We are constructing a new home in the Pacific NW. Looking for the holy trinity - an inexpensive, attractive and durable exterior cladding. Ludowici is now offering clay tile wall cladding at a listed installed price $18-31 with a 75 year warranty. What are the pros/cons from an installation experience?

$18-31 installed price for how much? That is surely not per square foot is it?

According to the Ludowici website that is the listed price per square foot which if correct is cheaper than EIFS

anything with the name 'Ludowici' on it will not be cheap.......!

I can't believe wall cladding, any wall cladding, costs that much. I'm building an ICF home and the cost per sq ft of wall for materials is going to be ~$6.00/sq ft. That's 5" of EPS foam, 8" thick concrete, GR 60 rebar @ 16" x 16" oc, and all necessary accessories. The only thing that doesn't include is my labor. If I was paying someone to install it, it would be another $5-$6/sq ft.

How much is real brick veneer $/sq ft cost for most folks? Around here, I can get brick installed for ~$4.00/sq ft which includes all materials and labor. And it is attractive, durable, and virtually maintenance free.

We looked into brick but were told that good quality masonry labor is extremely expensive in the Seattle area. Trying to avoid using too much concrete as we want to negate the mold issue that is pervasive in this area of the country. We plan to use steel SIPs with some type of rainscreen system. A big issue with me is that the system must be relatively maintenance free - so wood siding is pretty much out. I have heard hardiboard can have issues in areas that have a lot of constant moisture. Novabrik is interesting but can't find a price per sqft or anyone who carries it in the WA area.

I am building with steel SIPS, too, and I am still in search of an affordable wall cladding. I will probably go with stucco. But in my research I found a few interesting options that can be used as wall cladding:

Tamko makes faux shake and slate shingles called Lamarite.

W.F. Norman makes stamped metal shingles.

I'm in the same boat. There are lots of choices if you are willing to pay that much for cladding.

Have you looked at paperstone or ecoclad? Both are made in Washington.

Trespa Meteon? This is expensive here (BC) because of the proprietary mounting system but you may be able to buy just the panels.

Superpanel? $240 CDN per sheet.

Swiss Pearl or some other brand of premium fiber cement with color throughout?

I am back to the drawing board because my original plan for Hardi with Fry Reglet and labour came in at $15 psf which is too high for something that needs to be periodically painted.