We just got an estimate on siding/sofit & facia for our home. This company uses the siding with built in (on) insulation and is a bit pricey. They say though that it's tougher (which with small kids, I can see baseballs and soccer balls hitting it) and that it keeps insects from boring into the wood, where as the wrapped insulation isn't as tough, insulation isn't as great and bugs can get in between. I know nothing about siding other than I know that we don't want to paint this huge house! Link to siding we're thinking of They also said the fade factor is very small compaired to "regular" vinyl siding.

I know how helpful you all are and would love some input, before I go completely broke!

this calculator will show you the recommended R-value for your area. Might help you decide if you need more or not.

Recommended R-Values

pricey gimmick.

Foam has low r-value.

http://www.coloradoenergy.org/procorner/stuff/r-values.htm

link to http://www.coloradoenergy.org/procorner/stuff/r-values.htm

This site shows how each layer adds to the R-value.

You get more bang out of the buck by adding or replacing fiberglass insulation.
You can find R-13, R-19, etc., which is higher than foam.

The r value of the foam is around 3 to 8.

That Colorado chart shows that single glazed windows with a storm are more efficient than a double glazed insulated window with a 3/16" air space!

Glad we fixed up our old windows with quality storms...

As for siding, we had to replace the original rotting pine clapboards on our 1870's rural New England home. Used clear vertical grain cedar clapboards, primed and stained on site, and 9 years later they look almost as good as the day they were installed. We might need to get them stained again in a few years.

We'd never consider vinyl on such an old house... loses all it's character. Just something about it.

We had insulation blown in with a 50% utility rebate which is available to everyone. They snaked tubes down the wall and blew in hundreds of pounds, and it made a huge difference. Check into having that done.

(fixed typo)

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my midwestern contractor father in law swears by cement board lap siding

wale said:...We had insulation blown in with a 50% utility rebate which is available to everyone. They snaked tubes down the wall and blew in hundreds of pounds, and it made a huge difference. Check into having that done...

Blown cellulose in the walls also reduces air infiltration greatly. But you have to have empty walls to do it. Otherwise I would recommend wrapping with foam and sealing it air tight and siding over it. It looks like the siding with the foam attached would still let some air get through. Looking at their brochure, I do think it would be a little tougher, but I don't know if that would be enough to justify the extra cost.

My next door neighbor got the siding with the the built-in foam on the back of it. The boards are probably 6" - 8" wide, and they look very nice.

He told me that this siding was more expensive than the traditional one.
One thing I have to say about this type of siding is that it is less time consuming to install - all you need to do is just install the siding, rather than wrapping the house with 1/2" or 3/4" and than put the siding on top. That might be one reason why the contractor is pushing for it!?

He also had his windows replaced.

Anyway, my neighbor is happy with the work done at this house. But than, all is subjective!! I am not a home contractor, so in no way I am suggesting anything. But I have done major improvement in my house (according to local codes, so I have learned a lot about a lot of things).

You should compare the R value of this siding (as indicated in the other replies) with the traditional siding. I am sure that there are other factors to be considered when deciding (looks, color, etc).

hope this helps

kaisersoisay said:If you look at this link:
http://www.coloradoenergy.org/procorner/stuff/r-values.htm
it shows that insulated vinyl siding has a R-value of 1.8, compared to the R-value of .61 of non-insulated vinyl siding. I don't know the price of each, but I don't think the insulated siding hardly justifies the price. It appears the insulated siding is an improvement over non-insulated siding (almost 300% better). BUT ... is the extra cost worth the benefit? How long to recoup that additional investment. We need more information for us to solve this story problem ...