I am having a discussion with a contractor who recently re-sided my home. I had aluminum siding originally installed on the home. After hail and wind damage this past year, I was convinced by a local contractor to install vinyl siding. I live in St. Paul, MN. I subsequently installed a JourneyMen System 180 vinyl product. I have been paid by the insurance company for the replacement of the siding. The contractor who knows how much the insurance co paid me has billed me for the insurance co amount indicating that the cost of the vinyl product including installation was the same as the replacement cost of the aluminum siding I had originally installed on the home. My insurance company reimbursed me approx $5,000 more knowing that I had aluminum siding and not vinyl. I feel that the contractor is trying to collect more ** from me than he is entitled to. All of the info that I have found indicates that aluminum is more expensive than vinyl. However, I am not finding actual costs listed. Is there an objective third party resource that I can refer to for price comparison? Any other thoughts on the topic.

My thought is that he needs to remove the old siding first which with almuinum is a dog to take down in some cases. Also He may feel that there is additional damage that the vinyl cannot cover which aluminum can. All of which drives up the price. And also insurance companies do not add any additional monies, in most cases they do not provide enough to re-do a job properly. Also many vinyl products can cost more then aluminum.
Simply ask for a installation cost only without materials and compare. Or find another contractor in your area.

Didn't you get competitive bids and enter into a written contract before doing the work? And why does the contractor know how much your insurance reimbursement was? That is no one's business but yours. If he gave you a price up front, he should honor his price. If he didn't give you a price up front, you have a problem.

A roofing and siding supply house can give you prices for the aluminum and vinyl siding materials. Labor should be essentially the same for both. You can buy cost reference books from RS Means, but they're expensive. The one called "Residential Cost Data" or similar title would probably be most appropriate, or maybe they have one called "Remodeling Cost Data". They are in the $80 to $100 price range.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard Hetzel,

My thougth are this: If the insurance co pays you more to repair the house than the actual cost it would be to your advantage not to the contracter that you are speaking of. Ask this contractor for a list of supplies and a list of labor to repair the house. Also ask for an estimate for removing the existing siding. If I had any question about this at all I would get another estimate from another contracter which is best to do anyway.Also have you ask your insurance agent to whom the check will be made out. Should be to you.

where I live, in MA, there is a company that will give you a free dumpster that you can load with your old aluminum siding and they will pay you for it by the pound. You would still need to do the labor of removing the old aluminum siding. Since you already had the work done, this does not help you, but others may want to check there area when considering replacing their old siding.