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Key Highlights
- Durable: Ascend siding is remarkably resilient and capable of withstanding severe weather, UV rays, fire, and insects. When properly installed, it should hold up well and look beautiful for decades.
- Low Maintenance: Unlike wood or vinyl siding, Ascend never requires painting nor significant maintenance. You can simply wash it with soap and water if it becomes dirty.
- Multiple Styles and Colors: Ascend comes in two different styles (7” horizontal planks and 12” vertical planks) and 40 gorgeous colors. This makes it easy to match the siding to your home’s color scheme and your personal tastes.
- Innovative: First invented in the 2020s, Ascend is a revolutionary product that offers a more attractive combination of features and characteristics than any other siding. It has even been recognized as being the most innovative building product in 2024.
Everything You Need to Know About Composite Cladding for Your House
Composite siding is a type of covering or cladding that helps protect your home’s exterior and make it beautiful. It’s called “composite” siding because it is made from a combination of different materials, rather than a single material, such as wood, aluminum, or vinyl.
The exact materials used to make specific composite siding products differ from one to the next but often include things like wax, cement, or wood fibers. However, some – like Alside ASCEND® Composite Cladding – are polymer-based siding planks that are made from a combination of polymer resins, mineral fillers, color pigments, and UV inhibitors.
Why Alside Ascend Composite Cladding Stands Out
Ascend polymer composite siding provides a variety of advantages when compared to other types of siding available on the market. These benefits have all helped to increase the popularity of Alside Ascend siding among homeowners and professional contractors alike.
A few of the most important benefits Ascend composite cladding planks provide include:
Durability
The combination of the polymer compounds and mineral fillers used to make Ascend siding planks provide them with incredible durability. Unlike wood or vinyl siding, which may eventually warp or even crack when exposed to the elements, Ascend siding planks are designed to withstand harsh weather conditions, moisture, UV rays, and temperature extremes.
Insect Resistance
As a polymer-based product, Ascend siding will not attract or harbor termites, ants, carpenter bees, or other insects. The same can be said of vinyl and fiber-cement siding products, but traditional wood siding is certainly vulnerable to these kinds of threats.
Energy Efficiency
Ascend siding planks are specifically engineered to provide excellent insulation and keep your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Insulation-backed vinyl panels also offer some insulation value, as do wood and cement-based sidings, but they generally don’t offer the same level of energy savings that Ascend panels do.
Aesthetic Appeal
Many homeowners love the look of natural wood siding. But given wood’s susceptibility to pests and inclement weather, as well as its high maintenance needs (such as needing to be repainted every several years), homeowners and building product manufacturers have long sought an alternative that performed better than wood, while offering a similar aesthetic.
Vinyl and cement-based panels can be attractive, but few products convincingly resemble wood or feature a realistic, wood-like texture. Ascend Cladding, on the other hand, features a realistic texture and can easily be mistaken for the real thing.
Easy Installation
Cement siding products are generally quite heavy, making the installation process difficult and time-consuming. Vinyl siding panels, on the other hand, are lightweight, but they’re easy to break during installation. But Ascend polymer-based siding is both lightweight and strong, which helps reduce installation problems. Nevertheless, professional installation is still recommended to avoid voiding the warranty and ensure you achieve the high-quality results you want.
Low Maintenance Requirements
Both wood and cement-based siding panels must be painted periodically to keep them protected and looking their best, but Ascend is virtually maintenance-free. Typically, the only thing homeowners must do is wash the siding with some soap and a garden hose when it becomes soiled.
Eco-Friendly
Ascend is a remarkably sustainable product that provides several benefits to the environment that other types of siding do not. For example, Ascend siding not only lasts for decades, thereby preventing the need for replacement some other siding types require and reducing the overall waste associated with the product.
By contrast, vinyl planks are made from PVC, which is difficult to recycle, and both fiber cement and wood are energy-intensive materials to produce or harvest.
Comparing Alside Ascend Siding Options
Ascend siding is offered in your choice of two styles, making it easy to select the perfect option for your home.
7″ Plank
The 7-inch-tall planks are designed to be mounted horizontally, like traditional siding usually is. Ascend planks are only available in Alside’s Cedar Mill Grain texture.
12″ Board & Batten
A vertically oriented siding, each Ascend Board & Batten plank consists of two parts: a 10-inch-wide board, and a 2-inch-wide batten. The battens cover the seams between the boards and provide a three-dimensional effect that many homeowners find appealing.
Ascend Board & Batten Siding is available with either a matte finish or a wood-grain texture.
Key Features and Innovations of Alside Siding Products
Alside Ascend siding has a number of innovative features that have helped drive its popularity, including it’s:
- Durability & Impact Resistance: The polymer-and-mineral blend used to manufacture Ascend panels provides it with unmatched durability and impact resistance, allowing them to withstand storm damage.
