Does your home need some durable and attractive siding ASAP? Look no further than CertainTeed. This brand manufactures various building materials like underlayments, insulation, and roofing shingles, but it’s best known for its diverse selection of maintenance-free, colorful vinyl siding. In fact, it’s one of the most popular siding brands in the industry.
No wonder! In addition to its wide assortment of siding products, CertainTeed offers comprehensive warranties, exceptional fade resistance for lasting curb appeal, and one of the industry’s broadest color selections.
Keep reading to learn what makes CertainTeed siding the best choice for so many homeowners.
Pros and cons of CertainTeed siding
Pros
- + Well-rated by building professionals
- + Energy-efficient siding options
- + Diverse color assortment
- + Limited lifetime warranties
- + Low maintenance
Cons
- - Lackluster customer reviews
Siding materials offered by CertainTeed
While CertainTeed is best known for its vinyl siding planks, the brand also offers cladding options like metal panels, polymer shakes, and faux stone veneers. The company also carries several lines of high-quality soffit and trim accessories.
This variety lets you get an entire cladding system that perfectly fits your taste, climate, and—perhaps most importantly—your wallet.
Material | Average installation costs | Popular CertainTeed product lines |
Vinyl | $6,753–$12,287 | |
Aluminum | $8,374–$15,236 | |
Faux stone veneer | $24,130–$43,903 |
Prices based on national averages for installing 1,500 square feet of the given material. Prices not sourced from CertainTeed.
CertainTeed’s siding colors
CertainTeed has dozens of siding lines, each available in many colors. With all the hues available across the brand’s numerous horizontal and vertical siding options, the customization options are almost limitless.
Color options vary from one product line to another, though. On the high end, vinyl collections like Restoration Classic™ and Board & Batten™ are both available in 30 colors, including Colonial White, Natural Clay, Espresso, and Autumn Red. On the low end, the brand’s aluminum and faux stone lines are only available in a handful of colors each.
This means that despite the brand's impressive assortment of hues and shades, if you want a specific type of siding, you may not get exactly the color you’re after.
How CertainTeed siding looks
Image source: CertainTeed
CertainTeed carries various collections of vertical siding, horizontal siding, and siding shingles. Because the brand offers homeowners so many different options, there isn’t just one “CertainTeed look.” Each collection can be used to capture different home styles, ranging from rustic cottages with dutch lap panels to angular, postmodern abodes with aluminum cladding.
There is a common trend across the brand’s vinyl lines, though: many of them feature faux wood grain textures to mimic natural wood siding. This allows you to give your home the classic wood appearance without requiring all the maintenance that wood siding requires.
To see how your home might look with CertainTeed siding, use the brand’s ColorView® tool and experiment with all its different siding styles and colors. You can even upload a picture of your actual home in the tool and edit it to see how CertainTeed’s materials would look on the structure.
How long CertainTeed siding lasts
The longevity of any brand’s siding will greatly depend on what it’s made from and how well it’s cared for. Under ideal conditions, vinyl siding typically lasts between 20 and 30 years (though insulated vinyl can last longer), aluminum can last up to 40 years, and stone veneer siding can last over 50. You should expect CertainTeed’s siding options to follow these trends.
Be warned, though, that exceptional weather events like heavy storms can decrease siding’s life expectancy, and vinyl siding is known to melt and fade in harsh sunlight. Many of CertainTeed’s siding products feature PermaColor™ Lifetime Fade Protection to ensure they retain their colors for much longer than run-of-the-mill vinyl siding.
CertainTeed’s product warranties
Many of CertainTeed’s siding products come with lifetime limited warranties, meaning the siding you install is 100% covered against manufacturing defects for as long as you own the home it was originally installed on. If you sell the home, the subsequent owners get prorated coverage for up to 50 years after the original installation.
As with almost any siding warranty, though, there are a lot of exclusions. CertainTeed’s warranties only cover defects in the siding materials themselves, so the company won’t pay to replace siding that has been damaged by heavy winds, fire, or normal weathering. The company also won’t cover siding that has been installed improperly, which is part of the reason it’s so important to hire professionals to install your siding instead of installing it yourself.
You should also note that some of CertainTeed’s siding options have shorter warranties. For example, the Urban Reserve™ line of aluminum siding only has a 40-year limited warranty.
To know exactly what CertainTeed will cover, you should carefully read the fine print for any siding you might get. Luckily, you can read all of CertainTeed’s warranties online.
CertainTeed siding’s energy efficiency and sustainability
CertainTeed’s insulated siding options greatly increase a home’s thermal protection. By getting insulated vinyl from CertainTeed, you can help your home maintain its internal temperature much better. This can save you money on heating and cooling costs, lessen strain on your HVAC system, and reduce your carbon footprint.
This isn’t the only way that CertainTeed prioritizes sustainability, though. The company has also set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, and it has recycled significant quantities of landfill-bound PVC for use in its siding products.
How customers feel about CertainTeed’s siding
Despite being the preferred choice of building professionals, CertainTeed’s products have some fairly unimpressive customer reviews.
On various platforms online, customers report that their CertainTeed siding products don’t look as advertised, fade unevenly, and melt quickly in sunlight. Some customers also complain that CertainTeed’s customer care is unhelpful.
These reviews are unfortunate and contradict much of what the brand says about itself. Still, they’re balanced out by many customers reporting that they had fantastic experiences with their CertainTeed products and the company’s representatives. Per one customer:
“The CertainTeed vinyl cedar shake shingles are very firm and thick. They are very easy to install and secure once nailed. We used CertainTeed siding also and we are very pleased.” Source
Overall, CertainTeed’s customer ratings are about average. It’s also worth noting that customers are more likely to leave negative reviews than positive reviews, so it’s important to take negative reviews with a grain of salt.
Find a CertainTeed installer near you
Now that you know all about CertainTeed’s products, warranties, and reputation, you can get some hardy and stylish CertainTeed siding for your home. To get started, fill out the form below. We’ll put you in touch with the most qualified siding installers in your area.
CertainTeed siding FAQ
CertainTeed has a wide selection of siding products, comprehensive warranties, and a good reputation among installers, so it’s a great choice for any homeowner who wants new siding for their home. While some customers report bad experiences with the brand, the overall consensus among CertainTeed customers is about average.
Vinyl siding tends to last 20 to 30 years when properly cared for and used in a temperate climate without excessive heat. Insulated vinyl siding, like CertainTeed’s CedarBoards™ collection, can last longer than this, though. Additionally, many of CertainTeed’s vinyl siding options come with limited lifetime warranties, meaning that if they fail because of defects in their manufacturing, the company will cover them for as long as the original customer owns them.
Yes, you can wash CertainTeed siding, though you shouldn’t use a pressure washer since it can damage the material. Instead, follow CertainTeed's recommended cleaning directions in your siding’s warranty. Regularly removing debris from your gutters will also help keep your siding clean and prevent water damage.
Joe is a home improvement expert and content specialist for Fixr.com. He’s been writing home services content for over eight years, leveraging his research and composition skills to produce consumer-minded articles that demystify everything from moving to remodeling. His work has been sourced by various news sources and business journals, including Nasdaq.com and USA Today. When he isn’t writing about home improvement or climate issues, Joe can be found in bookstores and record shops.