New siding transforms your home's look and seals it against New Jersey weather. The two most popular choices are vinyl and fiber cement.
Vinyl siding
- Cost: the most budget-friendly option.
- Maintenance: very low — never needs painting; rinse to clean.
- Looks: huge color and profile selection, including insulated vinyl for energy efficiency.
- Best for: homeowners who want great value and minimal upkeep.
Fiber cement (e.g., HardiePlank)
- Cost: higher than vinyl, lower than most premium materials.
- Durability: extremely tough — resists impact, fire, rot and pests; long lifespan.
- Looks: a rich, painted-wood appearance that boosts curb appeal and resale.
- Best for: homeowners who want premium looks and maximum durability.
What matters most: the install
Siding only protects your home if it's installed with proper house-wrap, flashing, and moisture management. Done right, it keeps NJ's rain, wind and freeze-thaw out for decades. Done wrong, it traps moisture and causes rot.
Lightning installs vinyl and fiber-cement siding across New Jersey — with the same no-money-down, no-change-order promise as our roofing. See our siding page.
The realistic choices for a New Jersey house
- Standard vinyl — least expensive, no painting, huge color range. Thin panels dent, fade and can crack in real cold; panel thickness is the thing to compare, not the brochure.
- Insulated vinyl — vinyl with a foam backing bonded to it. Straighter walls, quieter house, meaningfully better impact resistance, and a real if modest improvement in wall performance.
- Fiber cement — the best-looking and longest-lasting of the mainstream options. Holds paint for years, will not melt near a grill, and is dimensionally stable. Heavier and more labor-intensive to install, which is where the cost sits.
- Engineered wood — real wood fiber with a resin binder. Warmer look than fiber cement, lighter to work with, needs the cut edges sealed properly.
- Cedar — beautiful and genuinely high-maintenance. Sensible on a historic house, rarely elsewhere.
What is behind the siding matters more than the siding
Most siding failures in this state are water management failures, not product failures. The wall needs a continuous weather-resistive barrier, properly lapped and integrated with the window flashing, and a way for incidental water to drain back out. On houses built before the 1970s there is usually nothing back there at all — which is why re-siding an older New Jersey home is the moment to fix the wall, not just re-skin it.
Asbestos-cement siding
Plenty of New Jersey houses from the 1930s to 1950s carry asbestos-cement shingle, often under a later layer. It is harmless while intact and regulated once disturbed. It is not a reason to avoid the project; it is a reason to know before the quote rather than after the tear-off starts.