If insulation values are important, then there are many other better sources for insulation: For example for exterior walls, 1) Standard batts in stud space; 2) Spray insulation in stud space and opening cavaties; 3) Panel insulation over the exterior sheathing and house wrap which prevents "bridging" heat transfer.

The insulated vinyl siding may make the individual siding pieces more rigid and impact resistant, but their actual insulating value is a questionable , IMO.

Good luck with your project.

Thanks Virgil! I appreciate the 3 recommendations and will make sure those are achieved.
I appreciate the "luck" we need it by the bucketful but you and this forum have been a tremendous help.

We looked in to the insulated vinyl because of its appearance, not really because of its insulating abilities. When we priced it, we were shocked to see that it cost more than fiber cement siding and brick (at least in our area). So, knowing that vinyl is what it is and would eventually have to be replaced, we dropped the idea. It looks really nice and comes in some good colors though and that is what we liked about it. We were particularly interested in Craneboard Insulated Vinyl siding and Norandex Polar something or other I don't remember. I think if you are ok with the cost that it is a good option because of the low maintenance.

i always choose insulating the external walls over anything else, anyways regarding your query you might find other options as well, have a look at this site if you have time (its not about building armchair but construction methods), or hit the library,there's a lot of books on insulation especially if you look at the ones they study in architecture or environmental engineering and they provide you with a lot of ideas

Here is a link that might be useful: armchair builders

I would insulate the walls instead.

BTW have you considered using vinyl shakes instead of lap siding look? I think that would look nice and tie in better with the log portion of the home. More of a vertical element to make it look intentional.

We are insulating the walls;). I'm glad you mentioned the shake/shingle vinyl. That's what we are looking at. Lyfia since you're familiar with my house (stockade style log) would you go the rougher shake or the cape cod style? Any color suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We are doing a dark grey standing seam roof throughout. Windows are beige/cream. Current stain is SW Yankee Barn but translates to a red tinted brown.

foam sheathing under any cladding is a good upgrade
& investment.
continous and when seams are taped foam sheathing goes
a long way towards making walls air tight.

insulated vinyl is pieces of foam sheathing attached
to vinyl siding. it is neither continous or airtight.

instead put 1" foam sheathing on all exterior walls, tape
all seams and seal any penetrations prior to install
of cladding.

best of luck.

This recent posting by Green Building Advisor's Peter Yost referring to two studies of insulated vinyl siding concludes it does increase R Value and, in certain conditions, water shedding. But at quite a cost premium.

This post was edited by worthy on Fri, Mar 14, 14 at 22:10

Thank you Energy Rater and Worthy! I think this solidifies our vinyl shake choice:).

Houseofsticks, I'm sorry I can't help with color or roughness as I'm not familiar with the product other than through pictures.

Might see if you can get the attention of dlm2000 as they used the vinyl shakes/shingles. I'll send dlm2000 a message on Facebook to point to this thread as well.

houseofsticks - as lyfia mentioned, we used vinyl shake when we resided in 2008. The product is from Cedarway which was a division of Fortis Plastic but I'm not sure either of them exist anymore. We chose them after extensive research and getting large samples from every major and many not so major manufactures because we wanted a shake corner not a corner board look. My husband was doing the work and spent a lot of time putting the pieces of the samples together to see how they fit. He felt some of the shake corners offered were poorly made and would allow water intrusion but the Cedarway corners are well designed and the product overall is heavier duty than many. We did not like the look of the staggered shingle for our application but for your more rustic home it might be a good look.

Here are some pictures so you can see the product we used.

This is the best shot I have of the corners

In process

Here's the finished look