Vinyl or Hardboard siding?

[Dean33]

Hello everyone, I am new here.
After looking through 50 pages here I still could not find my answers.
I am looking at some single wide mobile homes in the 1996 to 2000 year models 16 X 80. I live in a warm climate with light to moderate amount of rain. The home will not be under any trees it will get full sun.
I do want shingle roof, but I am undecided about the siding. hardboard or vinyl. No metal.
I have been told the hardboard siding is fine if it is painted every few years and that the sound absorption and insulation quality's are better that metal or vinyl. What are the pros and cons of the hardboard vs vinyl? I have also been told the trailers with hardboard and shingle roofs are built stronger.
Any help would be appreciated.
thanks,
Dean

[JD]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Mobile homes originally built with hardboard siding will usually be built better than mobile homes with vertical aluminum siding. Depending on the year and manufacturer, an aluminum sided home could have 2x2 walls. Hardboard sided homes will have a minimum 2x4 wall, almost all at 16" o.c.. By the time vinyl siding was being installed, HUD had already moved to a minimum 2x4 wall for new construction. The reason I mentioned aluminum siding is I have installed vinyl siding on several aluminum sided homes. So you want to be sure at what you are looking at.

I do agree with the benefits of hardboard siding that you mentioned. Insulation quality would depend on whether the vinyl siding has incorporated insulation or not. The main thing is that the hardboard will block wind penetration. That is what the homewrap or other vapor barrier behind vinyl siding is for, but you cannot see it. We can see the hardboard siding.

The down side to hardboard siding is frequent painting. that is not such a bad thing. High quality paint can last 10-12 years or more and allows you to refresh the home's look. But what damages hardboard siding more than lack of paint is roof leaks and condensation problems.

Vinyl siding installed poorly will leak. I have seen a lot of that. I will say that if this is a resided home, you will have better luck finding hardboard siding installed well compared to vinyl siding. I have seen many ugly installs. They will also allow the same damage from roof leaks as hardboard siding, maybe even have more problems. Usually, there is not much of a condensation problem since the siding breathes freely. Vinyl siding can break or get damaged to the point where it needs replacement. Sometimes this is a real chore and the color/sheen is never the same when matching older siding.

Hardi-board siding may be the best bet, but you would only find that on the newer model homes (factory).

There is wiggle room either way on either of these types of siding. Vinyl siding with the incorporated polyurethane foam backing, installed with the best trim and proper flashing is hard to beat. Hardboard siding goes downhill rather quickly if it is not maintained, including ensuring against roof leaks and condensation problems.

JMO
JD

[Dean33]

Thank you JD,
I sure appreciate the nice welcome and your informative reply.

One of the homes I am looking at is a 99 Fleetwood 16x80, vinyl with shingle roof.
Can you tell if the vinyl has incorporated insulation or not by the mgf. date? 1999 If not what is there any way to check it? I assume this is a factory vinyl
This one needs carpet, no big deal there.
Any thing about Fleetwood I should know? This is a repo and they want 13,500 delivered and set up. Seems like a fair price to me.

Another home I am looking at is a 96 Redman 16x80 it is wood with shingle roof. It looks like a heavy house, it does however need much cosmetic work inside, paint on the outside and some small roof patches. and it needs cabinet top work, some plumbing and some interior work done. They want 16,500 delivered and set up. I like the heavyness of it but it is a little ragged looking. I am sure with some hard work it would look good. Price seems a little high to me.

Any points of view you have will be appreciated.
I have been told to try to get a
Silver Creek
Redman
Oakwood
Palm Harbor
and to maybe stay away from
SPIRITS
CAVALIER'S
SKYLINE
CLAYTON
and that CHAMPION IS REDMAN'S LOW END HOUSE
Please add any names to both list as to you opinion please.
Which list does Fleetwood go in in you opinion?
thanks again,
Dean

[JD]

I would not be the person to ask about specific models of mobile homes. I probably know less about different makes and models than a home shopper doing their research. I have done some warranty work on Fleetwoods and they seem pretty nice to me.

