Vinyl Siding Replacement versus Repair

Your home’s vinyl siding is the finishing touch of its external appearance. The color and style of siding create an image for your home that will last for decades. Your siding also provides a big part of your home’s insulation during the highs of summer and lows of winter. And of course, the main purpose of siding is to keep rain from damaging the home. Vinyl siding typically performs these jobs very effectively for many years.

Somewhere along the way, though, there may come a point where your siding suffers some damage. There can be many different causes of damage to vinyl siding. These include hailstones, careless mowing and trimming, repair work on other parts of the home, and the extremes of North Carolina weather.

Whatever the cause, you’ve got damaged siding. As a siding contractor, we work with customers in this situation every day. There are some situations when repair is a possibility and others when replacement is best. These five points explain when vinyl siding replacement will give you better results than vinyl siding repair.

Repair of siding is fairly easy when you’re dealing with a small area. For example, if you’ve removed a wall-mounted reel for a garden hose, the screw holes it leaves behind are fairly easy to patch with the appropriate materials. 

On the other hand, a larger hole, such as one big enough for an electrical wire to pass through, is unlikely to be patched effectively. The same would be true of long areas of damage, even if they aren’t very wide. Many homes end up with this type of damage from lawn edgers or string trimmers, and the only reasonable solution is for us to replace the damaged section.

Vinyl typically holds its color very well. In time, it will always fade. That is especially true on the sunny side of the house. North Carolina has a particular issue with weathering because of our coastal location; most weather blows in from the mountains, but tropical systems can arrive from the east as well. Throw in some sun and a few harsh winters and you have all the ingredients for some serious fading

Fading can make patching very difficult. It is hard to match the color effectively because the material comes from the factory matching the color of the siding as of ten or 15 years ago. Having a siding contractor replace a larger section of siding is the only way to get a good match.

Over time, vinyl begins to degrade. In addition to losing its color, it also begins to lose its finish as the outer part of the material becomes rough and starts to come apart. Older siding, even of the best quality, will eventually reach this stage.

Repairing siding may require the use of adhesives or caulk. These materials can only bind successfully to materials that are in good condition. Siding that has aged and is beginning to flake or peel will not accept these materials effectively, and the repairs will soon fall off and reveal the damage. Better results are much more likely from vinyl siding replacement than repair when the siding is old.

Beautiful siding should have a consistent color and condition. A few small screw holes in a remote area is one thing. Those are easy to repair and will blend right in. When the problem is more widespread, the outcome is much different. Even though any one hole is not all that big, the presence of a lot of holes is grounds for talking about replacement.

Hail damage is a perfect example. The stones themselves might not have been all that big, but you may have had hundreds of them hit your home. Instead of trying to patch dozens of small holes, you will be better off to have us replace larger areas of your vinyl siding so that you can have a more consistent finish. You’ll save a lot on labor costs, too.

It is always a good idea to keep costs in mind, no matter what type of home project you are doing. Most of the damage we deal with is the result of simple things like the mower damage and old screw holes we discussed earlier. In other situations, the problem is a result of something that could be covered by your insurance, or maybe even by someone else’s.

Once again, hail is an easy example. Your homeowner’s policy will likely cover hail damage once you pay your deductible, but the coverage may only be good for vinyl siding replacement and not vinyl siding repair. Long before the first rumble of thunder, you should know what your policy says about repair and replacement so that you are prepared to take action when the sun comes out. If your siding is damaged by someone else, such as a neighbor or a mowing contractor, get a copy of their policy to make sure you know where you stand.

Keeping your siding in good condition is vital to your home’s beauty, energy efficiency, and structural soundness. Making the right decision about how to deal with damage is important to making sure your siding continues to do those jobs effectively.

When your siding has experienced damage, contact us at Crossover Roofing. We’ll review the damage and help you decide which solution is best for you–vinyl siding replacement or repair.