How To Tell If Siding Is Aluminum Or Steel

There are many shades of color and textures to choose from.

How to tell if siding is aluminum or steel. Aluminum siding and steel siding are the most popular siding. Stainless steel will still scratch but scratching it will require much more effort and it will not scratch as deeply. It was a very popular choice of siding in it s day because of its price and could be installed directly over existing wood siding. From a distance it can be hard to tell the quality of siding but up close and personal many homeowners find that they don t like the way aluminum siding looks.

Aluminum siding is less costly than the steel siding but the performance of the steel siding is exceptional as it has the ability to survive in tough weather conditions. If the piece is aluminum it will scratch fairly deeply without much pressure because aluminum is much softer than stainless steel. Aluminum siding doesn t provide an upscale look. Aluminum won t rust although it can corrode from long term exposure to moisture and salt which is a risk in coastal climates.

To do the test simply press the key down and drag it along a flat surface on a given piece of unidentified metal that may be aluminum or stainless steel. Like steel it won t sag but it s much lighter and easier to handle making aluminum gutters easier to install than steel models. In most climates aluminum gutters will hold up for 20 years or longer. The color and vibrancy of aluminum siding might only last half as long as vinyl before you need to do something about it.

Steel siding especially the seamless type that we install has a number of qualities that make it a far superior siding material for minnesota homes. But watch it there are stealing aluminum off of houses to sell it has got so high in price. If you re shopping for metal siding and have considered aluminum here s what you need to know. It looks very similar to vinyl siding but is metal and can be easily dented.

Stainless steel often has a more silver and shiny complexion to it. Favorite answer yes just stick a magnet to it if it sticks its steel if it slides off you have aluminum. Both of these sidings contain different properties as the aluminum siding is easy to install and it is easily cut because it is made with the lighter material whereas the steel siding does not cut so easily. Aluminum siding is pretty easy to identify.

Whereas aluminum will be grey and dull in texture.