When replacing siding, you’ll often recoup a significant amount of your investment, but there are trade-offs in maintenance, price, and sustainability.

Perhaps no other building material plays such as key role in your home as siding. It protects your house against the harshest elements and is a factor in your home’s appearance, architectural character, and value.

A vinyl siding replacement, for instance, recovers 83% of its initial cost at resale, according to the “2015 Remodeling Impact Report” from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Vinyl is the most popular choice for home siding on new homes in the U.S., according to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau data. It is tough, durable, and widely available in many styles and colors. Color permeates the material and won’t reveal nicks and scratches.

Today’s standards ensure that vinyl siding will maintain its shape in extreme temperatures, provide resistance to high winds, retain its color, and meet or exceed other manufacturer claims.

-Benefits: Light weight makes for speedy installation; can be retrofit over existing siding; little maintenance; top-quality brands offer transferable lifetime guarantees to subsequent buyers.

-Drawbacks: Seams will show where the ends of standard 12-foot panels overlap. Extra-long panels virtually eliminate seams for an additional cost of about 30%.

-Green factor: Vinyl has a long replacement cycle of 30 to 50 years, but the same ingredient that makes it durable — polyvinyl chloride or PVC — doesn’t degrade in landfills. Byproducts of PVC production may include dioxin and other toxins.