vinyl siding or hardiplank siding?

[twistsol]

Prices must vary widely. We had our house resided last summer and chose vinyl in part because the quote for 27 squares came in at $11,375 and James Hardie came in at $33,000.

The other reason is that our house has some experimental building techniques from the late 70's and the Hardie siding would have no warranty because of it. Essentially it could only be nailed every 32"

To be fair, some vinyl siding is crap and some isn't as bad. If you can afford it, the Hardie board is clearly superior to any vinyl. We lived in a neighborhood about 10 years ago in a house with vinyl siding. We paid extra for the upgraded quality and during a couple of windstorms, all our neighbors lost at least some of their siding and we never lost any. I never cut through it with the line trimmer either while my neighbors shredded theirs with the slightest hit.

[Norm in Fujino]

One of the home improvement projects on my schedule is to replace the old masonite garbage siding with Hardi Panel. . . . I have no intention of using the prepainted stuff. I have a pecular color on my house, and plan to keep it... So priming and painting it is for me!

Are you working alone? Unless you're young and/or have a Paul Bunyan sort of physique, I wouldn't try doing Hardipanel by myself; each sheet weighs about 80 lbs.
Both Hardipanel and Hardiplank come factory primed, but if you're doing the painting yourself anyway, another coat of top-quality primer is probably a good idea.

[JimD]

I think it depends on the area your house is in. The cement siding is definitely classier but if all your neighbors have vinyl, I don't think you will see the return on resale. Usually around here, everything slides towards the least expensive siding allowed in the neighborhood.

We had one side brick (front) and three sides aluminum in our last house. The finish on the aluminum started turning to powder and sliding onto the brick foundation. I replaced it with vinyl. It is very easy to work with. I've never done hardiplank but it looks pretty straightforward too. But a lot of work and specialized tools would at least help - to do a house they seem necessary. My current house is all brick but the trim is either aluminum or vinyl (depending on the area). I did not like the higher initial expense but I am happy I spent the money now. The developer promised when I agreed to brick the 3 story back that the surrounding homes would be brick too. You can guess how long he kept that promise. But I still like my brick. I don't know how I will do on resale but it is not an issue I face any time soon.

Jim