Whether a small remodeling project or building up a home, you want to make sure you are choosing the right materials for your house. While many understand things like color and structure material, most forget a key factor and that is the siding. Siding can be a lot more than a functional covering around your roofs and ceilings. The two major material methods for siding, insulated vinyl and soffit, have worlds of differences.
To get a good grip on what you need, let's break down some pros and cons.
Weighing the Pros and Cons for Choosing Insulated Soffit or Insulated Vinyl Siding
To get the most out of either of these materials, you need to look deeper into them. Both vinyl and soffits have advantages, but which is better for what you need?
This comparison between insulated vinyl siding and insulated soffit will compare them as a protector of your house in the 4 categories below. Let's get started.
Insulation vs Breathability
Both products have a focus on providing extra insulation to your house by covering places like exposed rafters and gutters. The name gives it away.
The difference in them is the flexibility in how they do so. Vinyl is a flexible but solid material, keeping air and debris out when sealed.
Soffit has more breathability, allowing a degree of circulation. This can help keep these areas from building up too much moisture, which can damage insulation.
The overall result comes to a tie, with vinyl providing better insulation at the cost of overall maintenance to your house.
Durability
To protect against the elements, from wind thrown debris to heavy rains, you need a proper shield. Insulated vinyl has a thick outer layer that is waterproof and durability to all but the strongest blows.
Soffit provides decent protection, with its flexible nature allowing it to absorb impacts better. When push comes to shove, though, it isn't designed for major abuse.
The result is a win toward vinyl.
Increasing Costs
Installing either of these materials will be an increase in your overall housing costs. The savings you get in return, in protection and energy reduction, are well worth it, but which option bumps up the cost a bit too much?
Vinyl isn't a massive expense for general installation. Adding insulation to it, though, can bump the cost by up to 50% for standard siding. This can make the overall project expensive.
Soffit, by comparison, remains cheaper overall. The bigger jump in price is the size of the project compared to labor cost. The materials, though, are on the lower end spectrum.
The winner is soffit by a margin.
Aesthetic Choices
The final piece you want to consider is the aesthetic choices of your project. While function is a strong indicator of what kind of material you choose, you still want your home to look nice.
Vinyl's designs let it blend it to most modern homes. While vinyl can take on a unique texture like wood, it is often a flat surface painted to match the house.
Soffit has a lot more flexibility, with a wide variety of materials to choose from and a number of designs. The added textures and styles can make a huge difference if you want something more unique and interesting.
Soffit wins this category.
The Best Bet for Your Home
Insulated vinyl siding has a good amount of pros and can work for a siding project. The real winner here is the soffit, with its flexibility to adapt to any project or need.
Here at Soffit.com, we know how to get the best out of the process. There is a lot you can do with it, from high quality to unique variety. Check out our guide on getting the best out of soffit to learn more today!
