How do I prepare for having my siding, windows, etc. replaced?

There are two main areas to prepare: Inside, and Outside

Inside: Take everything delicate and fragile off the walls. The process of nailing siding on the outside of the house can cause knicknacks and photos to slowly rattle their way off shelves. So prepare for that.

Outside: Communicate clearly which plants and precious to you, and cut back any plants that are right up against the house and are going to be in the way. We can work around plants if they are important to you, we just need to know ahead of time!

Communicate with your carpenter regarding machinery and access. If you are okay with scissor lifts and other equipment driving on your lawn you might save some money by bringing something like that in, but if you don't want to have to repair the lawn afterward, then make sure to let us know!

What siding material do you recommend?

This depends a lot on your budget and preferences. 

VINYL SIDING

• Vinyl siding is still one of the most popular choices. Its affordable to buy, and fairly quick to install. It also acts as a natural rain screen because it hangs off the nails (rather than being nailed tight to the wall. Meaning that any water that did get behind it, would simply run back out, and everything can dry behind the siding. 

Weaknesses include: 

1. The colours are going to fade. 

2. Darker colours are more prone to overheating and warping

3. More difficult to change the colour of your house in the future (or deal with fading colours). 

4. Far more lilely to be damaged by stones, hail, children and other acts of God

They are coming out with siding that is darker and not supposed to fade as badly... and they have come out with paint that is supposed to be flexible enough to paint onto vinyl products and the paint can expand and contract with the vinyl. That means you could repaint your vinyl in the future if that was something you wanted to do. Those are newer technologies though, that have not stood the test of time at this point. If you want something that can come in more colours and is more durable then you might want to look toward

Hardie Board:

• • Strengths include durability and longevity. Can be painted darker colours, and will not rot. You still don't want to place this product below ground, because the constant contact with moisture and freeze thaw cycles will still give you problems.

Weaknesses include:

1. Harder to work with. Its heavy, you have to be pretty careful with it until you get it on the wall. The dust produced by cutting it is extremely bad for you (requiring dust masks and other precautions during use).

2. More expensive than Vinyl

LP SmartSide (engineered wood)

Benefits include:

1. Easy to work with, cuts like wood, fairly lightweight, very durable and has a hard durable finish.

2. Good curb appeal. Very nice looking siding with a fairly pronounced wood grain.

Issues:

1. More expensive than vinyl or hardie board