Painted homes are a yearly maintenance item, and aside from color choices paint doesn't really offer a lot of variety. Before you paint your house again, you may want to look into vinyl siding as a viable alternative. Vinyl siding is durable, goes well over a variety of surfaces, comes in a myriad of colors and patterns, and demands little maintenance.

Vinyl siding used to look absolutely terrible. Once upon a time, vinyl was shiny, plastic looking, and obviously only used as an excuse not to paint. However, times have changed since then. These days, vinyl comes in every color of the rainbow, with options for brushed, embossed or wood grained patterns that can mimic wood, stucco, or classic clapboard.

Modern vinyl siding also has additives that prevent it from fading, discoloring or cracking from ultraviolet damage. Siding is easy to clean, normally only requiring an occasional brushing with a soft broom or mop. Caring for vinyl siding is a lot different than the scrape and repaint routine.

Of course, if you're trying to increase your home's value through vinyl siding there are a couple of traps to beware of. First off, don't buy cheap vinyl siding expecting it to improve your home. Cheap is still cheap, after all. Cheap siding doesn't have the same deep color saturation, durability or ability to resist sunlight that premium vinyl siding does. While cheap siding may look the same as premium upon installation, what will it look like in ten years?

Another thing to consider is that vinyl siding is not generally a do-it-yourself job. To really get it right with the least amount of waste, you'll probably need to take the time to interview and hire a good vinyl siding contractor. A good contractor will not waste your time or your money. If you don't already know how to install vinyl siding yourself, you're probably better off getting a professional.

Anyone who owns a home should have a good, long-term relationship with a reputable home improvement contractor. All homes need improvement from time to time, so taking the time to find a company you can rely on is essential to making wise home investments. Most good home improvement companies will have a vinyl installation division, but if you're just now interviewing companies you may want to ask.

If you want the best look for the least maintenance at a reasonable price, premium vinyl siding is probably the route for you. Do make sure that the siding has a reasonable guarantee, industry standard is between three and five years. Your vinyl siding contractor should also offer a reasonable guarantee on his or her work, giving you plenty of time to spot and report errors in installation. Your contractor should also be able to prove experience with references you can check and see the quality of previous contracts. With a good home improvement contractor and high quality vinyl siding, you'll be relaxing in the cool while watching your neighbor fight with his house painting.