The siding on your home protects the interior walls behind it and helps support the insulation in between the inner and outer walls. If your siding is looking rather frightful, and you are having issues with it, there’s a good reason for it. Once you understand why the siding has problems, there are both preventive and curative solutions for it.
1. Old Age
Siding, even vinyl siding, can wear out with age. If you have had your home for more than twenty years, there’s a good chance the siding is too old. Vinyl siding can crack and fall apart somewhere between the twenty- and thirty-year mark. Wood siding is worse because it needs constant upkeep to avoid rotting and warping. Asphalt siding has been made illegal due to possible asbestos content, but it too will fail after a couple of decades.
2. Insects and Pests
Insects, particularly termites and bugs attracted to rotting wood behind the siding, can ruin the siding too. Once they get under siding and begin building nests and tunneling, your siding could bulge in spots. Panels may not stay in place if the bulging is particularly bad. Wasps, ants, termites, etc., are all bad news for your home if they get up under the siding and inside the wall.
3. Storm Damage
Hail and ice are two of the most brutal forms of precipitation to damage siding. High winds from hurricanes and tornadoes can also rip and damage siding. If you can’t put the siding back in place because it’s too badly damaged from recent weather, the siding will have problems.
Solutions and Prevention
The solutions are fairly simple. Keep pests away from and out of your walls with the help of a pest exterminator. Replace the siding if it’s too old. A siding contractor can help with that. If there’s storm damage, you can get a siding contractor to replace the siding that was damaged.
If you have wood siding, sand, seal, and/or repaint the siding often. Remove and replace asphalt siding completely. Check the vinyl siding for damage after each storm and address damage as it occurs.
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