What are Eavestroughs, Fascia, Soffit and Siding?

 

When I was in University, back in the day, I had an excellent professor who would say, "The only dumb question is the one you don't ask."

This blog will be short and sweet, but every year I do 750 to 1000 estimates for people who want eavestrough, fascia, soffit and siding on their homes. However, believe it or not, there are some who do not know all the components that make up this part of the house or they usually are confused over which part is the soffit and which part is the fascia. I have had people who think the soffit is the siding or the fascia is called siding.

So when I give a quote, I try to be as simple as I possibly can. It's like Eavestroughs 101. So here is a picture I had done up. When I got into this business 16 years ago, the only name for eavestroughs was "eavestroughs". But etymology is a wonderful thing and many in Canada now call Eavestroughs "Gutters" like our neighbours to the south in the USA.

A picture is worth a thousand words. So, in an attempt to clarify all the components, here is a picture.

To some, this blog article may be like me repeating the ABC's but to others, it is a genuine question they need clarified. This might be simple, but the work is not and my company does a superb job with all of it.

If you would like a quote for eavestroughs, fascia, soffit, siding or gutter protection please contact us at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or call us at 905-966-2564.

Installing Vinyl Siding

Vinyl siding is a great way to give your house a beautiful makeover and enhance the curb appeal of your home. It negates the need for frequent painting, protects your home from severe weather conditions, and increases its overall value. There are nearly a hundred colours you can choose from and you can mix colours and styles like the picture above on a house we did with dark colour siding, white trim and perfection cedar shake siding in the gable peaks. 

My installation crew who does siding is second to none. I have been so happy and proud of these gentlemen over the years because they strive to give the customer a perfect job every time.

However, in my years of owning The Eavestrough Company, I have seen plenty of bad jobs and many do it your self jobs. I really think customers should leave it up to experts like us because there are so many mistakes you can make. If you want your vinyl siding installation to last for years and look beautiful, here are some tips:

1. START OFF SQUARE (STRAIGHT). If you do not start of square around the entire house, it will look awful by the time you are half way up the house because the lines of the siding will be off around the entire house and when you get up and over your doors and windows it will be an aesthetic and installation nightmare! I did not have a better picture than the one below but you can see in the picture the siding in the corner is about 1/2" out from one side to the next. Also, a huge rookie mistake was made by installing the siding too tightly. See point 3.

2. USE A GOOD UNDERLAYMENT LIKE TYVEK HOUSE WRAP. I have seen some rookie companies and do it yourselfers put siding right on top of the wood. This is a colossal mistake! Moisture will get behind the siding via rain or humidity. It even gets behind solid exteriors like brick and stone. Here is a house where they put siding right on top of MDF plywood:

Again. This is a BIG mistake and I will show you why. Last week we did a siding job where the siding was probably around 25 years old. No Tyvek House wrap or tar paper was used and every single sheet of plywood on the house had to be replaced because it was rotten and mouldy! Look at the pictures:

If this person had installed  Tyvek House Wrap 25 years ago, the plywood would have looked brand new. As it was, it literally was disintegrating everywhere.

3. DO NOT INSTALL THE SIDING TOO TIGHTLY. Most people (and some companies) are unaware that vinyl siding must be allowed to move. It needs room to expand when it is hot and contract when it is cold. When installing vinyl siding, there are nail slots at the top. The nail must go in the middle of these slots and YOU MUST NOT nail the siding tightly. If you do the siding will contract and expand in the middle of the siding and it will look like hundreds of bubble marks on your house. 

Look at this house below. It was one of the worst I have ever seen. Bubbles, bubbles everywhere. 

4. DO NOT INSTALL THE SIDING TOO CLOSE TO THE GROUND. Building code states your siding should be at least 6" off the ground! If you do not do this you are inviting moisture and insects behind your siding.

5. INSTALL ALL NAILS 12" APART. If you do not, a strong wind can't rip the siding off of your house. We encounter jobs like this EVERY year!

 6. MAKE SURE THE SHEATHING UNDERNEATH IS STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPOR THE SIDING!  Again, think of the picture above. You can use all the nails in the world but if the sheathing is bad your nails and siding will not stay in place! We encounter jobs every year where the original builder used a sheathing similar to compressed card board or even drywall (yes, DRYWALL!) but had the original installers nail the siding into the studs of the house. Siding needs to be anchored to wood not cardboard or drywall!

