OP - what did you decide? We are leaning vinyl and it seems we are in a similar situation as yours.

Anonymous wrote:We have had Hardi plank for years on a house in Maine that sees a lot of cold and stormy weather, and gets basically no maintenance ... And it's great.

Yeah neglect the house , wait till it leaks.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone likes Hardi, brick, stone, and wood because they look more expensive because they are more expensive. Many of us live in small vinyl houses that look cheap because that is what we can afford.

Me too. But that doesn't mean I don't prefer the look of Hardiplank or other more expensive options. It just means I'm not getting them any time soon (possibly ever).

We have had Hardi plank for years on a house in Maine that sees a lot of cold and stormy weather, and gets basically no maintenance ... And it's great.

Everyone likes Hardi, brick, stone, and wood because they look more expensive because they are more expensive. Many of us live in small vinyl houses that look cheap because that is what we can afford.

I am pulling off my hardiplank and replacing it with ceder shingles because 15 year-old handliplank boards (and my composite decking) are covered with mold spots and are chipping badly.

Why are so few of you able to explain why you like your own choice without denigrating -- or being downright nasty about -- someone else's? What is it about a synthetic building material that strikes such a nerve?

OP, I think the key questions here are:
1) is it even possible to fit the hardiplank into your budget?
2) If so, what (if any) tradeoffs will it require in other areas?
3) Is this your forever home?

If your answers are yes, the tradeoffs are tolerable, and you're in this house for the long haul, go with the hardiplank. It looks great, the maintenance really isn't that burdensome, and it's what you really want. But if it's going to cause you to neglect other savings priorities (retirement, education), or you have to make up the cost with laminate flooring and Formica countertops, or there's a good chance you will sell in less than 10 years, then vinyl is the better choice. Despite the many PPs saying they'd never buy a house with vinyl siding, the fact is the resale value isn't there. It's easy for PPs to make the decision in a vacuum, but it really depends on your circumstances. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Stick with vinyl. Handiplank is still pretty much a unknown in terms of long term value. It's known how to handle and care for vinyl. Not worth the money.

This is a stupid comment. Hardiplank is not an unknown. Perhaps it is unknown around trailer parks not not in surburban D.C.

It will be interesting to see what happens to hardiplank love in 10 to 15 years when the maintenance issues kick in

It will be interesting to see what happens to hardiplank love in 10 to 15 years when the maintenance issues kick in

I don't think it's really an installation issue in regards to the flapping. I think the newer vinyl, even if it's the cheaper vinyl, is probably better than the old vinyl that may have been used decades ago, like our house, in terms of rigidity. The vinyl should basically be hanging and so when there are gaps where the vinyl can lift or be moved by the wind, there starts the flapping. I think the newer vinyl probably has a better fit and would have less "sound" in windy areas. In any case, I think we had some very cheap old vinyl on our house. I was originally thinking we would get vinyl because of what I had read on the web about Hardiplank costs, but when we got the competitive quotes and drove around and looked at houses in the area that the contractors did, we picked Hardiplank and got to decide on the color, trim, etc. based on what we saw.

We have the cheap vinyl siding and don't hear any flapping even during the recent storms. Flapping sounds like an installation issue.