Brick vs. Vinyl Siding
November 10, 2009 by
Filed under vinyl siding
Video 3 of 3: See Brick Veneer and Fiber Cement Video This video shows that homes built with brick offer dramatically more protection from wind-blown debris than homes built with vinyl or fiber-cement siding. The study, conducted at the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University, demonstrated that a medium-sized wind-blown object, such as a 7.5-foot long 2 x 4, would penetrate walls clad with vinyl or fiber-cement siding at a speed of 25 miles per hour (mph). By …
Good to know. I’m surprised that a 2×4 could penetrate OSB on a 16″ OC studded exterior wall.
By the way, I’m completely with you on the brick vs vinyl. There is no comparison in my opinion; brick all the way. I didn’t realize that the test platforms included exterior sheathing.
Hello. Texas Tech ensured that all walls in these videos are of typical residential construction: 2×4 studs with fiberglass insulation between them, gypsum board on the inside of the studs and OSB sheathing on the outside of the studs. A similar wall with no exterior siding was also tested as a control. The only difference in the tested walls is the exterior cladding. As you can see, the addition of vinyl or fiber cement siding didn’t help, while adding brick clearly did – S. Sears, BIA
While I prefer brick veneer myself, what does this video really tell us? Most siding is backed by exterior sheathing; e.g. 3/4″ plywood, so foreign objects are unlikely to penetrate the exterior of the home as the video’s description alludes to.
As I said, given the choice, I’d much rather have a brick veneer home.