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Roofing Insights is rolling out their 2020 siding guide that reviews some of the best and worst siding brands in the roofing industry.
In this article, Roofing Insights compares three of the most popular siding companies in the industry.
These siding brands include:
1. LP Smart Side
“This is the fastest growing siding product on the market,” says Dmitry Lipinskiy, who is the CEO of Roofing Insights and also the man who engineered the 2020 siding guide.
2. James Hardie
“They are the number one siding brand in the country,” notes Lipinskiy.
3. Mastic Vinyl
“This type of siding is the most popular option,” says Lipinskiy. “Pretty much everywhere you go, you see vinyl siding because it is also the cheapest.”
Each brand of siding was judged based on their performance in fourteen different categories, including:
- Look
- Cost
- Durability
- Finish (paint)
- Warranty
- Fire rating
- Repair
- Maintenance
- Easy installation
- Termites
- Safety
- Water reaction
- Marketing gimmicks
- Value to the property
Before we get into the results of the siding review for all three brands, a quick disclaimer:
The goal of this article is not to make any siding manufacturer look better or worse than the other.
Roofing Insights is committed to objectively assessing each siding company based on the merits of their siding products.
With that being said, let’s take a further look at the siding from LP SmartSide, James Hardie, and Mastic Vinyl to determine which brand may be best for homeowners looking to install siding!
Please note: every company was graded in each category on a five-star scale.
Check out the table below so you can see how your preferred brand of siding stacked up against the competition!
| Company Name -> Category(below) | LP Smart Side | James Hardie | Mastic Vinyl |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look/Appearance | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Cost | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Durability | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Finish (paint) | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Fire Rating | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Repair | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Maintenance | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Easy Installation | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Termites | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Safety | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Water Reaction | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Marketing Gimmicks | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Value to the Property | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Roofing Insights then compiled these numbers and came up with each company’s average score to determine the highest scorer.
Here are the results:
First Place, with a score of 4.7: Mastic Vinyl
Second Place, finishing with a 4.6: James Hardie
And lastly, in third place, LP SmartSide, with a score of 3.7
A reminder:
Even though LP SmartSide fared poorly in the analysis, they are very popular because they’re easy to install and a lot cheaper than other brands.
But cheaper isn’t always better.
For example, Greg Bednarski, the owner of Siding & Windows Group in Chicago has been installing James Hardie siding for years.
As the owner of an $8 million per year siding company, Bednarski swears by James Hardie because of their quality and reliability, even though his company is willing to install LP SmartSide for customers who are more concerned with price.
“Greg and his team at Siding & Windows Group in Chicago install James Hardie, and they have been installing this brand of siding for over twenty years, but they also do install LP SmartSide siding,”
Lipinskiy mentions.
Moreover, Lipinskiy emphasizes that he has no issues with homeowners who decide to install LP SmartSide siding on their homes.
“I have no beef with LP SmartSide. I just want to show homeowners what I see because I also want consumers to make educated decisions based on real knowledge from real siding installers. I don’t want people to buy based off what they see from a marketing campaign or from a sales rep of the manufacturer,” Lipinskiy explains.
He then adds that he is open to hearing what other roofing contractors have to say regarding what they feel are the best and worst siding options for homeowners in 2020.
“Here at Roofing Insights, we say numbers don’t lie, and we welcome all opinions, even those that don’t align with ours,”
Lipinskiy says.
If you’re a roofing contractor or homeowner who has an opinion on the best and worst siding brands in 2020, drop a comment below! We are always looking for insights on the best tools and materials available.
Also, if you are a homeowner who is trying to find a local and trustworthy siding contractor, check out Directorii and learn more about how they cover every job registered through their platform for up to $20,000.
Lipinskiy, who also is the CEO of Directorii, understands that hiring a contractor can be difficult, which is why he wants homeowners to go to Directorii so that they can have peace of mind the next time they begin a home improvement project.
“I want to connect homeowners with contractors who can deliver bona fide results because I understand what it feels like to have anxiety over hiring a contractor,” he says.
“That’s why when a homeowner hires a roofing contractor or any other company on Directorii, I cover that job with a $20,000 guarantee. I have good contractors in my network, companies who are reputable and will not mess up a job, but more importantly, these companies will not take a homeowner’s money and run.”
