Budget Friendly Wood Siding Alternatives for Your Next Project

Written by Liza Sivek | Tue, Jun 7, 2022 @ 09:06 AM

Beautiful, natural FSC Certified Machiche siding is a show stopper, and surprisingly affordable.

Are you experiencing a budget crunch on your next wood siding project? Contractors and homeowners are all keenly aware of external forces causing siding material prices to rise. Premium wood siding choices are no exception. How will you choose a siding material that meets your design needs and your budget needs? Take a look at these premium hardwood material choices, and a premium wood look alternative, to help you make the most of your siding costs.

Pura NFC Siding by Trespa pricing compared to wood siding

A quick visual to compare the price range of these alternatives to Ipe and Cedar

Architects and property owners are looking for wood siding that meets their design goals and are durable. Ipe and Western Red Cedar are two top wood siding choices.

Preferred for its long-lasting strength and exotic beauty, Ipe tropical hardwood is considered the standard in durability. The lovely brown tones and interesting grain patterns make it a classic wood siding choice.

Loved for its warm red tones, Western Red Cedar wood siding have been iconic for decades and often specified in exterior designs.

And why not? There’s good reasons Ipe and Cedar are so commonly used. But are they right for your project's budget? And are there other options that have the same features?

RELATED: Compare Siding prices

Which wood sidings are affordable but also strong and long lasting?

How can you find a budget friendly siding alternative that won't give up the benefits of Ipe wood and Western Red Cedar? First, consider the prices and features of Ipe and Cedar:

Ipe wood siding is the standard in strength, longevity, and durability for all wood siding material options. The quality of Ipe also puts it top of the price range for wood siding. Ipe wood siding is certainly worth the price, but may not be right for every budget. In an alternative, you might be looking similar high density fiber strength, decay and insect resistance, and color, at a lower upfront investment.

Western Red Cedar's good looks are iconic in exterior design. Popular and attractive, but price and availability fluctuate unpredictably. Also, today's Western Red Cedar tends to be knotty with tones from reds to browns, unlike the clear Cedar boards decades past. In an alternative, you might be looking for a similar reddish brown range and grain pattern, maybe with more tone consistency, that's readily available at a lower upfront cost.

If so, two natural wood siding choices to look at are FSC Certified Machiche hardwood or Garapa hardwood. With these two wood species, you can still choose premium hardwood siding and get similar properties and strengths to Ipe hardwood.

Natural Machiche wood siding with an oil finish has rich, chocolate tones that give it luxurious looks.

To see award winning projects and get inspiration using Machiche or Garapa siding, and other wood rainscreen, download the free wood rainscreen siding project portfolios now:

FSC Certified Machiche wood siding

Machiche gives you a wood siding choice that has similar coloring to Ipe and the coveted brown toes and figuring of an exotic hardwood. Machiche also has similar high density hardwood benefits to Ipe at a lower upfront cost.

Beautiful exotic figuring and patterns
Rich, chocolate-brown tones
Certified sustainably harvested natural exotic hardwood siding
Exceptional decay resistance
Exceptional insect damage resistance
High stability, won't cup, check or warp easily
Weathers to a silver patina without losing strengths

The beautiful colors of Machiche siding look - and perform - beautifully even on stormy days.

Garapa wood siding

When you choose Garapa, with its lighter golden tones, for your wood siding you get similar benefits of other hardwood choices. And at the most affordable hardwood price point. Though Garapa is the lowest fiber density of the hardwood siding materials, it is denser and more resistant to damage than cedar or other softwood siding materials. You still get the naturally high strength (Garapa is 2 times stronger than oak) of hardwood siding material.

Beautiful exotic figuring and patterns
Beautiful golden tones to medium brown tones
Exceptional decay resistance
Very high insect damage resistance
High stability, won't cup, check or warp easily
Weathers to a silver patina without losing strengths

Garapa rainscreen wood siding on this architectural detail shows just how versatile, and impressive, Garapa can be in your next project.

For more information on Machiche, Garapa, and other wood rainscreen siding options,

download our Ultimate Guide to Wood Rainscreen here.

Pura Ipe Wood Décor has a uniform color range and realistic wood grain look that raises the impact architectural elements.

HPL laminate exterior siding versus natural Ipe or Western Red Cedar wood siding

When Ipe and Western Red Cedar are out just out of budget, but you need a close match in color and looks, Trespa HPL Laminate siding material rides to the rescue.

Why Pura NFC by Trespa over lower end wood look siding alternatives? The high strength, for one.

Pura NFC siding wood decors:

Pura siding is incredibly fade and weather resistant and never need refinishing.
Pura NFC siding is very resistant to damage from high winds; heat and humidity; and punctures and breaks, so rarely need repair.
Pura is a very low maintenance siding option even lower than real hardwood, just a soap and water cleaning as needed.
have overall uniformity in color and grain. This is a perfect solution for designs that call for clear boards throughout with consistent color, something that today's natural Western Red Cedar can't offer.
can be used with the Climate-Shield Rainscreen siding system for a better, faster installation.
have a vertical siding design option.
have a higher upfront material cost but a low lifecycle cost for greater return on investment over its lifetime use.

For more information and ideas using Pura NFC siding by Trespa, check out these free resouces:

Pura Ipe Wood Decor looks more like real Ipe wood

Pura Western Red Cedar Wood Decor rivals real Cedar.

RELATED: Trespa Quality Testing

Don’t try this at home with vinyl or fiber cement! Or any siding except Pura NFC by Trespa.

Pura NFC siding wood decors are a stupendous value

Since it's possible to keep the low maintenance and high quality of wood siding with Pura NFC, does it makes budget-friendly sense for your project? If it might, you won't need to limit the choice to Ipe and Western Red Cedar wood decors.

Pura NFC siding in Mystic Cedar wood decor adds an instant weathered look from day one - and keeps its good looks for many years.

All of the Pura wood decors offer the same great benefits no matter what color you choose. And with the same pricing for all the colors, Pura wood decors give you a very high value from Oak to Ebony.

If this article has helped you with siding material alternatives and you want to know more, please contact our team for pricing and next steps. We are here to help.

Looking for more information about Pura NFC siding by Trespa? Download the free project portfolios:

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