Sheet M-100 · Sample board

Materials, laid out like samples on a board

Five cladding families cover nearly every Atlanta house, plus the trim and drainage layers that decide whether any of them last. Each sample below gives the honest trade in one paragraph; the full chapter follows the link.

How this site works — stated plainly This is a guide and connection service, not a contractor. Reading here costs nothing. If you use the request form, your project summary is shared with one vetted local siding contractor serving metro Atlanta, who contacts you to arrange an in-person assessment. No contractor pays to change anything written in this book, and no page here claims this site installs siding.

SAMPLE A — LAP PROFILE

Fiber cement

Cement, sand, and cellulose fibre pressed into boards. The default Atlanta replacement choice: it does not feed termites, does not rot, holds paint, and is sold for this climate as James Hardie HZ10. Heavy, dusty to cut, and unforgiving of bad flashing. Installed $8.00–$13.50 per sq ft for lap.

30-yr substrate warranty, typical

SAMPLE B — THIN PANEL

Vinyl

PVC panels, cheapest to install and never painted. In Georgia heat the thin grades oil-can, fade unevenly, and go brittle; insulated and thicker grades behave better and cost accordingly. Installed $4.50–$7.50 standard, $6.50–$10.00 insulated.

20–40 yr, grade-dependent

SAMPLE C — BOARD & BATTEN

Wood, cedar & engineered wood

Real cedar gives the look historic districts ask for and the maintenance humid Atlanta demands. Engineered wood (LP SmartSide type) keeps much of the look with factory treatment against fungi and termites. Installed $8.00–$14.00 cedar; $7.50–$12.00 engineered.

Paint / stain cycles apply

SAMPLE D — TROWELED COAT

Stucco & EIFS interfaces

Conventional three-coat stucco is hard, heavy, and durable when its drainage details are right. Synthetic EIFS failed famously in humid climates when water got in with no way out. The chapter is mostly about moisture, because stucco problems always are. Installed $7.00–$11.00 conventional.

Drainage decides lifespan

SAMPLE E — THE SYSTEM

Trim, soffit, fascia, housewrap & flashing

Cellular PVC or fiber-cement trim, vented soffit, capped fascia, a properly lapped water-resistive barrier, kick-out and Z-flashing at every roof-wall joint. Budget these as part of the job, not as extras discovered mid-tear-off. See the cutaway on the home sheet and the sequence in how a job runs.

System, not accessory

Plate 3 — Four profiles in sectionThickness exaggerated