[loyal]

I'll probably get some flack for this, but can I put vinyl
siding right over my wood siding? My wife and I are just getting too old
to paint the house. And I don't see what use there would be in tearing off
perfectly good wood siding just to nail up vinyl. Would some kind of lathe
need to be installed first? Or Tyvek? Or foam maybe? Does anyone have a better idea? We're looking for something with no or low maintenance.

 

[Ron6519]

Might help to tell us what wood siding you have. Clapboards, board and batten, T=111?
Issues with going over the top would be the surrounds on the doors and windows.
Ron

 

[loyal]

Thanks for reply Ron.

Wood is cedar. I think it's called clap board.
It just overlaps. No tongue and groove etc...
I see what you are saying about the windows and doors.
Around most of the windows and doors is a flat 1X3 or 1X4
cedar board trim painted white. Looks like the wood trim
was put in place before the siding and the siding was then fitted
up to the trim. So the trim only sticks out about 1/4 inch
from the siding.

Also, the clap boards appear to be 7 inches wide and they are overlapped
by about an inch and nailed at the overlap.

 

[jaros bros.]

You're still going to have some maintenance with the vinyl. Covering everything up, like one of the previous posts, is going to create issues around openings such as doors and windows. The right way would be to strip the siding or scrape and put some decent paint on it. Vinyl siding over wood looks tacky as well, like putting lipstick on a pig. Don't know how big your place is but it might help to get some quotes on siding and then painting and see what both run in your area. If I had to choose I would definitely pick painting over vinyl.

 

[dknarnd]

I had the cedar on the front and asbestos on the rest of the house and had it all removed before adding the vinyl; after old removal my house was wrapped and insulated. I had previously installed new windows and doors and wanted the vinyl to match up with the frames; other homes in my area they just added vinyl over the siding (insulation board first) then had to build out the window frames and wrap with aluminum. The job looks much better with the old removed.

 

[Tom Struble]

I agree with Josh,after being in the siding business over the years installing alot of vinyl you come to appreciate the natural materials more,
while more expensive initially ,stand the test of time and usually come out being less expensive over its lifetime.
That being said i understand your maintenance problems and your desire for an updated look.You could remove the existing siding and add a foam underlayment and a wrb,or foam over the existing siding like 99% of the vinyl sided houses in your neighborhood are probably done.
The keys are a good product an excellent installer and an adequate budget

 

[Mop in Hand]

Or, as I told my last customer, it's maintenance free for him if your not the one painting it. He agreed. By the time you pay someone to install it, you could have someone else paint it 3 or 4 more times.