Comparing Prices on Vinyl Siding
The common misconception is that: vinyl is the cheapest siding material available.
This is unquestionably true when you compare prices with existent conventional materials like stone, wood, or brick. But on the other hand it becomes a flawed comparative statement when you evaluate prices within its category. Because while your vinyl siding is indeed cheaper than wood and stone, you may find to be more costly than you think.
Prices on vinyl siding proportionally rise with its complexity of design and the grade of materials you choose. While a number of excellent online vinyl siding materials retailers are getting more competitive with their prices, there is always that lone wolf that exhibit the lowest price yet without sacrificing quality in the process. This could be an OEM, a private label, or a direct supplier. Then yet again, because these retailers are more specific, they may not have the choice you are seeking.
And that raises the question: how can you check the prices on vinyl siding? That is, to some extent, unanswerable. The answer to that is: every project is unique. The length of the materials; used the retailer preparation like additional bending and trimming; the precutting of boards; the amount of extras bought plus the delivery contributes to the overall price of the project. That is not saying the manufacturing designs such as impressions and like.
However, you can still compare prices by presenting the specifications of the materials to a prospected vendor. Of course, this is only feasible to those that are experienced in Do It Yourself projects or those that have elementary knowledge in carpentry and the materials involved. For those that are hiring contractors, you can always check the price listings that are always available to these professionals. Remember, most contractors tend to “not refer” about this feature or else offer those that they have associations with. What you should do is ask them the about the available resources known to them regardless of an existing affiliation and then proceed on comparing prices on vinyl siding.
However, a number of online contractors and online vinyl siding retailers have come up with ways to judge the estimated cost of a would-be project. One such is CertainTeed at www.certainteed.com which can show you prices of every singular item as well as project estimate. Siding4U at www.siding4u.com is also another retailer/ contractor that can provide an estimate of any vinyl price project, or even an individual price on every entry. They even have a color-coded price ranges for every square feet of any material.
So here’s what you should do (barring sites that provide estimates). Scour the internet market for prospect materials. After highlighting a few, give them a call or inquire by email. Ask about their prices on certain subjects. That way you can have a data which you can then compare prices on vinyl siding.