If you will take your thumb and press the vinyl siding about 1" up from the bottom edge, if it depresses pretty easy, it does not have the incorporated insulation. This type of insulation is molded and laminated directly to the vinyl. See picture and link below for more information. Fullback siding is just one of the manufacturers of this type of siding. It was just the first one I found with a picture I could use. I think all the siding manufacturers have a product like this now. There are also siding products that have a separate insulated foam piece that just sits loose behind the siding. This product will offer some insulation quality but will not be nearly as strong. Vinyl siding without any insulation is the most common, because it is the least expensive. Installs depend on insulated panels or fanfold insulation for insulation. Generally, you cannot depend on a large R number for this insulation unless they are using thick insulated panels. Most of your insulation will be fiberglass batt inside the walls.



http://www.fullback.com/

JD

[Dean33]

Once again thank you so very much,the information is very helpful.
I inspected the 99 fleetwood it had a thin vinyl, with a sheet of insulation type board behind that and then the regular wall insulation, the guy tried to convince me it was a warm and blocked air as good as board siding. I saw the holes and how brittle it was already getting.
I think I still want the board siding along with the painting necessary to keep it in good shape, unless I can find the vinyl with the incorporated insulation.

Another thing I need help with is the roof, I have been wanting a shingle roof because I thought it would be easier to heat and cool the home with it, plus the noise factor.
this salesman told me it is just for looks and the metal roof is more durable and less expensive to keep up and the shingle roof doesn't help with cooling and heating or sound.
What is your opinion on shingle roof ( without trees} compared to metal roof in full sun.
much obliged,
Dean

[jhosuf]

Mind if I jump in? I'm contemplating residing a '92 GoldenWest that has Clad wood composition siding which is starting to give me dry rot problems (lots of rain here in Oregon).

I'm thinking of either foam backed vinyl or hardiboard, but I'm not sure of several issues: does the existing siding need to be removed first, and if I use hardiboard will the weight need to be taken into consideration?

[JD]

jhosuf - Please post a new topic. You will get more and better responses to your questions and we can keep the threads separated that way. Thanks.

Dean - sounds like you were to talking to a salesman. Nothing wrong with that though. I doubt that wood siding gives you a lot of actual R factor but if the home you are looking at has 1/4" fanfold, it has about an R-1. If it is the premium fanfold, you have maybe R-1.5 I think wood siding might have about the same R factor. the fanfold, if installed and taped properly does a good job of blocking wind. That and being a moisture barrier is really what you want from the fanfold. To get significant insulation with your siding, the siding would need to be installed with 1.5" - 2" polyiso foam board, which I am pretty sure no manufacturer does.

On the roofs, just like siding, there are pros and cons. A factory metal rolled roof will be definitely louder than a shingle roof when it is raining. Sounds kind of nice in light to medium rain. Sounds pretty scary in heavy storms as you will have the volume from the rain as well as roof rumble. The metal will bounce up and down as heavy winds pass over the top of it. A shingle roof could possibly lose some shingles in a heavy storm.

A white metal roof would do a good job deflecting UV rays, but they don't stay white for long. the sun and rain will get to the paint eventually and dust and dirt will embed to the topr of the roof. A white shingle roof will do a good job deflecting the sun. Probably not as good as a new white metal roof, but maybe a little better as the white metal roof becomes old.

A metal roof with proper maintenance and top quality sealants can last 10 - 15 years between re-coats. A poor job and/or cheap sealants might last 2-5 years. Big difference in maintenance cost between a top shelf job and a cheapy quick job. But a good job will cost much less than new shingles. 20 year shingles in my area last about 12 years because we have intense sun. You need pretty good conditions to get 20 years out of 20 year shingles. I am not saying that people don't have shingles roofs longer than the 20 years. Many do. But they probably should have replaced their roofs long before that point and has probably done quite a bit of maintenance to get the roof to last that long. Some people are lucky. Most are not. A plus for shingle roofs is they cost about half the price of a quality new metal roof. But the original rolled metal roof from a factory could be used and serviced for 40 years or more, again with proper maintenance . I think shingles look better than an original factory metal roof. New metal roof overs can look excellent, depending on the product you choose.

It really is a thing where you have to weigh your own options and preferences. Personally, I like metal roofs on mobile homes. While maintenance can be hard physically, it is not very complicated.

JMO
JD

[Dean33]

JD,
Thank you sir for helping us.
You have shared a lot of important info that has really helped my wife and I with our mobile home decisions. I feel now that I at least have some knowledge with your help.

One thing we have not discussed, metal siding, is it about the same R factor as the plain fan fold vinyl?
I know the major problem seems to be the wrinkling, is there any thing else about metal siding you can share?

We are off early this am to look at more repo dealers lots. I hope we find a good one, although so far I am leaning toward buying from a for sale by owner as opposed to these repo type dealers, most of their houses need a lot of work. The ones they have re done seem too high in price.
Bless you JD.
Dean and Ellen