Id go with Hardi, but that's just because I think it looks better.

I agree with this.

[kw5150]

Originally Posted by 93JC

Vinyl isn't going to be any better.

I didnt mention vinyl, and i suspect aluminum would hold up better but no one mentioned the hail aspect yet, so I did..

Vinyl is a bad idea in Calgary because of the hail. Actually, vinyl is a very unsustainable choice as they have HEAPS of the stuff in landfills all over north america, especially in the southern US when hail obliterates the vinyl.

[Bigtime]

Yeah I've seen what hail does to vinyl, saw some home in Olds a few years ago after a nasty storm. Those homes looked like someone took a freaking 50 calibre gun to the siding.

[Elbownian]

Out of curiosity, are there any homes in the city that have been faced with zinc tiles like the ones used on the UofC downtown campus? It always struck me that those would be a decent stylistic fit to replace wood or cedar shingle siding, even on an older home.

[freeweed]

I'd have to think that steel siding would be much more fire-resistant than vinyl. In fact this is probably the single biggest reason I'm considering re-doing the outside of my house (and it's only 7 years old).

Be curious if anyone has any idea as to that... and what kind of cost is one looking at. I realize it depends a lot on the size of the house - but on average, are we talking a few thousand? 5 figures? Never done any major reno work on a house so I'm completely ignorant here.

[Bigtime]

I think for our house re-doing the siding (house and detached garage) is going to be a 5 figure amount. Not 100% sure on that yet. Will probably know more in a couple of weeks.

[Wigs]

Bigtime, did you pick the type of siding yet? My vote is either Hardie board or steel. I'm surprised at the variety of Hardie exterior products and good variety of colour choices.