What's a good siding material? I have T1-11 that's looking sad...?

I agree that Hardie Cement Board may be your best option. You can easily do it yourself and it will give you a good look. It takes paint well and is a cement based material so you won't have to worry about it rotting etc.

I used Hardie Board on the interior walls of a sun-room I built on my house to give it a rustic edgy feel and it looks great. Instead of over lapping it I just put it down edge to edge to look like boards had been used as the wall covering. You'll need to overlap it outside to allow for rain runoff though but I think it will give you the look your after.

I agree that vinyl siding looks cheap and crappy. I had some on the unbricked areas of my home such as gables that I removed a while back and put up cedar shakes instead. The cedar looks awesome and you can do that too but it tends to be very pricey. I put an ad on craigslist asking for cedar shakes anyone had for sale and I lucked up and got 2 big truck loads still bundled and new for $750. To buy the same quantity at a lumber yard was over $2000!

Here is a link to images of cedar shake siding http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&g...

So go with the Hardi Board for the economical route but if you can afford it see if you can get some cedar shakes. The shakes will give you the edgiest look if you vary the spacing or work out a unique pattern. The shakes can be very time consuming to put up but if you have the time you'll love the look in the end. I didn't think I would ever get done but now I'm so proud of the look every day when I get home.

Good luck to you and I hope this is helpful!

T1-11 Lowes

Answering my own question: what I used was Smart Side from Lowes. It matches the T1-11, so I left on most of the old siding, just replaced the weatherbeaten sides. It didn t match up mechanically so I replaced whole walls. After painting, it looked new and distinctive against all the vinyl siding on the street.

Any good paint will do just fine. If you don't want to paint, you could use any good quality "oil-based" stain. The oil-based penetrates better and last longer but is harder to clean up after, you'd have to used mineral spirits or just buy cheap brushes and throw them away. Stain can also be sprayed on with a pump-up type sprayer (make sure it is not a windy day). Also, the stain is more expensive than paint but I personally like the way it looks. Good luck.

How about giving the T1-11 a facelift? Sand it smoother, stain it with a solid colour stain. You can do a lot towards edgy by merely changing a colour. You didn't say that it's installed vertical but if it is maybe you could install battens for a board and batten look.

T-111 was crap when it was first made, and gets crappier looking every day.

Use vinyl on the body of the house and mix it up with matching vertical siding on the facade or Nailite or brick panels. Go to a roofing/siding supply and look at your options.

Hardie Cement Board siding... http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=hardie+board+s...

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