When homeowners begin looking into the options for and cost of siding for their homes, they may not be prepared to select a contractor to work with. Without a contractor, getting an accurate estimate for home siding costs is nearly impossible; but thanks to the Siding Calculator tool from SidingMagazine.com, homeowners can calculate a basic cost estimate for many different styles of homes.

The Siding Calculator is incredibly easy to use, to skip instructions, click here!

The first step to using the siding calculator is to select the style of home. Homeowners can choose from: cape, cape with a one car garage, ranch, ranch with one car garage, arts and crafts bungalow, split-level, colonial, contemporary colonial, contemporary, Tudor, and Victorian. The homeowner should select the style of home that is closest to his or her own.

After the style selection is made, there are various questions that must be answered in order to get an accurate home siding estimate. The first part of this step is to choose the region where the home is located. The options are Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, West, and Midwest. By hovering the mouse over the state of residence, the region that should be selected will turn red.

The next step is to select the type of siding from clapboard, shingles, or other; then select the type of materials. The options are vinyl, foam-backed vinyl, fiber cement, premium composite, wood, brick, or stucco ” these options will only include those that will work with the type of siding chosen. For example, if shingles are chosen as the type of siding, vinyl, fiber cement and wood are the only available options. The last step is to include whether or not the homeowner wants to have shutters installed on their home, as well.

For a colonial with a one-car garage located in the northeast region of the country, a homeowner that wants wood shingles with new shutters will receive a range of estimates. The median range estimate is $42,510. This estimate might include mid-grade cedar shingles, replacing some trim, some necessary demolition, a basic house wrap, and a labor warranty. What is included in the job varies per contractor and installer. There are other estimates, some higher and some lower; lower estimates do not include as much labor or the same quality grade of materials as the higher estimates.

The costs of siding are variable; however, the siding price calculator from SidingMagazine.com can take the surprise and guesswork out of home siding costs. By following a few simple steps, the calculator allows homeowners to get an educated estimate of the cost of siding based on facts that they can use when working with a contractor to decide on the price of materials and labor.