The truth about replacement siding… well, is that it’s bad.
Underneath the shell that’s been placed on a house, is rushed work that didn’t take the long term interest of the home into account. Character defining details have been covered or literally just knocked off with a hammer so that cladding could be installed. Not only this, the way in which replacement siding is installed on an old home actually pushes water behind the siding near the roofline trim, diverts water into areas that can produce rot around windows and doors, and covers up problems on a house.
At Old Home Rescue, we don’t cover up problems. We UNCOVER them because, to us, they’re not problems. They’re just part of the work on the path to Rescuing your home.
Like many of our blog posts, here’s an insight into how our teams remove vinyl or aluminum cladding and our expectations for them.
After demo, it’s time for siding and trim repairs and painting the siding. Check out the videos below for what your home could look like underneath!
Procedure:
Place drop cloths or plastic underneath the working area. As the siding comes off so will the paint chips that have collected over the decades.
Remove the cladding using the gentlest means necessary. This can mean taking the time to work from top to bottom and remove screws or nails. Most often, we are restoring the original siding so it is imperative not to cause additional damage.
Siding should be hauled off to recycling, when available, or disposed of in the on-site dumpster or at Old Home Rescue’s office.
Pull all nails, screws and fasteners and dispose them.
Clean the entire project and leave it better than was found by picking up all paint chips, disposing of all debris, and using a magnet pick up all fasteners from the ground.
Communicate rot and areas of concern to Old Home Rescue’s Project Manager
Cover rot, areas of concern, or exposed sheathing with house wrap and button tab nails
Expectations
Removal of siding in a way that does not cause further damage
Removal of nails or screws left in original siding or sheathing
Clean-up of all debris
House wrap of any concern areas or exposed areas
Run work area with magnet to pick up nails