Styles Similar to Dutchlap Vinyl Siding

• Vinyl lap siding can be purchased in smooth or textured finishes. house siding 3 image by Psycience from Fotolia.com

  Dutchlap vinyl siding mimics the look of wood lap siding. Lap siding is a category of siding profiles that give the appearance of each horizontal plank overlapping the one beneath it. Lapping wood siding can be achieved in a number of ways that vinyl siding manufacturers have copied. Although manufacturers name siding products differently, the profile names dutchlap, clapboard, beaded lap and narrow plank should be familiar to anyone specifying, selling or installing vinyl siding.

Clapboard

• The clapboard profile is similar to the dutchlap profile except the beveled edge is flat creating what is referred to as a "traditional" or "smooth" lap siding profile. Without a beveled top edge, the clapboard profile has a stacked and angled appearance with no horizontal break between each board---one row appears to be slipped under the previous row to create the angled appearance. The clapboard profile provides a slight rounded edge across the bottom of each plank. In comparison, the dutchlap profile appears to have channels running horizontally between each board due to each plank's beveled top and bottom.

Beaded Lap

• Beaded vinyl siding does not include a bevel but instead adds a beaded lip between each horizontal board. The rows of planks are flat which visually distinguishes the beaded row even more giving the resulting profile a very detailed appearance. In comparison, the beaded lap provides a mirror image to the dutchlap profile, where the beaded lap has a raised horizontal between planks the dutchlap appears to have deep channels between planks.

Narrow Plank

• Narrow plank vinyl siding provides a narrow height plank and a sharper profile than a dutchlap but still falls into the same category of lap vinyl siding profiles as dutchlap. The narrow plank is a series of horizontal planks place one on top of the next providing a stacked appearance mush like that of the clapboard, However, the narrow plank has a sharp 90 degree edge at the bottom of each plank. This provides a shadow under each horizontal plank giving the profile a very strong linear quality much like the channeling of the dutchlap.