Common Problems That Can Affect Your Home's Vinyl Siding

Although vinyl siding can cover the exterior of your home with a durable and attractive layer, there are still some common issues that you may face over time, as your vinyl siding is exposed to the elements.

Once you know the leading causes of vinyl siding problems, you’ll be ready to proceed with full understanding of issues you may face in the future.

Incorrect Flashing Installation

Special flashing trim pieces are set to surround siding perimeters as well as structural elements like doors and windows. If your vinyl siding installer didn’t install the flashing properly, your home could be subjected to damaging leaks, with moisture causing significant harm from behind the siding.

Warping & Buckling Issues

Again, this type of damage is likely due to improper installation. Although vinyl siding can be made to appear like wood siding, it is obviously quite different with differing installation requirements. As you may imagine, wood siding can be nailed to exterior walls; however, vinyl siding requires a completely different approach. Rather, vinyl siding is hung from fasteners, which enables expansion and contraction to compensate for temperature variation. If your previous CT vinyl siding installer attached the vinyl siding boards to the exterior walls tightly with nails, the pieces wont be able to move which will inevitably result in warping and buckling.

Moisture Damage

One of the few disadvantages associated with vinyl siding is that it’s not watertight (there are several reasons for this). As we’ve mentioned earlier, vinyl siding must be able to expand and contract with temperature fluctuations, which means that it cannot be caulked or sealed at wall penetrations (like your windows and doors). So, if there is a strong windstorm, whipping water at your siding, the water can actually be forced into small gaps around the unsealed trims. Of course, vinyl siding manufacturers have attempted to compensate for this, providing weep holes along the bottom edges of clapboard panels. However, weep holes do not always work to the desired effect.

Storm Damage

Vinyl siding often holds up well against severe weather; however, storms with hail can be problematic. Hail can either cause cracks or chips to your home's vinyl siding. After a hailstorm, be sure to look for cracks in arched patterns, often located in unsupported sections between the ridge and valley. Chips in your vinyl siding from hail often occur on the bottom of siding panels--It's easiest to see these chips when you're looking at the panel from below.
Your insurance company will likely need to inspect the damage in order to differentiate between mechanical damage (not related to storm damage) and hail damage, so it’s beneficial to be familiar with the evidence of hail related damage. In some cases an insurance company will pay to replace the siding on your entire home. We have years of experience working as the middleman between you and your insurance company, helping to explain the damage so you can get the best deal.