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You can calculate the required square footage of siding you need by measuring the height and width of your home’s rectangular exterior walls. For the triangular-shaped gable walls, measure the height from the ground to the tallest gable point to make sure you have enough for good coverage. Once you have combined the totals for each wall, add another 10% to account for wasted materials. It’s also good to have extra siding on hand to tackle wood siding repair down the road.

No, you don’t need to use the same siding around the entire home. Using different siding for different walls can actually increase the soft value of your home. Many homeowners opt to add vinyl siding on the sides of their home not facing the street, opting for higher-end siding materials like stone or wood for the front of the house. Stone veneer siding can be a cost-effective option for homeowners who like the appearance of stone, but not the cost.

There should be small gaps between your roof and the walls of your home, and other buildings. These small gaps let building materials shift, expand, and contract with weather and other outside forces, and they prevent moisture from wicking down walls from roofing and gutter systems. Without these strategic gaps, your home’s exterior and its finishes can sustain water damage, decay, peel, delaminate, and crack. However, there is a fine line between a smart gap and a problematic gap—all  gaps should be small, intentional, and covered or filled in with foam insulation to prevent pests from using them as access points.

On it own, aluminum siding has a relatively low insulation value (also called R-value); aluminum siding has an R-value of 0.61. However, you can purchase insulated aluminum siding to increase the R-value to between 2 and 5. You can also install additional insulation within your walls to help maintain temperatures within your home. On average, insulation costs $1,825 to install throughout the typical home.