Siding repair
Siding repair is the work of fixing the damaged part rather than re cladding the house, and on most of the calls we take that is entirely possible. A cracked panel, a length of rotten board, a section a ladder went through or the corner a squirrel has been working on are all local problems with local fixes. It sits inside our exterior repair service and it is priced as a visit.
Service family Exterior repair
Scheduling Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Service area Six counties across Southeast Michigan
Phone (734) 540-0347
What this page covers and what the other one does
Repairing and replacing sections of existing siding is here. Re siding a whole house, a full elevation or a new addition belongs on our siding page, where it is planned as a project with a material choice and a schedule. If more than about a quarter of a wall is coming off, you are on the wrong page.
The sidings on houses here
Four cover almost every house in this region. Vinyl, on nearly everything built or re clad since the eighties. Aluminium, on plenty of postwar houses and still sound. Wood, in lap, shingle and board and batten forms on older houses and higher end work. And fibre cement, on newer and renovated houses. Each one is repaired differently and each has its own failure.
Vinyl, and the panel that has to be unzipped
Vinyl hangs from a nailing hem and locks into the panel below it, so a damaged panel in the middle of a wall cannot simply be pulled off. The courses above are unlocked with a zip tool, working up from the damage, then re locked on the way back down. Done properly nothing shows. Done with a saw and a caulk gun it is obvious from the street.
What gets checked first
- Siding material, profile and how it is fastened
- Whether a matching panel is still made or has to be sourced
- The condition of the sheathing and wrap behind the damage
- Moisture in the wall cavity at the damaged area
- Whether the cause is still active, such as water or animals
Matching a discontinued vinyl colour
This is the hardest part of most vinyl repairs. Profiles change, colours are discontinued and thirty years of sun has faded whatever is on your house anyway, so even a correct colour code reads brighter than its neighbours. The usual answer is taking panels from a less visible elevation for the repair and putting the new panels where nobody looks.
Aluminium siding and the dent that will not come out
Aluminium is durable, holds paint well once it is prepared, and dents permanently. A dented panel cannot be pushed back out to a flat face, so the choices are living with it, replacing that panel where a match can be found, or painting the elevation so the colour reads as one surface. We are straight about that rather than promising a repair.
Fibre cement, and the care it needs
Fibre cement is the best exterior cladding material widely available and it has to be cut with the right blade, with dust collection, and fastened exactly as the maker specifies or the warranty is void. Cut ends need priming before they go up. It also has to be kept clear of the ground and off masonry, which is where we usually find it failing on other people work.
Wood siding, rot and the board let in
Wood fails at the bottom edge and at the end grain, the same as any exterior trim. A rotten section gets cut back to sound material at a bevel, and a new piece is let in, primed on all six faces before it goes up, and fastened into framing. Where the whole bottom course has gone, that course gets replaced rather than patched in three places.
Woodpeckers, squirrels and wasps
Animal damage is common here and it is always about what is behind the siding rather than the siding itself. A woodpecker is drilling for insects. A squirrel wants the attic. Wasps want a void. Repairing the hole without dealing with the reason means a fresh hole within weeks, so we find the access and close the whole route.
Storm damage and the insurance conversation
Wind driven damage tends to unzip a run of vinyl along a whole elevation rather than break one panel. Where a claim is involved we photograph everything before touching it, make the wall weathertight, and give you a written scope you can hand to an adjuster. Emergency cover is storm damage board up and it happens first.
What is behind the siding
Siding is a rain screen rather than a waterproof layer, and the real water barrier is the housewrap and flashing underneath it. Where a panel has been open or damaged for a season, we look at the sheathing and the wrap before closing it back up. Wet sheathing gets replaced, and the wrap gets lapped correctly rather than taped over.
The joints that actually matter
- Flashing above every window and door head, not caulk
- Housewrap lapped over flashing, never tucked behind it
- Butt joints staggered and backed, never left open
- A gap left where siding meets trim for movement
- Nothing fastened tight through vinyl, which must be free to move
Paint and lead in houses built before the late seventies
Federal rules require work disturbing paint in a home built before nineteen seventy eight to be performed by a certified firm following specific work practices, and cutting or sanding painted wood siding disturbs paint directly. On houses of that age the work is scoped with those rules in mind and confirmed in writing before any cutting begins.
Where repair stops and replacement starts
Repair is right for damage in one or two areas on an otherwise sound wall. Once panels are brittle across a whole elevation, the colour is chalking off in your hand, or you are patching the same wall for the third time, the money goes further on re cladding. Our exterior renovation team prices that as a project rather than a visit.
Trim, corners and the pieces nobody stocks
Outside corners, J channel, starter strip and utility trim are the pieces that get damaged and the pieces hardest to match. They also do the actual work of keeping water out. We carry common profiles and fabricate what we cannot buy, and we will not fill a missing corner with caulk, which is the most common repair we get called to undo.
Water, gutters and the cause behind the damage
Siding at the bottom of a wall that is failing repeatedly is usually being fed by something above it. A blocked gutter, a downspout discharging at the foundation or grade sloping back toward the house will rot a wall whatever it is clad in. Downspout extension and drainage and our water damage prevention work fix the cause.
How long the work takes
A single vinyl panel with a match in hand is under an hour. A wall section with sheathing to replace is a day. Wood siding with a let in repair needs a return visit for paint. Sellers clearing a pre listing home repairs list, and anyone booking fall winterization, usually bundle it with draft sealing.
Book siding repair with our crew
Walk your house on a bright morning and look along each wall rather than at it, which is how cracks, loose courses and animal holes show themselves. Send us a photograph and the approximate age of the house. We cover Brighton and the surrounding counties, handle window trim repair and weatherstripping on the same visit, and an annual home check keeps the elevation honest. View our Portfolio, then contact us now for a free quote.
