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Insulated vinyl siding is standard vinyl siding with a layer of rigid foam insulation bonded to the back of each panel. The foam is shaped to fit the panel exactly, so it sits flush against your wall with no gaps.
It wraps your house in a continuous layer of insulation, covering the wall studs that insulation inside the wall can never reach. It makes the panels far stiffer, so long walls look flat and straight instead of wavy, and the siding stands up better to hail, ladders, and stray basketballs. And it quiets the house, cutting down traffic noise from busy streets like Western, Central, and New Scotland Avenue.
One thing we tell every homeowner up front: the foam on insulated siding adds about R-3 to your walls on the best lines. That is real, and it is the cheapest R-3 you will ever buy since it rides along with a siding job, but it is not a substitute for insulation between the studs. A properly insulated wall wants R-13 or better in the stud bays, the job the pink fiberglass batts do, and siding foam is the layer that goes over that, not instead of it.
Visit our Siding Hub for additional types of siding that we install and repair for our customers.
A house built in 1925 in Pine Hills or 1950 in Buckingham Lake typically has little or nothing inside its wall cavities. Heating that house through an Albany winter, with months of freezing temperatures and heavy snow, means paying to warm air that leaks straight through the walls.
Insulated siding will not match what full wall insulation does, but it meaningfully cuts that loss, and it does it during a project you were already doing. If your siding is due for replacement anyway, the insulation upgrade is the cheapest it will ever be, because the labor is already paid for.
These are full insulated systems, with thick contoured foam that delivers about R-3. These are the panels we mean when we say insulated vinyl siding, and they are what we recommend for older Albany homes. You can read more on our CertainTeed siding and Westlake Royal siding pages.
These carry a thinner foam layer worth about R-1 to R-2. With these, the foam is less about insulation and more about giving the vinyl a rigid surface behind it, which means straighter walls and tougher panels at a lower price. A good option when the look and stiffness matter more than the R-value.
Rigid foam board under the siding. We can install Tuff-R foam board directly over your sheathing before the siding goes on, which adds roughly R-6 per inch of thickness. Combined with an insulated panel on top, that gets an uninsulated 1920s Pine Hills two-story to a wall performance its builders never imagined, at a fraction of what it would cost as a standalone project.
Zip System R-sheathing. If tear-off reveals sheathing that needs full replacement, we can rebuild the wall with Zip R panels, which combine structural sheathing, a built-in water-resistant barrier, and foam insulation in one board. It is the cleanest wall assembly available and the right call when an older home needs new sheathing anyway.
Everlast Siding Capital Region
James Hardie Siding Capital Region
Regular vinyl is a hollow panel that hangs on your wall. Insulated vinyl has rigid foam bonded to the back of each panel, which adds insulation over the entire wall, makes the panels stiffer and more impact-resistant, and quiets the house. It looks the same from the curb, but it performs very differently in an Albany winter.
Usually, yes. Most Albany homes were built before wall insulation was standard, and insulated siding is the only practical way to add insulation to those walls without opening them up. If your home was built after the 1980s with modern insulation, standard vinyl is often the better value, and we will tell you which camp your house falls in at the estimate.
It depends on how little insulation your walls have now, which is why we will not promise a number before seeing your house. Be realistic: the panel foam adds about R-3, so on its own it takes the edge off rather than transforming the house. The general rule is that the older and draftier the home, the bigger the difference, and the change most homeowners notice first is comfort, meaning fewer cold rooms and fewer drafts.
No, and any contractor who tells you otherwise is overselling. When your walls actually need insulation, they need R-13 or higher, which is what you get from fiberglass batts, like the familiar Owens Corning pink rolls, filling every stud bay. The best insulated siding panels add about R-3 on top of that.
Not when it is installed correctly. The foam is designed to let walls breathe, and we install a proper moisture barrier and flashing behind every project. Moisture problems come from bad installation or from covering up existing rot, which is why we inspect and repair the sheathing during tear-off before any new siding goes on.
We provide comprehensive exterior renovations—including roofing, siding, and gutters—throughout the Northeast. Our service area spans the Capital District, from Lake George down to Catskill, as well as parts of Southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts.
Unsure if we cover your neighborhood? Contact us! We are likely working on a home near you.