Siding

Siding Job Checklist

• Strip Siding: very important, especially if you have cedar shake siding, to remove nails. Driving nails into house will give thousands of additional possibilities to hit unseen pipe or wire inside walls of your home.
• Wrap House: This covers your wood and provides an additional barrier against water and drafts.
• Insulate House: Foam insulation varies from ½ inch up to 2 inch.  You should get the insulation that best fits your budget, but the more you spend now on insulation will pay you back very quickly in energy savings.
• Window/Door Trim: Basic is j-channel around windows. Newer vinyl windows typically have built-in channel to receive the siding. For a nicer look, consider Azek PVC Trim or ask us about custom Colonial Aluminum trim that we design onsite.
• Fascia can be wood trimmed out with aluminum coil, or can be Azek PVC Trim Boards.
• Soffit is almost always ventilated, except in cases of cantilevers or other areas where the soffit is under a living space. Center vented Triple 4 soffit is standard.  For a nicer look, consider vinyl Beaded Vented Soffit.

WE CAN MAKE GUTTERS WHITE, BLACK, OR MANY OTHER COLORS TO COORDINATE WITH YOUR SIDING

COMMON SIDING INSTALL ERRORS

• Not properly sealing around windows.  Ask us about our unique aluminum trim custom made to fit your windows and doors.
• Not properly venting soffits. Extremely important for longevity of your home and indoor air quality.
• Nailing vinyl siding too tight causes buckling of siding.
• Failing to nail on studs. Surprisingly, many houses were built decades ago that do not have plywood or wood sheathing.  Rather, these homes have sheetrock exterior sheathing.  We recommend you upgrade to wood, but if you choose not to. The solution is to make certain siding is nailed into studs.  Not into exterior sheetrock.  Have you ever seen a home with siding falling off for no apparent reason?  Most likely cause is that home has exterior sheetrock, not wood sheathing, and siding contractor did not take care to nail into wood studs of home.
• Fascia does not come out as far as corner posts and siding, leaving areas where water can penetrate.
• Aluminum trim on fascia must be capped OVER the top edge of siding. If this is not done, it leaves joint where water penetrates top of wall. You will know it is not done because you will see a J-channel at top of the wall, below fascia, instead of aluminum trim of fascia.   Many siding contractors make this very serious mistake, and it ALWAYS causes leaks behind siding.  You may not be aware of this, unless it is on second floor, then you may see the leak in first floor below this wall.  It also shows up in windows below the improperly installed fascia.