Some customers prefer concrete siding some still prefer vinyl siding.
As you know concrete siding is more expensive and more labor to install. The concrete siding is fire retardent and has a much better look. A vinyl siding home looks exactly like it sounds. Concrete siding will have to be maintained and painted but lasts a very long time and looks great when installed properly.
Concrete Siding- Amazing appearance but lacks benefits. Even the pre-painted product has uneven color fade within 5yrs. To install the product propertly not to void the warranty, it needs to be installed not aesthetically pretty. High off the ground, away from the rooflines, etc… They just came out with an contoured insulated backing so that will help with R-value.
Vinyl Siding- Standard vinyl siding is a throw away product. Class A vinyl siding is a PVC product which means it doesn’t contain plastics or chalk. It has UV block, anti-fade warranty, impact resistant, cool color technology and can withstand 200+ winds. The best part is you can add contoured foam backing to gain structural rigidity (eliminate the sqeaky noise) and R-value of 3.5.
Fiber Cement siding is closest in appearance to cedar siding. When a home is designed properly and fiber cement installed properly, the finish detail is very aesthetically pleasing (which is the point). Vinyl is a distant second in comparing aethetics to cedar or fiber cement. In all the years I have installed Fiber Cement and all the consumers I have held discussions with, I have never heard one person state they love Vinyl. I have heard many people state they love fiber cement. But with anything, it boils down to the quality of installation. Vinyl is cheap and suitable for budgets that can not afford fiber cement but also looks cheap. A few benefits about Fiber Cement that vinyl can not state - non-combustible with a class A fire rating, resistant to warping and shrinkage, will not melt when exposed to extreme heat, highly durable and resistant to minor impact, resistant to winds of 150 MPH, look and feel of cedar without the maintenance. As far as fade factor, fiber cement will fade to some degree but I have seen the fade uniformly around the home based on exposure to the sun. It also fades the least compared to it’s competitors.
I believe the look of traditional lap siding is more appealing to the eye. Vinyl has came a long way and high quality vinyl look really good. Like any product if you spend a little more usually you end up with a better product. Vinyl doesn’t rely as heavily on Caulking which is a maintenance item people overlook. If low maintenance is what you are looking for it’s hard to beat Vinyl. Have you looked at LP Smartside? We install a lot of it in Minnesota and we have been happy with the results. It holds paint better than Hardie in my opinion and it seems to be a lot better at dealing with our climate than fiber cement.