Is it Time for Siding Replacement? How to Tell
From siding to roofing to windows, each of the components of your home’s exterior is individually important for a number of reasons. But together, they create an invisible protective thermal envelope that helps to regulate the temperature inside your home during extreme and moderate weather alike.
To keep your siding in good shape over the years, it’s important to keep up with regular maintenance and repairs, especially when storm damage occurs. Eventually, however, there comes a time when continuing to repair your siding year after year becomes more costly than siding replacement.
At Powers Premier in Minnesota, our exterior remodeling contractors work with homeowners to help them make informed decisions about siding replacement. Keep reading to get our best advice that helps you decide if your siding should be repaired or replaced.
The Importance of Siding Performance
When you move into a home, there’s a good chance you won’t have much information about its exterior remodeling components, particularly how long ago they were installed. This is especially true if it’s been many years or even decades since it was replaced, and it may even be possible that the previous homeowners don’t have that information.
This might seem like it could make deciding if your siding needs to be replaced a bit of a challenge. However, there are some simple guidelines you can follow to make a determination without knowing the age of your siding. The trick is to assess the condition of your siding and determine if the structure is essentially intact or compromised.
The Role of Siding
To determine the condition of your siding, it’s important to understand its form and function.
Beyond its structural function, siding creates an attractive exterior for a home, which is why siding is so highly customizable. It also serves to insulate your home by creating a seal against wind and moisture infiltration.
This is crucial to the safety and structural integrity of your home. When moisture is allowed to seep into your home, it can cause the structure the siding protects to become warped or rot. Worse, mold can begin to proliferate, damaging your home’s interior and causing health problems for its inhabitants.
These are the most common signs your siding is beyond repair:
- Outsized Energy Bills
One of the most obvious signs that your siding is not serving its purpose is also one of the most often overlooked. That’s because homeowners don’t automatically associate high heating and cooling costs with their siding. Typically, high energy costs also accompany a drafty or uncomfortable temperature inside a home.
In fact, escalating monthly energy bills are frequently an indicator that your siding, roof, or windows are in poor condition or simply not up to the job. Today’s siding is more insulated than siding of decades past and can help to reduce your energy costs, which is also better for the environment. You’ll also notice more comfortable temperatures even during extreme weather.
- Signs of Impact Damage
Even if your siding is fairly durable, hail and high winds can often create minor damage that becomes more serious over time if overlooked. Take a walk around your home and look for signs of damage due to impacts.
It may be difficult to notice, but if you identify denting that indicates hail damage, it’s a sure sign there may be additional underlying problems with your siding. Cracked or chipped siding boards are also hallmarks of impact damage.
- Warped and Bulging Panels
As some types of siding material age, they can begin to warp or bulge. This typically occurs when siding has been exposed to moisture or high heat. It’s important to have this type of siding damage inspected by a professional as it may indicate that water has gotten into your home underneath the siding panels.
Once mold and mildew begin to grow, they can be difficult to stop. If you suspect this is the case, it’s best to consider total siding replacement and prevent any potential health hazards.
- High Maintenance Costs
If you’ve had to replace panels several times over the past few years, consider installing new siding. With new siding, you’ll have the added benefit of a warranty and the confidence of knowing your siding still has many years ahead before it needs significant maintenance.
Even if your older siding seems to be working well, you may find yourself annoyed by the task of having to repaint chipped and flaking siding panels year after year. New siding gives you a fresh start so you don’t have to keep pouring money into paint, which can add up over time.
- Faded Siding Color or Peeling Paint
When siding is exposed to solar radiation day after day, year after year, the UV radiation can create a type of bleaching due to the oxidation process. This can leave your once-beautiful siding looking faded or discolored. And over time, paint can peel, flake, and chip. When you update your siding with high-performance vinyl siding, you won’t have to worry about fading or discoloration. Your siding will continue to look great for years to come.
- Water Staining
Over time, most siding will eventually end up looking a little dirty, especially if you’ve had an issue with your gutter system. But cleaning your siding periodically doesn’t do much to improve the discoloration or streaking on your siding, it might be time to think about investing in new replacement siding for your home.
- Market Listing
If you’re thinking of moving sometime soon, replacing your siding is one of the most significant ways to add curb appeal and increase your home’s market value. Outdated siding can slow down a home sale, and an outdated or unattractive color can make a home stand out for all the wrong reasons. Replacing your siding with quality vinyl siding is also a great way to get lasting color that won’t fade, flake, or chip over time.
Siding Repair Versus Siding Replacement
Although siding replacement is the best way to update your exterior and add to your home’s value. But if you’re not ready to invest in siding replacement services, we also provide a full range of siding repair services for fiber cement siding, vinyl siding, and steel siding. If your siding has any of these issues, ask our siding repair contractors if repair services are your best bet:
- Minor Mold Issues
As professional home repair contractors, we never want to downplay the potential for safety hazards and structural damage that mold represents. Once mold gets into your home and walls, it can spread its spores invisibly, creating a serious health risk to your home’s occupants. However, occasionally we encounter a small spot of mold located only on the exterior of a home that hasn’t yet spread to the inside of your home. In these cases, siding repair services may be an option.
- A Single Cracked Board
If your siding has impact damage from an errant baseball or a summer storm but otherwise looks all right, simply replacing that board may be on the table. However, broken or damaged siding can lead to water getting into your home’s structure, where it can cause significant damage over time.
- Dented Siding
Not all impacts end up cracking your siding. If your siding becomes dented from an impact, a simple minor repair should be all it takes to get your siding looking great again.
Siding Options
At Powers Premier Contracting, we offer a complete range of siding solutions to match every budget and architectural design. To find out which siding material is right for your home, share your siding goals with your siding contractor and ask which of these materials they recommend:
Fiber cement siding is manufactured using a composite of cellulose, wood, and cement. The end product has the look of real wood without the problems that come with natural wood products.Highly resistant to impacts, pests, and moisture, fiber cement can last for several decades with regular maintenance.
VInyl siding is hands-down the most affordable siding option for great-looking siding that doesn’t require a good deal of maintenance. Vinyl siding is also a great alternative to wood siding since the vivid siding colors won’t fade, peel, or chip as the years go by.
For the most durable, ecologically-friendly siding material your investment can buy, steel siding is your best option. Metal is also completely immune to pests, mold, and fungus and available in a wide range of options.
Call Our Minnetonka-Based Home Exterior Contractors Today
If your siding is chipping, cracked, or just outdated, our home exterior contractors at Powers Premier Contracting in Minnetonka are here to help. We offer a wide range of siding solutions including vinyl siding, fiber cement siding, steel siding, and composite. We can help you choose the right siding for your budget and the style of your home. We also offer siding repair if your siding just needs a little help.
To get started on your new siding installation project, learn about our options, and request a quote, call and speak to a member of our team at 612-710-7283. You can also connect with us online and learn more about how we can help create a beautiful new siding look for your home.