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.