Types of siding for an existing house, and what each one asks of the wall

If the house is already standing and the old siding is tired, the question is rarely "which siding is best" in the abstract. It is narrower than that. Which material gives you the color you actually want, and what does it need from the wall once the old boards come off?

Most comparisons answer the first half by counting product lines, as if more lines meant more choice. On the US siding shelf, that reading is backwards.

Lines, positions and colors are three different numbers

Three numbers get mixed up whenever siding catalogs are compared, so here they are kept apart:

a line is a product family: one profile and texture, sold under one name
a position is one listing in a line, a color offered in that profile
a distinct color is a color value that appears at least once, however many lines repeat it

The same color sold in ten profiles counts as ten positions and one distinct color. That is why position counts flatter some materials and hide others.

Here is the active US shelf in the GetFacade catalog, by material, as of September 13, 2026:

Material	Lines	Positions	Distinct colors
Vinyl	40	910	244
Fiber cement	15	980	725
Engineered wood	18	408	49

Vinyl has nearly three times as many lines as fiber cement, and about a third as many distinct colors. The positions are close (910 against 980). The colors behind them are not.

Why more lines can mean fewer colors

With vinyl and prefinished engineered wood, color is usually a coating or a compound that travels across the whole range. A manufacturer makes the same palette in lap, Dutch lap, board and batten and shakes, and every profile becomes a new line with the same colors in it. Diamond Kote is the clearest case: 16 engineered wood lines on the US shelf, 386 positions, and 33 distinct colors across all of them. Allura does the same in fiber cement, with 10 lines that each carry the same 25 colors.

That is useful rather than bad. It means color and profile are two separate decisions, and you can change your mind about the profile without losing the color.

Fiber cement's 725 needs one qualifier. Most of those distinct colors, 685 of them, sit in a single made-to-order collection. Take that collection away and the other fourteen fiber cement lines hold 60 distinct colors between them. So fiber cement offers the widest palette on the shelf if you can wait for a factory order, and a fairly short one if you need material from stock.

What each type asks of the wall behind it

Replacing siding on an existing house means the old cladding comes off and the wall behind it is exposed for the first time in years. Whatever you choose, that moment decides how long the new siding lasts.

Vinyl is light and forgiving to handle, but it moves with temperature. It hangs on the wall rather than being fixed tight to it, so it needs a flat, sound surface underneath. Any waviness in the sheathing shows through the panels. It does not stop water on its own either: the water-resistive barrier behind it does that job.

Fiber cement is heavy, rigid and dimensionally stable. It asks for solid sheathing, careful fastening and proper flashing at every transition, because the boards do not flex to hide mistakes. Cut edges and joints need the treatment the manufacturer specifies. The installer should be someone who has done it before, since the dust from cutting it calls for dust control and respiratory protection.

Engineered wood is lighter than fiber cement and cuts like lumber, but it is a wood product. It needs clearance from the ground and from roofing, sealed cut edges and paint kept in good repair, which means more attention at the bottom of the wall than the other two.

Insulated vinyl, polymer shakes and steel are on the US shelf too, but in much smaller numbers (5, 4 and 2 lines respectively). They are worth considering for a specific look or a specific problem, not as the default.

An excerpt from a real album

This is what the same question looks like once a design is documented for the crew. The excerpt comes from the product-run album, a two-story wood-framed house in the US Midwest redesigned with fiber cement in horizontal lap and vertical board and batten.

From the Materials & Finishes section:

Installed over a weather-resistive barrier (WRB) using stainless steel blind-nailing techniques. Z-flashing is required at all horizontal transitions between the lap siding and vertical accents to ensure proper water shedding.

From the Preparation Work section:

The removal of the existing horizontal siding must be conducted systematically to avoid damaging the underlying OSB or plywood sheathing. If the home was built before 1978, testing for lead-based paint is required under the EPA Lead RRP Rule. Inspections are typically required after the WRB and flashing are installed but before the final siding is applied.

The point is not the specific product. It is the order of work: the old siding comes off, the sheathing is inspected and repaired, the barrier and flashing go on and are inspected, and only then does the new siding go up. A quote that goes straight from "tear off" to "install" has skipped the part that decides whether the new siding lasts. The album is a design document for the crew, not an engineering calculation or a stamped drawing, and the local building department still has the final word on what the permit requires.

The same house rendered with clean white lap siding, blue shutters and a white porch — Worn wood lap siding on an existing house, and the same elevation with new white lap siding. On the photo, the profile and color are the visible part. The wall behind them decides how long they last.

Side elevation of a one-and-a-half-story house with weathered, peeling white wood lap siding and green shutters — Worn wood lap siding on an existing house, and the same elevation with new white lap siding. On the photo, the profile and color are the visible part. The wall behind them decides how long they last.

The verdict

Choose a siding material by how much color it really gives you and by what it asks of your wall, not by how many lines the catalog shows. Vinyl's 40 lines carry 244 distinct colors; fiber cement's 15 lines carry 725, most of them made to order. Count the colors, check what is in stock, and then make sure the quote includes the wall behind the siding: sheathing repair, a water-resistive barrier and flashing at every transition.

Try the material on your own house

Upload photos of your house and see different siding types and colors on your own elevation, with your roof and windows in the frame, before any material is ordered.

On the US shelf the main types are vinyl, fiber cement and engineered wood, with insulated vinyl, polymer shakes and steel in smaller numbers. Vinyl has the most product lines (40), fiber cement the most distinct colors (725), and engineered wood sits between them in lines (18) with far fewer colors (49).

Fiber cement, by a wide margin, although vinyl has more product lines. Vinyl lines repeat the same palette across many profiles, so 40 lines hold 244 distinct colors. Fiber cement has 15 lines and 725 distinct colors, but 685 of them come from a single made-to-order collection. From stock, the fiber cement choice is much shorter.

Sometimes, but on an older house it hides the one thing worth checking. Removing the old siding lets the crew inspect and repair the sheathing, install a water-resistive barrier and flash every transition before the new siding goes up. Ask any contractor who proposes going over the top what they will do about the wall underneath.

Removal and disposal of the old siding, inspection and repair of the sheathing, a water-resistive barrier with taped seams, flashing at windows, doors and horizontal transitions, the siding and trim themselves, and the permit and inspections your local building department requires. For homes built before 1978, lead-safe work practices under the EPA Lead RRP Rule.