- True Wood-Like Appearance: Ascend panels feature deep textures and rich colors, which help to create a convincing wood-like appearance (without the problems real wood presents).
- Advanced Fastening System: Ascend panels are installed using a hidden-fastener system that not only prevents moisture from getting behind the panels but also produces a very polished appearance, with no visible nails or screws.
- Fade Resistance: Ascend composite siding panels are made with special UV inhibitors, which prevent the fading problems some other products suffer from.
- Enhanced R-Value: The chemical composition and manufacturing process of Ascend siding panels provides excellent thermal resistance to help prevent rapid home temperature swings and reduce energy costs.
- Class A Fire Rating: Unlike wood or vinyl siding products, Ascend panels have been awarded a Class A fire rating – the highest rating building products can earn.
Key Specifications of Alside Ascend Siding
- Warranty: Limited lifetime (transferrable)
- Wind Resistance: 180 miles per hour
- Weight Per Square Foot: 1.2 pounds (for 7-inch plank)
- Panel Width: 7 inches for planks; 12 inches for Board & Batten
- Panel Thickness: 0.33 inches
- R-Value: 2.5
How Much Does Alside Ascend Siding Cost for a Home?
The costs associated with Alside Ascend siding installation will vary based on a variety of factors. So, we recommend contacting us to obtain a free consultation and price quote.
However, in most cases, homeowners will pay between $5 to $10 per square foot for the materials and another $2 to $5 per square foot for installation. So, you can generally figure on spending between $7 and $15 per square feet of home exterior you’re having the siding installed on.
For a typical 2,000-square-foot home, this means you’ll pay between about $14,000 and $30,000.
Some of the factors that will help determine the exact price you’ll pay within this range include:
- Your Home’s Size: Unless your home is exceptionally large or small, its size won’t significantly alter the cost of Ascend siding on a per-square-foot basis. However, it will obviously influence the total costs you’ll pay.
- Your Home’s Layout and Features: Houses with intricate design features or unusual layouts may increase the amount of labor your siding installation project will require, which may raise the ultimate cost.
- The Specific Ascend Cladding You Choose: Because Ascend Board & Batten siding requires more material and involves more elaborate installation techniques than 7” plank siding does, the specific type of Ascend siding you select will influence the overall cost of the project.
How Does the Alside Ascend Siding Warranty Work?
Despite the fact that Ascend siding is such a well-rated product that’s held in high regard by industry professionals, many homeowners want the extra peace of mind that a warranty offers. Alside certainly understands this, as they back Ascend siding by one of the best warranties available for siding materials.
Some of the key provisions of the Alside Ascend warranty include:
- Duration: The Alside Ascend warranty is a limited lifetime warranty.
- Coverage: The Ascend warranty covers you from manufacturing defects that cause blistering, corroding, flaking, and peeling.
- Transferability: The Alside Ascend warranty is transferable, should you sell your home. However, it becomes a prorated warranty at that point and lasts for 50 years.
- Requirements: You must maintain your Ascend siding in the manner outlined by Alside to ensure that your warranty remains valid.
- Additional Protection: Your warranty also covers excessive product fading. This coverage lasts for the entire time you own the home, but it too is transferable. However, it becomes a 50-year, prorated warranty at that point.
- Important Exclusions: Like most warranties, the Alside Ascend warranty does feature a few important (but common) exclusions. Among other things, your warranty may be voided by improper installation, vandalism, or exposure to harmful chemicals.
Maximizing Curb Appeal: How to Select the Best Alside Ascend Siding Color
Choosing the perfect Alside Ascend siding color for your home is a big decision! You’ll not only be looking at this new color for years to come, but your choice may even influence your home’s resale value. Some of the things you’ll want to think about when making your decision include:
- The Architectural Style of Your Home: Many homeowners find that earth tones and classic colors like white or beige work best for traditional homes, while homes featuring modern architectural designs are often well-suited to bold colors. However, these are simply trends, and there’s nothing wrong with taking the opposite approach if you like.
- The Local Environment: It’s usually wise to consider your surroundings when selecting a home color. For example, grey, green, and brown shades typically blend well with forested areas, while brighter, bolder colors are generally better suited to coastal and urban areas.
- Your Neighborhood: You may want to select a color that complements the other home colors in your neighborhood (and your HOA may even impose rules about house colors, so do your homework before choosing a color). You probably don’t want to select something like Laguna Blue if the other homes in your neighborhood are all white, beige, or cream colored.
- The Local Climate: To enjoy the maximum possible energy savings, try to choose light colors (which reflect most of the sun’s rays) in warm climates and darker hues (which will help absorb the sun’s light) in cooler areas.
- Your Home’s Size: Because they reflect more light, pale colors tend to make homes look bigger, while darker tones make homes appear slightly smaller. This same principle also applies to individual sections of your home. For example, if you wanted to deemphasize some portion of your home you may want to choose a dark color.
