When Does your Siding Need to Be Replaced?

Siding gives your home the protection it requires and helps to see that your house is able to keep the warmth in and the cold out during winter, and do just the opposite in summers. It greatly improves the energy efficiency of your home, prevents water from entering it, and above all can lead to your home looking elegant and aesthetically pleasing. Siding, however, does have a life and will not last forever.

After your siding has been exposed to the elements for a number of seasons, it will ultimately start showing signs of stress that ultimately will lead to its need to be replaced. Violent storms can subject your siding to some very rough conditions, and can loosen the siding and often cause cracks in it. Have the siding inspected by a professional and allow him to assess whether the siding needs to be replaced, or can do with the replacement of a few individual boards.

After a time, siding often looses its looks, and can be seen to be faded or peeling, though normally this should not happen till the siding is at least a decade old. Before it becomes an eyesore, you should think about any need to replace it. Siding can also warp, become soft, or start to rot, telling you it is time for its replacement. Rotten siding will sound hollow when tapped on, and will crumble or split. If it is dry rot, it is a problem that is below the surface and may leave the outer layer intact. This makes it difficult to detect visually, like the other defects that lead to its need for replacement.

Siding can also get damaged by storms or hailstones that can cause holes in it. And can you stop your children from playing because the balls they use can hurt the siding. You can also have fungus, mold, and algae growing on siding, an indication of trapped moisture. If the interior of your house shows signs that the siding is allowing water in, it is a definite sign that the siding needs to be replaced.