Replacing your home siding may be one of the most beneficial moves to make when you’re trying to increase the value of your home. Home siding is the first thing people notice when they’re shopping for a house. Broken, faded, or warped house siding is a clear indication that a home has been neglected, and most people won’t even get past the outward appearance of your home siding to view the interior. Your property will be devalued because of defective house siding, making it difficult to even rent, much less sell. Even if you have expensive wood siding on your home, if it is installed incorrectly or is defective, it will warn buyers that there may be structural damage to your home. High quality, good looking home siding, installed by professional siding contractors is the first step to improving the appearance and resale value of your home.

Home improvement can be a difficult and completed process. If you would like to get information on installing home siding, then we can help. After filling out our form, you will receive information from high quality siding contractors in your area, who will provide you with the information that you will need in order to decide if home siding is right for you.

Choose a Siding Contractor

When you choose siding contractors, they will quote siding prices to you including removal, disposal, and installation of your old siding. If your siding cost seems a little high, this may be the reason. Check the quote for the siding prices, and make sure the siding cost includes removal and disposal of your old home siding. If the siding contractor offers siding prices significantly lower than other siding quotes, it could be that he left out the cost of removal and disposal of old house siding, and plans to bill you for it later.

You should always get home siding prices from different siding contractors for the sake of comparison shopping. Most siding contractors offer free estimates. If one of the siding contractors offers a lower siding cost, saying that your old home siding doesn’t need removal, that he can install siding for house right over the old house siding, then you may want to make further inquiries. It may be best not to choose him from the choice of siding contractors, if you feel that he may be already cutting corners when installing your aluminum siding, wood siding, or Hardy Plank Siding.

Preparation for Installing Home Siding

Whether your siding contractor is installing aluminum siding, wood siding, or hardy plank siding, he will have to hire a construction dumpster. In many states, it is against the law to dispose of construction debris in your dumpster or sidewalk trashcans. The quotes your siding contractors offered should have included rental of the construction dumpster and removal of old siding. The siding contractor should have his own permits for hauling and dumping home siding debris, which may have been included in his original estimate. If not, ask your siding contractor if a permit for dumping will be an additional siding cost.

Any work done for the siding for house, requires a city permit. The cost of the permit and appointments for inspection of your new home siding should be taken care of by your siding contractor. Verify that your siding contractor can arrange this. If your siding contractor says you don’t need permits for non-structural changes, then it is best to verify this. Check with the city codes department to make sure your siding contractor is correct.

Once the old siding is removed from your house, the siding contractor will do several preparations before installing the new house siding. The siding contractor will wrap your entire house with a plastic moisture barrier. This will prevent heat loss from your home and regulate moisture beneath the home siding. Without the moisture barrier, your house siding, regardless of whether it’s wood siding, hardy plank siding, or aluminum siding, will degrade over time, allowing structural damage to occur to your home, and eliminating the benefits of even the most expensive home siding.

Once the moisture barrier is installed, and before the home siding can be place on your home, the siding contractor will install drip flashing above all of your windows and doors, an above the base trim, as well. The drip flashing will extend under the home siding by at least an inch, and will be nailed to the house sheathing.

Next, the siding contractor will prepare your trim and soffits. The trim should be secured around all the soffits and exterior corners, and the base trim should be in place before the siding is installed. This will help weather proof your home. Siding prices quoted by your siding contractors should include the installation or replacing of the proper trim. The siding contractors can tell by looking if the trim is in need of replacement, and should include this in the siding cost.

Once all of the home siding prep work is in place, the siding contractor should have his house siding work inspected by the city inspectors. Again, the cost of inspections should have been included in your siding cost estimates.

Installation of siding for house

When the siding contractors start to install your home siding, once the prep work is inspected, the first thing they do is run a chalk line for the first row of aluminum siding, wood siding, or hardy plank siding. These chalk lines will go all the way up the side of the house, and represent the part of the siding that you’ll see. Each line should be checked for level, or your house siding will be crooked. The siding contractor will start at the bottom of the wall, moving upward with the house siding.

The first piece of house siding installed will be the spacer board at the very bottom, which is a strip of siding about 1” wide. It will help the house siding to maintain the proper slant as the siding contractor installs it.

Siding contractors are experienced in installing siding around obstacles. There should be no seams in the siding near obstructions, unless centered directly over the obstruction. The siding should be installed without seams around windows and doors. Home siding looks much better if the seams are staggered, and not within several feet of a door or window.

Installing new home siding is an excellent way to improve both the appearance and value of your home. However, improperly installed house siding is not only a waste of money; it can allow damage to your home due to lack of protection. Be sure to get comprehensive quotes from siding contractors, and choose the best quality siding for the siding prices available.