June, 2009

Siding

Aesthetics rule decisions, but energy efficiency and sustainable design also are key purchase factors as manufacturers continue to introduce new lines.

By Craig A. Shutt

Siding products offer a variety of features and benefits, but for most homeowners, the decision comes down to finding the perfect look they imagine for their homes. To meet that need, marketers continue to introduce new styles and backing those with performance benefits that will seal the deal.

“What really drives the decision is aesthetics,” says Drew Brandt, director of marketing and product development for the Siding Products Group at CertainTeed in Valley Forge, Pa. “Homeowners want to find the best style and the right color, and then they look at energy savings and sus-tainability and other factors. Most of all, they want to distinguish their homes.”

Style Crest Inc. in Fremont, Ohio, has taken that perspective to the max by introducing a vinyl-siding line with a camouflage pattern. Its new WildSide cladding with a licensed Mossy Oak Obsession pattern features ghost shadows, limbs, leaves, and digitally enhanced backgrounds. It is supplemented by window lineals that can be used as an accent. “We want people to buy vinyl siding because they have fallen in love with the way it looks,” says Brad Johnson, vice president of marketing.

Launched at the end of May, the line is targeted to avid outdoors enthusiasts for such projects as sheds, cabins, lodges, and barns as well as residential accents. “We created it primarily as a demonstration of what the technology could do,” he says. “But people are excited about it. We expected it would be a niche product, ordered on a job-lot basis or in small quantities, but a number of dealers tell us they want to stock it. If you can make a product that people can get emotional about, they’ll do things you don’t expect.”

Regional diversity has led James Hardie to change its approach to the market, offering a composition of its fiber-cement siding in two different zones of the country based on various meteorological and topographical factors.

The HardieZone5 line is geared to areas with extreme cold, high precipitation, and large temperature changes—typically the northern half of the country—while HardieZone10 handles high heat, humidity and dryness—mostly the Sunbelt. The products offer a modified substrate and primer coatings, with the HZ5 also providing a 15-degree angled cut to provide better water management.

The differences not only provide better performance characteristics for each zone, but they ensure regional color preferences are targeted, explains John Dybsky, product line manager for the Mission Viejo, Calif.-based company. The company offers 20 colors, comprising 15 that sell well nationally plus five varied by regions. Those color differences will continue with the new zoned approach, he says. “Color can really make an impact on the streetscape,” he says. “It can be a powerful influence on a neighborhood.”

COLOR OPTIONS EXPAND

Interest in a wider range of colors continues to grow, marketers say. “Homeowners definitely are paying more attention to colors and looking at a wider range,” says CertainTeed’s Brandt. “Companies that don’t pay attention to color trends are not going to do very well today. Each year, there’s little difference from the previous year, but over time, you see a big change.”

Darker colors continue to grow in popularity across the spectrum, he notes, and vinyl siding’s capabilities have expanded to offer a better range with no concerns for fading. Browns, greens, reds, and blues all are more popular in darker tones. To be sure, earthtones still dominate, notes Jerry Blais, vice president of marketing at the Ply Gem Siding Group in Cary, N.C. But the secondary colors are shifting their tones. “We’re creating more colors today that really pop in addition to earthtones. Color options have really exploded.”

Styles of siding also are expanding, with more homeowners going for a mix-and match approach to add texture and visual appeal. “A lot of homes are just 3,000-square-foot boxes with little style,” says CertainTeed’s Brandt. “Homeowners want to create a more distinguished look, so we’re seeing more variations in the use of color, accessories, trim packages, shutters, added profiles, and mixtures of shakes, board-and batten styles, and others.” These approaches used to be fairly regional, he notes, but the trend is now spreading across the country.

Regional differences drive options in fiber-cement siding, as well as its total use, notes Allison Barlaz, director of marketing for the fiber-cement siding division of CertainTeed. “Fiber-cement siding offers great aesthetics in terms of looking like painted wood,” she says. That has made it more popular with custom-home builders, who are not as price sensitive as production builders and are more focused on curb appeal.

Because production builders use a lot of fiber-cement siding, the category’s sales have dropped, and it has lost some market share as homeowners look for less costly alternatives. “Fiber-cement siding is still doing well in markets where new construction is still relatively strong and where it is promoted well by dealers,” she says. The 81⁄4-inch cedar lap siding style heavily dominates the residential market, she notes.

STONE VENEER ADDS INTEREST

Stone-veneer products are gaining more attention, particularly as an accent to add visual interest, says David Barrett, president of United Stone Veneer in Middleburg, Pa., a division of Ply Gem that was added earlier this year. “We don’t see stone veneer being used over the entire façade, but it is being used more often in combination with other materials,” he says. Ply Gem is leveraging its diversity of products to offer designed exterior solutions, he adds, to create custom looks with high visual appeal.

United Stone Veneer has added a new profile this year, called Tuscan fieldstone, which offers a serrated edge and more detail as well as more nooks and crannies, he says. “The Tuscan theme is on the rise around the country, and we wanted to tap into that demand.” The company also is looking to add more colors by targeting native- stone applications. “As we expand our market penetration, there is more demand for native stones, so we tweak and modify our existing colors to fit each area better.”

