Posts Tagged ‘siding repair’

Causes of Wood Siding Repair

Friday, September 26th, 2008

It used to be that homes had only a few different exterior finishes to choose from.  Even among those, the area of the country had a lot to do with availability as well.  For example, it’s unlikely to find a stucco home in New Hampshire.  It just doesn’t go well.  On the other hand, wood sided homes can be found in just about any region of the country.  They might have wood sheeting, boards, or even shingles.  One advantage to this type of siding is that it is usually less expensive than materials like brick or stone.  However, to ensure optimum performance, you have to know when you need wood siding repair.  When you are dealing with wood siding, small problems can quickly escalate if you don’t take care of them immediately.

Wood Siding Repair

Some homeowners think performing wood siding repair is simple.  If the problems are small enough, a homeowner might be able to fix it on their own.  However, most of the time, wood siding repair is a bit trickier than that.  There is also a good chance that you don’t have the necessary equipment and tools to do the job correctly.  Most of us don’t have wood working tools in the garage.  In a situation like this, it’s better to be safe than sorry and hire a professional to take care of things for you.

The biggest cause for wood siding repair is water damage.  One leaky gutter can create a mess of problems.  When your contractor comes out to fix the damage to the wood siding, it’s a good idea to make sure he or she also fixes the underlying moisture problem.  You don’t want a reoccurrence.  The other common problems leading to wood siding repair are termites and wood rot.  Termites leave small holes in the wood and you can always tell dry rot from because the wood often crumbles when touched.  The sooner you have things taken care of, the better off your home will be. 

For more information on wood siding repair

Repairing Veneer Siding for the Life of Your Home

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

Most people like to focus in the interior of their homes.  It only makes sense considering that the majority of a person’s time is spent inside.  That doesn’t mean that you can ignore the outside of the house.  Especially when you have veneer siding on the outside of your home, you can bet you and your home is going to be better off if you take care of any problems as soon as possible.  While you wouldn’t think of brick or stone veneers, the truth is they actually cover the wood frame of the home.  In this manner, brick and stone fall into the veneer category.  Since those materials do more than just cover the wood frame, you will want to find the best qualified contractor for repairing veneer siding correctly.

Repairing Veneer Siding

One of the first things you will have to do to make sure repairing veneer siding goes well is determine what type of veneer you have.  Believe it or not, there are manufactured veneers that look exactly like real brick and stone.  While they aren’t the same as the original products, those veneers will need special treatment as well.  The artificial veneers sometimes experience more problems with damage because they are much lighter weight than the true brick and stone.  On the plus side, the look a like veneer is pretty simple to fix.

Depending on the area of the country you are living in, you might want to talk to your contractor about applying a weather proofing sealant on your veneer siding.  This part of repairing veneer siding ensures that the porous material of the bricks and mortar are protected from the elements.  Water and temperature changes especially, are dangerous to unsealed veneer siding.  You can expect to need to have your home sealed every three to five years.  Have your contractor look over the house for repairs during the sealing process so you can address the problems as they come up. 

For more information on repairing veneer siding