Alside Ascend Siding Review

Alside Ascend siding review banner highlighting minimal maintenance and fast simple installation

Countless siding options are available on the market, and picking the best choice for your home and budget can be overwhelming. At Xtreme Exteriors, we are skilled at installing all types of siding, whether it’s James Hardie Fiber Cement, LP SmartSide, metal wood-look sidings, and vinyl polymer-type sidings.

One of the newer siding products on the market is Alside’s Ascend Composite Cladding. There are a lot of fancy words for vinyl siding, polymers, composites, and advanced polymer siding. Ultimately, if a siding is plastic-based, it falls into the vinyl siding category. Alside’s Ascend is plastic-based, so we consider it a type of vinyl. Vinyl siding tends to have a bad reputation, but these sidings have dramatically improved over the last 10-15 years. Vinyl sidings can fit a lot of different price ranges and shouldn’t be automatically excluded from consideration on your siding project.

Alside’s Ascend is one of the higher price point vinyl sidings offered by Alside. It is typically about 20% less expensive than James Hardie fiber cement, and the typical whole-home siding project will fall somewhere around $25K-$35K, depending on the size of your home. One of the reasons for the higher cost of Ascend is its foam backing, which adds some insulation value and can help lower your home energy bills.

Ascend siding is made of a compound that includes glass fibers, adding stability and providing additional strength and heat resistance. It’s also designed to resist damage from dents and dings and holds up to everyday wear and tear better than thinner vinyl sidings. The pigments used for coloring the product provide a strong fade resistance, and since the materials don’t absorb moisture, it prevents rotting, warping and shrinking.

There are 20 colors available, and all of them are the same cost, so you don’t have to pay additionally for special order colors or darker colors like some manufacturers of siding. Typically, we can get the materials to the job site within six weeks or sooner if you need help with your next siding installation.

One of the big reasons we are starting to quote more of Alside’s Ascend product is how it looks when installed. It has a seven-inch exposure, and a realistic wood grain finish to look very natural “on the wall.” It boasts easy installation, and its self-aligning stack lock system makes the project go very quickly!

Another significant benefit is the low maintenance. No sealing, caulking, touch-ups, or joint flashing is required, meaning fewer items for the homeowner to maintain down the road.

A lifetime limited warranty also backs ascend products that cover the product from manufacturer defects for the entire time the original purchaser owns the home. The warranty is transferrable to the next homeowner and becomes a 50-year prorated warranty. The warranty also covers against damage from hail measuring less than one inch in diameter.

Overall, Alside’s Ascend product is an excellent option for many homeowners and is a more budget-friendly product than James Hardie® or LP SmartSide® products. Once installed, the product looks similar to these two types of siding from the street and comes in enough colors to satisfy most customers. It’s backed by a solid warranty which helps provide peace of mind that should there be an issue—the manufacturer will cover it.

Alside Ascend Composite Cladding Brochure


Alside Ascend Color Choices

Ascend Colors


Ascend Siding Features

Alside Ascend Features


See how Alside’s Ascend Siding Compares to Other Siding Types

Ascend Comparison