Owens Corning Masonry Products LLC in Toledo, Ohio, likewise expanded its ProStone line of manufactured stone veneer last year after only six months in the market due to positive feedback, according to Chuck Stein, president. The line was expanded with three colors and a new texture. It also has expanded its Cultured Stone product line, with the goal of helping builders differentiates their homes.

“These new textures and colors are a reflection of the international design in-fluence our global business brings to the table to help customers deliver the ‘wow’ factor to their building projects,” he says.

LOW MAINTENANCE IS KEY

Other factors in addition to aesthetics play a role in the final product decision for homeowners. A key ingredient is low maintenance, which vinyl siding touts as a key benefit, particularly as the aging-in-place movement promotes maintaining homes accessibly for older residents. “A huge number of Baby Boomers are retiring and moving to smaller homes, and they don’t want to spend their budget on painting,” says CertainTeed’s Brandt. “Time and money are key issues, and they drive people to products that need little maintenance.”

Fiber-cement siding does need to be painted, unless it is purchased with the prefinished option, CertainTeed’s Barlaz says. The company is receiving more requests for custom colors, providing more options than other types of siding can provide.

“Fiber-cement siding will need to be repainted, but that can be a good thing, as it gives homeowners a chance down the road to change the color,” she says. “There is a level of maintenance that is required, but all products need some maintenance.” CertainTeed’s ColorMax prefinished siding comes with a 15-year warranty, she notes.

Low maintenance aids sustainable design, which also includes such factors as energy use to manufacture the product and recycling capability. Fiber-cement products promote their use of recycled content, such as fly ash. CertainTeed’s fiber-cement siding contributes toward certification in the LEED program from the U.S. Green Building Council, Barlaz notes, and the company works with a variety of local green-building initiatives.

“Early adopters are aware of fiber-cement’s sustainable contributions, but more awareness is needed,” she says. “Awareness is growing as all of the stakeholders in the supply chain provide educational efforts.”

Vinyl siding also has to emphasize its story more, says Style Crest’s Johnson. Among its attributes are its light transportation weight, prefinishing, low longterm maintenance, and capability for being recycled. “Every material has strengths and weaknesses,” he says. “Vinyl siding has a good story, but it isn’t told very much.” CertainTeed emphasizes that its siding and trim products are made with up to 80% recycled content.

Owens Corning Masonry Products has announced that its stone-veneer products have received GreenGuard Indoor Air Quality and Children & Schools product-emissions certifications. “This acknowledgement gives our customers third-party validation that our products continue to be on the cutting edge of green technology,” says Stein. “The continued growth in the green market— as much as 30% despite the slump in the overall housing market—has created opportunities for builders and contractors to set themselves apart.”

INSULATED PRODUCTS GAIN

A key part of sustainable design involves cutting energy usage, which has led to an increased interest in foam-backed vinyl products. The foam provides three key benefits, says CertainTeed’s Brandt. It increases the product’s R-value, eliminates thermal bridging between layers that can reduce efficiency, and cuts air infiltration. The added structural support also provides easier installation and a better appearance.

“Without question, there is more interest in energy-efficient products,” says Ply Gem’s Blais. “Performance has improved overall, and the engineering of the panels is beefier, which adds rigidity and straighter lines. Vinyl siding is a more engineered product than in the past.” Style Crest is working to ensure that R-value adds value for the homeowner by having it recognized in building codes as part of the wall assembly, says Johnson. The goal is to create a standard for testing the total assembly to ensure all efficiencies are included.

It also is promoting the additional benefits foam backing provides. “There is considerable value beyond energy efficiency provided by insulation, but it’s hard to get credit for that.” Potential also exists to expand sales into the commercial market, particularly for stone-veneer products. “The commercial market definitely has grown,” says United Stone Veneer’s Barrett. The products are being used not only on hotel, retail, and restaurant exteriors to add visual appeal but indoors for fireplaces, bars, entryways, and other areas. CertainTeed has seen this potential, too, introducing a 4- by 12-foot panel that can be used on larger projects, including both residential and commercial.

New products will continue to proliferate, as siding manufacturers try to win the battle for aesthetics. “Vinyl siding’s aesthetics have improved significantly in the past five years, and people are taking another look as they try to achieve a specific appearance,” says Style Crest’s Johnson. “If they find they can achieve that in vinyl, then it becomes an option for them. The broadened palette of colors has gained us entry into more projects. In a downturn, you have to get creative and go out there and battle for hearts and minds.”

The key is to keep new products flowing, even in a downturn, to maintain excitement in the market, says United Stone Veneer’s Barrett. “If you give cus-tomers more ideas, they’ll get out their checkbooks,” he says. “New products will get them excited and get them thinking creatively.”

CRAIG A. SHUTT, a senior contributing editor of LBM Journal, has nearly 30 years of experience covering the LBM industry.

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