- Maintenance: Light colors tend to show dust, dirt, and grime more than darker colors. Of course, Ascend siding is very easy to clean (simply rinse it with a garden hose and use a bit of mild detergent if needed), but color selection will help play a role in how clean your home looks between cleanings.
- Trim, Roof, and Accent Color: Be sure to consider your home’s other colors when making a choice to help ensure the overall appearance and color scheme is cohesive. You can combine analogous colors (such as Monterey Sand and Pebble) to create a subtle appearance or complementary colors (such as Deep Moss and Fired Brick) to make your home stand out.
- Broad Appeal: If you plan on selling your home in the near future, you may want to avoid bold colors in favor of more neutral tones. Neutral tones simply have broader appeal, which means you’ll be able to market your home to a wider selection of potential buyers.
Certainly consider these factors, but don’t forget to think about your own personal tastes. After all, it is your home, and you should ultimately select a color that you like.
A Complete Guide to Alside Ascend Colors
Currently, Alside offers Ascend siding in your choice of 20 different colors:
- Glacier White
- Almond
- Monterey Sand
- Pebble
- Canyon Drift
- Flagship Brown
- Rustic Timber
- Cape Cod Gray
- Sterling Gray
- Storm
- Ageless Slate
- Charcoal Smoke
- Cast Iron
- Laguna Blue
- Harbor Blue
- Midnight Blue
- Riviera Dusk
- Mountain Fern
- Deep Moss
- Fired Brick
Did you know? Schoenherr Roofing provides both residential and commercial roofing solutions?
The Most Popular Home Exterior Colors for 2025
The Harris Poll has conducted a national survey on behalf of Alside during each of the last three years to find out which home exterior color was most popular. And for the third time in a row, homeowners said that they’d select off-white or cream if they decided to change their home’s color.
Eighteen percent of the respondents selected off-white or cream, while slightly fewer (16%) chose white. That means that more than two in five Americans would prefer some color in the white-to-cream portion of the spectrum.
Almond is likely the color available in the Ascend product lineup that best fits the off-white or cream description, though some may consider Monterey Sand light enough to qualify.
Industry Reviews
Alside Ascend siding is generally well-regarded by professionals in the building and renovation industries. Aside from the litany of long-lasting benefits the planks provide homeowners (such as energy savings and attractive appearance), it is also quite easy to install, which contractors appreciate.
Additionally, the very material used to manufacture Ascend siding has drawn praise among building industry professionals. In fact, it was awarded the title of “Most Innovative Building Material” by the National Association of Home Builders in 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions: Alside Ascend Siding
Still have questions about Alside Ascend siding? We’ve rounded up some of the things homeowners are usually curious about below!
Is Alside Ascend siding any good?
Absolutely! Ascend siding is one of the best siding choices available to homeowners, as it offers a combination of benefits that are not matched by any other exterior cladding option. For example, it is not only the only common siding type to have such an impressive R-value, but it is also Class-A-rated for fire resistance, unlike wood or vinyl, and backed by a limited lifetime warranty, unlike cement-based siding options.
How do I pick the best Alside Ascend siding color for my home?
A lot of homeowners become overwhelmed when choosing Alside Ascend siding colors. But this decision needn’t keep you up at night; simply consider things like your home’s architectural style, the prevailing neighborhood trends, your local climate, and your own aesthetic tastes. It is, however, wise to view the colors on several different screens, as colors often look different on different displays.
How much does Alside Ascend siding cost?
The exact costs you’ll pay for Alside Ascend siding will vary, but most homeowners will pay between $7 and $15 per square foot (including installation). Having the siding installed on an average 2,000-square foot home will generally cost between $15,000 and $30,000.
What is the R-value of Ascend siding?
The R-value of Ascend siding is 2.5. That’s a very impressive value, as wood, vinyl, and cement-based options generally have R-values of less than 1.
What is the warranty on Ascend siding?
Alside Ascend siding is backed by the manufacturer’s limited lifetime warranty. importantly, the warranty is transferable, meaning that anyone you sell your home to will still benefit from coverage. The warranty does, however, become prorated at this point.
Is Ascend siding vinyl?
No. Some people in the building industry consider any type of plastic-based product to be vinyl, but that’s not accurate. Traditional vinyl siding is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), while Ascend is made from a polymer resin (along with mineral fillers, color pigments, and UV stabilizers).
Is Alside Ascend siding installation easy? Can I do this kind of siding project myself?
The Alside Ascend siding installation process is often easier to complete than it is when installing other, more traditional siding materials, but professional installation is still recommended. Experienced siding contractors are much more likely to carry out the work in a proper manner and help keep your warranty intact.
References
National Association of Home Builders. (2021) 2021 IBSx ‘Best in Show’ Winner Announced. Retrieved from https://www.nahb.org/blog/2021/03/2021-ibsx-best-in-show-winner-announced
