Siding vs Brick: Best Exterior Options for Middle Tennessee Homes

When it's time to build new or re-clad your home's exterior, the siding-versus-brick question comes up on nearly every project. Both options protect your home, but they differ significantly in cost, maintenance, appearance, and long-term value. Here's an honest comparison for homeowners in Crossville, Cookeville, and across Middle Tennessee.

Cost Comparison: Siding vs Brick

Brick is more expensive than siding — substantially so. Here's what you can expect to pay per square foot installed in Middle Tennessee:

• Vinyl siding: $3 to $8 per square foot installed
• Fiber cement siding: $6 to $13 per square foot installed
• Engineered wood siding: $7 to $12 per square foot installed
• Brick veneer: $12 to $25 per square foot installed
• Full brick: $20 to $40 per square foot installed

For a typical 2,000-square-foot home with roughly 1,800 square feet of exterior wall area, the difference is dramatic. Vinyl siding might cost $6,000 to $14,000 total, while full brick could run $36,000 to $72,000. Even brick veneer — the thinner, more affordable brick option — costs two to three times more than quality siding.

This cost difference is why many homeowners in Jamestown, Livingston, and Spring City choose siding over brick. The money saved can go toward better insulation, upgraded windows, or other improvements that provide more direct comfort and energy savings.

Maintenance Requirements

Brick's biggest selling point is low maintenance. A properly installed brick exterior needs almost no ongoing care. The mortar joints should be inspected every 10 to 15 years and repointed where needed, but beyond that, brick takes care of itself. It doesn't need painting, won't fade, and resists insects and rot.

Siding requires more attention, though the amount varies by material:

• Vinyl siding: Needs periodic washing to remove mildew and dirt. No painting required, but it can crack in cold weather and warp in extreme heat. Expect 20 to 40 years of life depending on quality.
• Fiber cement siding: Needs repainting every 15 to 20 years — far less frequently than wood. It resists rot, insects, and fire. Fiber cement is the closest siding material to brick in terms of durability and low maintenance.
• Wood siding: The highest-maintenance option. Needs painting or staining every 5 to 7 years and is susceptible to rot, insects, and moisture damage. Beautiful but demanding.

For homeowners in Crossville and Cookeville who want a low-maintenance exterior without brick's price tag, fiber cement siding offers an excellent middle ground.

Durability and Lifespan

Brick wins on longevity. A well-built brick exterior can last 100 years or more — many homes in Middle Tennessee's older neighborhoods have original brick from the early 1900s that's still in excellent condition. Brick resists fire, insects, rot, and impact damage. It doesn't fade, crack, or need replacement under normal conditions.

Siding lifespans are shorter but still significant:

• Vinyl: 20 to 40 years
• Fiber cement: 30 to 50 years
• Engineered wood: 20 to 30 years
• Natural wood: 15 to 20 years with proper maintenance

However, damaged siding is much easier and cheaper to repair than damaged brick. Replacing a section of vinyl or fiber cement siding takes hours and costs a few hundred dollars. Repairing cracked or spalling brick requires a skilled mason and can cost thousands, especially if the damage is structural.

Insulation and Energy Efficiency

Contrary to popular belief, brick is not a great insulator. Solid brick has an R-value of about 0.8 per inch — barely better than concrete. Brick veneer over a wood-framed wall performs about the same as siding over the same wall, because the insulation is in the wall cavity, not the cladding.

Siding actually offers more insulation options. Insulated vinyl siding comes with a foam backing that adds R-2 to R-5 to the wall assembly. Fiber cement and engineered wood can be installed over continuous insulation boards, significantly improving the thermal envelope. For homeowners in Livingston and Spring City looking to reduce heating and cooling costs, siding with added insulation often outperforms brick.

Tennessee's climate demands both heating and cooling, so a well-insulated wall assembly matters year-round. The exterior cladding is just one piece of the puzzle — proper insulation, air sealing, and moisture management behind the cladding have a much bigger impact on energy performance.

Storm Resistance

Middle Tennessee sees its share of severe weather — thunderstorms with high winds, hail, and occasional tornadoes. How do these materials hold up?

Brick excels against wind and hail. It takes a direct tornado strike to damage a brick wall. Hailstones that crack vinyl siding or dent aluminum bounce off brick harmlessly. For storm-prone areas around Cookeville and Crossville, brick's impact resistance is a genuine advantage.

Fiber cement siding is the next best option for storm resistance. It's dense, rigid, and handles hail far better than vinyl. It won't dent or puncture under normal hail conditions and has passed impact-resistance testing that vinyl cannot match.

Vinyl siding is the most vulnerable to storm damage. High winds can tear panels from the wall, and large hail can crack or puncture vinyl. After severe storms in Jamestown and Spring City, vinyl siding damage is one of the most common exterior repair calls we receive.

Resale Value

Brick adds measurable resale value. Studies consistently show that brick homes sell for 5 to 10 percent more than comparable siding homes. Buyers perceive brick as more permanent, more attractive, and lower maintenance — all of which are accurate. In Middle Tennessee's real estate market, a brick home in Crossville or Cookeville will typically attract more interest and higher offers than an identical home with vinyl siding.

That said, the resale premium rarely covers the full cost difference of choosing brick over siding during construction. If you spend $30,000 more on brick and it adds $20,000 to your home's value, you've still spent $10,000 more than you recovered. The decision should be based on how long you plan to live in the home and how much you value the other benefits brick provides.

Quality siding — especially fiber cement installed with care — can also increase home value significantly, often recovering 70 to 80 percent of the project cost at resale.

Installation Time

Siding is faster to install. A professional crew can side a typical home in 3 to 5 days. Brick takes significantly longer — 2 to 4 weeks for a full brick veneer installation, depending on the home's size and complexity. Longer installation means higher labor costs and more disruption to your daily routine.

The Mixed Approach: Brick and Siding Together

Many homeowners in Middle Tennessee choose both materials. A common approach is brick on the lower portion of the home — the first 3 to 4 feet or the entire first floor — with siding on the upper sections. This strategy delivers several benefits:

• Cost savings: You get the look and durability of brick where it matters most (the high-traffic, high-visibility lower section) without the cost of full brick construction.
• Impact protection: Brick on the lower section protects against lawn equipment, kid activity, and splash-back from rain hitting the ground.
• Visual interest: The combination of materials creates depth and architectural variety that neither material achieves alone.
• Flexibility: You can choose complementary colors and textures, like warm red brick with gray fiber cement siding above.

This brick-lower, siding-upper approach is one of the most popular exterior combinations on new construction across Crossville, Cookeville, and the surrounding areas. It balances aesthetics, durability, and budget in a way that most homeowners find satisfying.

Tennessee-Specific Considerations

Middle Tennessee's climate creates unique demands on exterior cladding. The combination of hot, humid summers and cold, wet winters means your exterior needs to handle moisture from both directions — rain and humidity from outside, and vapor drive from inside during heating season.

Both brick and siding require a proper weather-resistant barrier and drainage plane behind them. Brick needs a one-inch air gap between the veneer and the sheathing to allow moisture to drain and dry. Siding needs housewrap and properly lapped flashing. Regardless of which material you choose, proper installation by experienced contractors is what prevents moisture problems down the road.

Old Glory Roofing installs fiber cement, vinyl, and engineered wood siding across Middle Tennessee. We'll help you weigh the pros and cons for your specific home, budget, and goals — and deliver a siding installation that performs for decades.