Fiber Cement Siding - Pros/Cons

[Slipknot]

I put vinyl on my house in 1997 or 98 and very much appreciate not having to paint, before that I painted the whole house myself tinted primer, then 2 finish coats of paint on the body and trim. I was not going thru that again.
Over the years working in the construction field I have seen what goes on with the Hardi planking, it seems sensible and has lots of pros but changing out a board might be more difficult than vinyl if one cracks, the dust would kill me worse than cedar dust.

If you don't mind painting and like the traditional New England look of clapboards, I would go with red cedar clapboards.

Vinyl with aluminum coverage is very easy for a do it yourself job.

Good luck Kevin

[Guppy]

What Slip said

I was never a big fan of vinyl and metal but have come around. When you do metal along with the vinyl you can eliminate all that J & U channel around openings and corners. Much nicer looking. IMO

every couple years I wash down the trim and vinyl on the front, gets it looking brand newy!

I hate paint ��

[nightfighter]

I like wood.
I have become a big fan of the PVC/Azek for trim work.
I have always been suspect of what is under vinyl or aluminum siding as there were so many problems that were just covered up in many applications done in the past..... especially the ones where the coil trim over the window casings are almost recessed. Just not a fan.

[Liv2Fish]

Siding products have come a long way just in the past 3-5 years. Look around before going cement. I installed cement twice and it's a bitch. I drive by one of them every now and then and it has really faded. Looks chalky. It's brittle too so if your kid likes to bounce baseballs off of it, you can expect some issues…The upside is that is doesn't expand and contract like vinyl products.