Twin City residents have a slew of siding options to choose from, including cement siding, aluminum siding, vinyl siding, wood plank siding, cedar siding, and metal siding, just to name a few. Truth be told, choosing the right siding for your home in Minneapolis-St. Paul can be tougher than navigating the Mall of America without a map. We're here to help. Make things easy on yourself and start your search with Hardie board siding in Minneapolis. If you can afford it, Minneapolis Hardie plank siding is superior to other siding materials in so many categories that it's hard to recommend anything else. Want some hard and fast evidence? Read on to see how Hardie siding in Minneapolis compares to the other kids on the block.
Minneapolis Hardie Board Siding vs. Vinyl
We'll start with the big dog first. Vinyl is the most popular siding material in the nation, and for good reason. On a cost/performance basis, it's tough to beat. It's also maintenance free, and advances in technology have made current vinyl siding lines that are far superior to predecessors in everything from durability to color fastness. When compared to Minneapolis Hardie plank siding, however, there's no comparison. Minneapolis-St. Paul gets hit with some pretty rough weather. Case in point: the derecho event of 1998 that caused over $950 million in damage, mostly due to high winds and hail. As good as vinyl is, it can't stand up to that kind of beating. Hardie board siding in Minneapolis, on the other hand, can. In fact, it's recommended by builders in hurricane zones and in areas where tornado outbreaks are commonplace. With that kind of durability, it doesn't matter whether your home gets hit by a major hailstorm, straight line winds, or if a twister passes by a block over, Hardie siding virtually guarantees your home will come away unscathed. You'll get no such assurances from the vinyl industry.
Minneapolis Hardie Board Siding vs. Aluminum and Steel Siding
Aluminum and steel siding are two other popular siding materials in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. When it comes to aluminum, refer back to the previous paragraph. It might cost you less initially than Hardie plank siding in Minneapolis, but you'll be cursing your decision the first time a serious hailstorm passes overhead. In fact, it doesn't take a major hailstorm to dent aluminum. Your lawnmower and the neighbor kid's baseball are just as likely to do their damage since aluminum is very susceptible to impacts. Steel is, well, as tough as steel, until bare metal is exposed. Should that happen and you fail to cover it up, you've got rust in your future. Minneapolis Hardie plank siding is as waterproof and moisture proof as they come, so you won't have to worry about rust, rot, or any other damage caused by H2O.
Minneapolis Hardie Board Siding is a Better Choice than Wood Siding
Last but not least, there's wood siding. All of the above reasons to choose Hardie Siding in Minneapolis hold for wood as well. It's far tougher than wood, and moisture damage, including rot, fungus, mildew, cracking and warping, won't be an issue. Besides that, Hardie board siding in Minneapolis is also virtually fireproof. If susceptibility to fire wasn't on your radar when you started investigating siding, consider that someone is killed by a fire in the US every two hours, and is injured every thirty minutes. Everything you can do to protect your home, yourself, and your family from fire danger counts. Finally, you'll be lucky to get a warranty of any sort on materials for wood siding. Hardie siding in Minneapolis, on the other hand, comes with a warranty of up to 50 years, meaning your Minneapolis Hardie plank siding will likely be the last siding you'll ever have installed on your home.
Hardie board siding in Minneapolis (also known as fiber cement siding or cement siding) is actually a reference to James Hardie fiber cement siding, the industry leader in the cement siding business. However, there are other manufacturers out there, including Cemplank, Nichiha, and Certainteed, just to name a few. In other words, it pays to shop around for Hardie board siding in Minneapolis. Talk to multiple contractors to compare costs, performance track records, installation rates, and warranties, in order to ensure you get the best deal you possibly can for fiber cement siding in Minneapolis. 
Matt Goering, formerly a carpenter and house painter, is a freelance writer for the home improvement industry who has published over 600 articles.