Siding repair

PirateKatz · 04-24-2009, 10:58 AM

Hello,

I live in a 100 year old brick house but with an addition that was built in the 1970's. The addition is one story and is roughly 10 ft long by 20 ft wide, with 3 exterior walls. It currently has wood clapboard siding. The siding is generally in good shape but it's suffering from serious dry rot on the windward side (about 10ft wide by 10 ft tall or about 12 boards). The lower edges are either crumbling or soft to the touch on the lower 5 boards.

We've gotten several estimates for vinyl siding. We like the idea of the low maintenance of vinyl but it was more expensive than we anticipated and we don't like the idea of being locked into a color indefinitely.

We're having a contractor come out next week for an estimate and we're not entirely sure what to expect. We have a few questions and were hoping to get some advice before he comes:

- Are there any composite materials that could replace the wood on the one side that are more durable but not look noticeably different?

- How big of an undertaking is something like this; one day, a week?

- We'd prefer to handle painting ourselves. Do contractors generally want to do all of this themselves or is it typically case-by-case?

- Is there anything specifically I should ask or look for (outside of references, license, insurance)?

Thanks!

**Gary in WA** · 04-24-2009, 11:12 PM

Pictures would be nice. Be safe, G

Ron6519 · 04-25-2009, 07:02 AM

They have cement siding that would be paintable without the rot issue. Hardi is one company that makes it.
I would look at some of these guys previous jobs to see if what they've done is acceptable to you.
Ron

KOHNSTRUCTION · 04-29-2009, 09:42 PM

hey you got to check out hardyplank great stuff...i know you said painting it yourself, but if you get a factory applied paint i believe is like a 20 yr warranty on it.
if after a few years you don't like it paint it a different color.
by the way it should take about 3 days to install
use a roofing gun to nail it on above the level of the next row

bjbatlanta · 05-01-2009, 04:13 PM

I'd go with Hardi Plank. You can handle your own painting. Just tell the contractor that. Three days is about right depending on how many guys are there and if they run into any problems during demo. Definitely get references and a certificate of insurance....

Tom Struble · 05-01-2009, 06:48 PM

just replace the boards that are bad then repaint the wall there really is no need to reside with some man made siding

Knucklez · 05-01-2009, 11:48 PM

call me a traditionalist.. but i like the wood siding, especially on historic homes. if you put vynle siding on a 100 year old home you deserve a kick to the nards

i am in favour of replacing the boards that are damaged. however, when it comes to painting WOOD siding, let the manufacturer do this! they guarantee the wood against rot for 50 years and guarantee the paint for 15 years (plus another 15 if you paint it again).

this is worth the cost to me.

maibec and cape cod are local suppliers of wood siding.

this is a job that you and a buddy can do over a couple of weekends (just replacing some boards, not the entire siding job which you can also do but takes much longer).

Knucklez

Tom Struble · 05-02-2009, 11:32 AM

that guarantee requires a rain screen detail witch is really the proper way to install most sidings
that would most likely require a total reside on this house

I would pull the bad pcs[not difficult] and see if any areas on the sheathing is bad
if you find its bad i would replace the affected sheathing and reside the entire section with western red cedar properly primed and with 1 finish coat of the highest quality paint i could afford,priming all cuts then paint the second coat

if the sheathing is good i would just replace the bad boards making sure that any wrb is properly installed and use the same finish details as above

LookoutRanch · 05-02-2009, 01:20 PM

I'm with those who would discourage you from putting vinyl on it. I've never seen a vinyl house that didn't look like crap after a few years when the carapace gets brittle and starts cracking. Vinyl is just wrong.

Tom Struble · 05-02-2009, 05:42 PM

what did he say??

PirateKatz · 05-11-2009, 08:51 AM

Thank you for all of the advice!

I'm still waiting on getting a contractor out for an estimate. We should have somebody out later this week but I'm not holding my breath.

I've attached a few photos to give an idea of the level of rot. The west wall is the one with most of the issues as storms always travel west to east and it gets hit by all of it. The south wall doesn't have any apparent problems because it's protected by an awning. The east wall has an issue on the lowest board at the corner.

All things being equal, I'd rather not go with vinyl but a lot of that depends on much it will cost to repair the damaged sections vs. the cost to cover the whole addition with vinyl.

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 05-11-2009, 09:13 AM

My suggestion would be for total removal and installation of either vinyl or pre-painted hardieplank (fiber-cement) siding.

Something like that should only take 2 -3 days for removal to completion.

4gy6 · 07-15-2009, 03:16 PM

Hello,

I have a 10 year old house that has wood siding. The style of the house is Victorian and the builder used old techniques to apply TNG. The siding has 45* and 22.5* ends and they butt up tightly against each other at the corners. The builder did not cover those butted edges by running verticle a board that covers those joints. Now the joints are separating thru normal expansion and contraction. Can anyone tell me how to repair those joints. I could fill them with caulk and repaint, but it'll happen again. Moisture has gotten to them yet so it just seems like it may be a scraping and painting project. Any idea? Thanks

II Weeks · 07-15-2009, 08:26 PM

hardi board would work like they said but I hate that crap. PIA to cut. Use some 1X4 tough board on the outside corner. it will make your life easier

they still sell 1X8 pine beveled siding. just prime both sides. way cheaper and the bottom picture shows a good way to do outside corners.

Thurman · 07-15-2009, 08:40 PM

PirateKatz, you didn't give your location, so it's hard for me to imagine your year-round weather pattern. BUT-that stuff looks like the old composite material to me, made of finely ground up sawdust, mixed with glue, formed into sheet sizes, and then baked to set the glue. Bad stuff all around as they found out. I've replaced a lot of that here in S. Ga. Hardie Board siding is very popular around here to replace that with. It comes with either smooth siding or a wood textured siding, installs easily enough for a novice DIY to do, a buddy is helpful. This material can be painted as you wish, I always prefer to prime first, before beginning installation, although the manufacturer states it is "pre-primed". I do not recommend those butted corners as they tend to allow some water in them no matter what. I prefer to install corner boards, one board ripped to make the width's match when butted, and caulk each siding board where it butts into the corner board when installed so the caulk oozes out some. Maybe a little overkill, but weatherproof as you can get it. As others have stated, I also would not recommend vinyl siding on this house, this material is used around here and in our hot summers you can see how a lot of it buckles from the heat. Good Luck, David P.S.- -I forgot, Hardie Board siding is not that hard to cut if you get the proper blade, although it will be dusty and I do recommend using a dust mask.