7. USE ALUMINUM FLASHING AT THE BOTTOM. This will prevent bugs and moisture from wicking up behind the siding. Every single siding job we do we install aluminum flashing around the entire bottom perimeter. This seals off any opportunity for moisture and bugs to get in behind the siding.

Is vinyl siding difficult to install properly?

The answer is, Yes! This is not a job for the inexperienced do-it-yourselfer. The fact is vinyl siding installation is much more difficult  than you realize. 

Unfortunately, vinyl siding can easily be put on wrongly by home owners and installers who have not been properly trained. This can lead to all sorts of problems that can compromise your home. Since siding is so essential to protecting your property from moisture and weather damage, investing in a professional siding contractor with a strong track record of satisfied customers is well worth it.

My company The Eavestrough Company knows how to install vinyl siding perfectly, every time. If you would like a quote, please contact us at https://theeavestroughcompany.com or call us at 905-966-2564.

Sealing Soffit and Fascia Gaps with Caulking

 

We have been in the eavestrough, fascia, soffit and siding business a long time. One of the things we are seeing more and more of now is animal control companies caulking between the soffit and brick or stone of the house. This is something we rarely, if ever saw, 10 years ago but now it is rampant. 

Customers tell us they had a problem with rodents, mice, bats, insects or racoons, and called an animal control company in to come and deal with the problem. Now believe me, I know these creatures are a nuisance once they enter your home. I have been a homeowner for nearly 40 years. I have had bats, mice, rats, squirrels and insects enter our home and my wife and I make it priority number one to move them out immediately. We then try to find their point of entry to stop them from entering again. So I get it.

Bats, mice and insects need very very little space to enter. But does a homeowner need to caulk the entire perimeter of the soffit to keep them out and if, so, what should you be doing because there is a right way to do it and what I call a "not so right way".

I'm not convinced a homeowner needs the entire perimeter of the house caulked, but if you feel more comfortable having it done, then it certainly isn't a bad thing to do especially if it gives you a greater piece of mind not having creatures enter your home.

If the gap is very large, like the one below then I would say absolutely seal it. 

The reason I write this article is not so much in regards to whether or not you should do it. The concern I have is over how it is done and the types of caulking you should be using. I am writing this from an eavestrough, fascia and soffit installer stand point rather than an animal control company. 

In my professional opinion, there are two things you need to do in order for this job to be done right.

1. Install a wire mesh before the caulking! Please see the picture below to see what I am talking about.

The wire mesh will prevent any small animals or insects from entering.

2. USE THE RIGHT KIND OF CAULIKING!!!!!!!!!

Yes there is a right kind and a wrong kind. I have read numerous articles on this written by wildlife control companies and they ALL say to use silicone caulking. If you are convinced you need this service done, I want to be very clear on this! PLEASE DO NOT USE SILICONE CAULKING!!! I can't say that emphatically enough!

Now why would all these wildlife control companies tell you to use silicone caulking and I am telling you otherwise? This is because silicone caulking changes composition once it goes below 0 degrees celcius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) It still adheres great but once it changes composition, you can not get it off easily. We have jobs every year where we encounter soffits that are caulked around the entire perimeter. The caulking literally has to be taken off with a chisel and a hammer and yes, we charge a great deal for the removal of silicone caulking. Removal is a nightmare because all you can get off is an inch or so at time. Now try this around a house 300 ft perimeter. We once did a condo building and we had to remove 1500 ft of silicone caulking this way. It took one person on the installation crew 2 1/2 days to remove the caulking on this condo.

So what kind of caulking should these wildlife control companies be using when they caulk the soffits around your house? In our experience, any thermoplastic caulking like Koperlastic, Geocel, or Mulco works great. It adheres every bit as good as silicone but does not change composition. The beauty of this caulking is that all you need to do is pry a small amount of the old caulking up and you can begin to pull it off the house in large strips.

I hope some wildlife control companies read this because using caulking like thermoplastics is so much better for their customers than using silicone caulking. I would also welcome comments from any companies or persons who work for wildlife companies on this topic.

We aren't wildlife control experts but we do great work installing eavestrough, fascia, soffit and siding if you would like a quote please contact us at www.theeavestroughcompany.com or call us at 905-902-9424. We also welcome your comments.