The exterior of our house needs a new coat of paint, but thinking about the cost, I thought it may just be worth it to get new siding on the entire house. Right now, the sides of our home have aluminum siding on them but the front and back are wood. The siding is fairly worn and has holes in it from various things being hung to it and taken down. I'm wondering if siding may be a better investment as it should last for years, right? The question now is which type of siding is best and what is the approximate cost? Thank you ahead of time for your help.

To me, siding is a once and done expense. A good siding job will outlast 5-6 paint jobs. Which is "best" probably depends on who you talk to. As far as I'm concerned a good grade of vinyl siding is a better choice than aluminum. It is certainly more forgiving when it comes to the occaisional rock launched by a lawn mower or a stray baseball and a lot cheaper and easier to install.

Maintenance6 is absolutely correct. Aluminum is stronger and, to my mind, will last longer, but it will dent where vinyl won't. My son-in-law, however, did sit his propane grill too close and now has some drooping vinyl!

I guess I'm old school, but to me an occasional scraping, caulking and painting is well worth the effort and expense, and looks better than the cheap and easy stuff guaranteed to last 30 years when it hasn't even been around that long.

So, you are recommending aluminum then? The next question is then, what is the cost compared to vinyl? I am not so much concerned about the really long term but would like something that I won't have to really tend to, other than an occasional power washing, for a good 5 - 10 years. I just want what's best in the seasonal climate of Ohio where it can obviously get quite cold and snowy at times.

So, you seem to be recommending vinyl then, correct? The next question is then, what is the cost compared to aluminum? I am not so much concerned about the really long term but would like something that I won't have to really tend to, other than an occasional power washing, for a good 5 - 10 years. I just want what's best in the seasonal climate of Ohio where it can obviously get quite cold and snowy at times.

What does the rest of the area have. Vinyl, metal, wood?
Aluminum siding is going to cost more then vinyl. Not just for the cost of material but the labor to install.
If you choose vinyl which would be my second choice over wood or Hardiplank siding. Be sure to get high end vinyl. A lot of these companies that install vinyl use cheep stuff. That is how they compete. This cheep vinyl will look great for about two or three years, Then it will become faded, brittle and overall look shabby.
The better vinyl is thicker, better color retention and tends to be less wavey once installed because of its design.
Be prepared if the house has metal siding that is going to be removed. You will find a lot of repairs to trim that needs to be done. Metal siding has a tendency to mask water damage and insect/rot.

Our neighborhood is pretty mixed. People have wood & siding, like us. Some people have all siding, though I don't know whether it's aluminum or vinyl. You say you prefer wood, but I would think having to paint it every few years gets expensive, doesn't it? I am trying to find a solution that will last 5 - 10 years and require very little maintenance and to me, in my limited knowledge, it seems wood would require a decent amount of ongoing maintenance.

A good quality siding such as hardiplank if preped correctly will hold paint a very long time. Because its man made it is very stable not like wood that swells and shrinks because of humidty. Being properly installed with the house wrap installed correctly nailing pattern etc. It will hold the paint very well. YOU can purchase this product already painted which makes it last even longer. It does cost more and the person installing it needs more then snips and a utility knife to install it so be sure their qualified to put up.
Paint colors have a lot to do with the fading of the paint. Reds and some dark blues tend to fade quickly. Lighter colors that reflect light often look and perform the best. So be sure to pick light colors.
What folks do not understand. All siding requires ongoing maintenance. The put it up and forget about it generation does not understand this. You still have caulking to check around windows and doors. Cleaning of siding is also important regardless of what siding you have. There are companies that provide such services for you if you do not want to be bothered.

I've not seen wood, wood composite or aluminum siding installed on a residence in our area for a number of years and Pennsylvania has a similar climate to that of Ohio. Vinyl has pretty much replaced all of the above with some stone/brick accents thrown in. Except for occaissoinally recaulking around windows there is almost zero maintenance with a good vinyl siding job and at far less initial investment than any of the other available options.

Do you know the approximate cost of a vinyl job, including costs to take down old siding (I assume there is an additional cost).

There are way too many variables to venture a guess. Access, size, height, building and site conditions, etc. All of those play into this, plus local contractor availability and price structuring. I'd call around your area and get some estimates. Usually budget estimates are done without charge, so what have you got to lose? The only thing I would recommend is that you make sure of what you want to do so that you can fairly compare prices in the end. Nothing is worse than a homeowner trying to compare apples to oranges while he is holding two or three completely different proposals in his hand or pitting one contractor against another pricewise for two different packages.