Is Steel Log Siding Expensive and Is It Worth the Investment?
Whether you’re building a home or looking at options for upgrading, it’s important to choose a material that’s durable, cost-efficient, and aesthetically pleasing. That takes some time: weighing the pros and cons of different siding types, styles, and colors, and comparing prices from a few quotes.
If you’re researching steel log siding, you’ve probably already ruled out wood siding (often between $10 and $25 per square foot installed) and vinyl “wood” siding as options for your home, but you’re still trying to achieve that homey log cabin look. That puts you ahead of the game, no doubt. You’ve likely found out that real wood requires a lot of maintenance, and vinyl may be cheap (typically between $2 and $8 per square foot installed), but it won’t last, and it doesn’t look very good for more than a few years.
That leaves you with two options: steel log siding and concrete log siding.
Both are viable, but since you’re researching steel log siding, most of this article covers its pros and cons. We’ll get to concrete later.
Before we start looking at specifics, remember that the upfront cost isn’t everything. You have to consider your siding as an investment that will protect your home for decades if you make the right choice.
Cost Factors of Log Siding
It’s wise to know what’s affecting costs so that you can better navigate conversations with local professionals. Here are the factors that move the price the most.
Materials All Have Different Average Costs
Yes, you’re here to learn what goes into installing metal siding, but the material at the front of the conversation is still perhaps the biggest influence on the price tag. We’ve already talked a little bit about the costs of both wood and vinyl, but it could be worth asking a company what their other siding costs are so that you can have a better frame of reference.
Installation Costs Change Based On Property Size
The size of your home’s exterior will greatly impact the cost of your metal siding project, because it literally changes how many metal siding panels you need. It’s not hard to imagine that the bigger the house, the more you’ll spend on siding.
DIY Preparation Instead of Hiring Local Professionals
If you’re paying for installation separately, you could potentially mitigate some of the costs by doing the prep work yourself. Prep work includes removing old siding and disposing of it. You might still have to rent a dumpster, but that will still cost less than paying up to $3 per square foot for removal.
Material Cost of Steel Siding
In general, the cost of steel siding materials is anywhere from $4.25 to $8.50 per square foot, but you more often see them sold by the carton or box. That also doesn’t cover metal siding installation, which can be billed separately as labor costs or hired out. Installed steel log siding can cost anywhere between $11 and $16 per square foot.
Where you fall on the cost spectrum depends largely on your choice of style, color, and brand. For example, steel log siding.
For steel log siding, you likely won’t find anything below $5.50 per square foot, and that is often for basic colors and styles. You can move up the price scale by opting for unique colors or HD wood-grain patterns.
Is Steel Log Siding Worth the Investment?
This is the question most homeowners land on. Only you can decide if steel log siding is worth the investment. We can give you examples, point out the pros and cons, and provide cost estimates, but in the end, only you can decide what you have and what you need or want.
We would say that it is definitely worth the investment over natural wood. It is low maintenance, especially when compared to wood, which cracks, bends, warps, gets infested with pests and mold, and requires constant resurfacing.
However, we have one more alternative we would like you to consider. It’s truly minimal maintenance, and it will last you a literal lifetime whether you take care of it or not.
The Perfect Siding Alternative
Let’s discuss concrete log siding. When you pit it against natural wood, vinyl siding, or even metal siding, nothing seems to compare. At ClearCreek Siding, the concrete options don’t just look like wood; they feel like it too. Most people can walk up to a home with our siding and run their hand across it without ever guessing it isn’t made from wood logs.
Concrete has a few other benefits worth knowing about.
Fire Resistance
Concrete isn’t flammable. You may well be thinking that metal panels aren’t flammable either, and you would be right. The key difference is that our concrete log siding isn’t only fire-resistant; it also insulates your home against heat. If you live in an area where wildfires are common, you definitely want to consider exterior materials that protect the inside of your home as well as the outside.
Low Maintenance
When we say “low maintenance,” we actually mean, “basically no maintenance.” Unlike wood siding, concrete doesn’t fade in the sun, expand or contract with the weather, crack, bend, or split. It just looks great and helps you get breaks on your insurance premiums. The only maintenance you have to do is wash the siding with a garden hose if it gets dusty.
Curb Appeal
Every piece of our siding is crafted under the strictest guidelines. After it’s been made to look and feel just like real wood, our team sands away any rough or uneven portions by hand so that there are no snags, visually or physically. If it looks that good up close, just imagine what it does for your home from the road.
Lightweight
Our siding is backed by insulating foam, which doesn’t just keep climate-controlled air inside your home; it also makes the siding easy to work with. It’s so lightweight and simple to install that you can do it on your own. That immediately removes a significant expense! If you haven’t noticed already, “price per square foot” and “price per square foot installed” are two very different numbers when it comes to siding.
Conclusion
Does metal siding hold up to your standards? Are you ready to pull the trigger?
Or is concrete worth a second look?
While steel siding resists cracking and gives you some of that rustic charm we love so much about log cabins, we firmly believe concrete log siding is the best existing siding on the market. It’s the best value, the most durable, and an investment that will last a lifetime, which means it will save you money in the long run. If you have any questions about your home improvement project or our products, give us a call!.
