Insulation can be installed along with aluminum siding

Q. Our present wood exterior siding requires costly scraping and repainting every three years. We would like to install aluminum siding to get away from this constant expense. Someone told us not to use aluminum siding because it is cold. What do you say? A reader Dodgeville, Wis.

A. Every material in the building business has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Aluminum siding has its own virtues as well as disadvantages, but being cold may not be one of its vices.

Certainly aluminum siding does not require repainting, as wood does - and that is one of its virtues.

Aluminum siding may be fastened over rigid insulation that is first applied to the wood siding. Some metal siding is manufactured with insulation fastened to its backside.

Investigate various types of metal siding. Choose the one that meets your budget and conforms to existing siding conditions.

You may want to obtain a couple of bids from two or three reputable siding contractors.

Any nationally advertised brand of metal siding should be worthy of consideration.

-30-