Siding Replacement in the Chicago Suburbs, Built From the Sheathing Out

Signs you may need siding replacement & repair

• Panels cracked or holed by hail, a mower stone or a cold-weather impact
• Warped or wavy vinyl, especially near a grill or across from a sunny window
• Swelling, soft spots or failing paint along the bottom edge of wood or composite boards
• Peeling interior paint or stained drywall on an exterior wall
• Loose panels that rattle or unlock in the wind
• Mildew or staining below the spot where a roof edge meets a wall

Choosing siding: vinyl, insulated vinyl, fiber cement or engineered wood

Each material solves a different problem, and a good siding contractor should be able to explain why one suits your walls better than another. Here is how they compare on a Chicago-area house:

• Vinyl. The lowest-maintenance option, with color that runs through the material so scratches do not expose a different shade. Vinyl expands and contracts with temperature, so it has to hang loosely on its nails, and thicker panels resist wind and look straighter on long walls. Its weakness here is cold: vinyl turns brittle in deep winter, and a hockey puck or a hailstone in January can crack a panel that would only flex in July.
• Insulated vinyl. The same face with rigid foam bonded to the back and contoured to the panel. The foam stiffens the wall so it looks flatter, dampens outside noise, and adds a layer of insulation over the studs that slows heat loss through the framing. It costs more and does not replace insulation inside the wall.
• Fiber cement. Cement, sand and wood fibers formed into boards. It does not burn, rot or attract insects, and it holds paint well, with factory-finished options available. It is heavy, cutting it creates silica dust that crews must control, and its joints and clearances need careful detailing.
• Engineered wood. Wood strands bonded with resin and treated to resist decay and insects. It is lighter than fiber cement, comes in long lengths that mean fewer joints, and has the most convincing wood texture. It needs its paint kept up, and every cut edge must be sealed.

Cost, lifespan and appearance are compared in more depth in our siding comparison.

Housewrap, flashing and the details that keep walls dry

Codes based on the International Residential Code require a water-resistive barrier behind exterior cladding and flashing at windows, doors and other openings. Meeting the letter of that is easy. Getting the laps right is where installations differ:

1. Bottom up. Housewrap goes on in courses starting at the bottom, each upper course overlapping the one below, so water running down the face never meets an exposed edge.
2. Windows in the right order. Sill flashing first, then the sides, then the head flashing, with the housewrap above lapped over the head flashing rather than tucked behind it.
3. Kickout flashing. Where a roof edge ends against a sidewall, a kickout diverter turns roof water away from the wall. Current codes require it, and a missing kickout is a classic cause of rotted sheathing under old siding.
4. Penetrations. Hose bibs, dryer vents, meters and light fixtures get mounting blocks and flashing, not a bead of caulk around a ragged hole.
5. Clearances. As manufacturers require, siding stops roughly six inches above soil and leaves a gap above roofs, decks and walkways, so it never sits in snow or splashback.

What freeze-thaw cycles do to siding around Chicago

A northern Illinois winter swings above and below freezing again and again. Each swing tests any spot where water can sit: the bottom edge of a board, a gap at a trim joint, a cracked caulk line beside a window. Water that soaks in during a thaw freezes overnight, expands, and opens the gap a little wider.

• Sealed edges. Paint and sealer are the first defense on fiber cement and engineered wood, so factory edges stay protected and field cuts are primed or sealed before the board goes up.
• Vinyl movement. A long vinyl panel changes length noticeably between a January morning and a July afternoon. Installers nail it in the center of the slots, leave the nail head slightly proud, and leave room at channels for the panel to slide, with extra room when installing in cold weather.
• Ice dams at the eaves push meltwater behind the top course of siding as well as under the shingles. Fixing the attic and the roof edge protects the wall too.
• Shoveled snow piled against a wall keeps the bottom courses wet for weeks, which is another reason for proper ground clearance.

Matching siding after hail or wind damage

Storms rarely damage every wall equally. Hail usually strikes the elevations facing the storm, and wind tears panels loose at corners and gable ends. The hard part of a partial repair is making new material match siding that has weathered for years.

We start by identifying what is on the house: profile, exposure, texture, thickness and color, often by removing one panel to read the markings on the back. Then the options are:

• A direct match when the product is still made and the color has not drifted far from new.
• A swap: move sound original panels from a hidden wall, such as the back of a garage, to the damaged front, and put the new panels where nobody looks.
• Re-siding a full elevation or the whole house when nothing available comes close enough to blend.

When the damage is part of an insurance claim, we document the damage, the product search and the matching problem with photos and a line-item scope in the format adjusters use. Some policies address matching and some do not; whether undamaged walls are included is your insurer’s decision. Our insurance claim documentation page explains what we provide.

Siding repair or full siding replacement in the Chicago suburbs

A few cracked panels, a loose corner post or one rotted board beside a downspout is a repair. We remove the damaged pieces, check the wrap and sheathing behind them, and install matching material.

Full replacement is the better spend when damage covers several walls, when the existing siding is faded, brittle or discontinued, when rot turns up in more than one place, or when you want to add insulated siding. A complete job covers removing the old siding, repairing sheathing, new housewrap and flashing, new trim and accessories, and coordinating the soffit, fascia and gutters at the top of the wall.

What it costs

Siding cost depends on wall area, the material and profile you choose, how much old siding comes off, the number of windows and doors to flash and trim, and any sheathing repair. Fiber cement and engineered wood generally cost more than standard vinyl, both for the material and for the extra labor to handle and finish it. Your estimate itemizes each so products can be compared side by side.

How the work goes

1. Measure and identify

   We measure each elevation, identify the existing product and look for signs of hidden water damage.

2. Protect and remove

   Landscaping and windows are covered, and old siding comes off one wall at a time.

3. Sheathing and wrap

   Damaged sheathing is replaced and new housewrap and flashing go on.

4. Install and trim

   Siding, corners and trim go up with the clearances and fastening the manufacturer specifies.

5. Walkthrough

   We review the finished walls with you and leave photos of what is behind them.

Siding Replacement & Repair questions

Should I replace my windows before new siding, or at the same time?

If both are due within a few years, do them together or replace the windows first. Window flashing has to tie into the housewrap, and that connection is cleanest while the wall is open. Replacing windows after new siding means cutting back trim and disturbing fresh wrap and flashing around every opening. If only the siding is due now, the existing windows are flashed and trimmed so they can be swapped later with as little disturbance as possible.

What should I move before siding work starts?

Clear a working strip several feet wide along every wall: patio furniture, grills, planters and hoses, plus shrubs trimmed back from the house. Take down anything mounted outside that you want kept safe, such as decorations, hose reels or a doorbell camera. Indoors, remove pictures and shelves from exterior walls, because nailing carries through the studs. And point out any wiring, gas lines or irrigation that runs along the outside of the house.

Why does the bottom row of my siding keep getting damaged?

The lowest courses take the most abuse: snow shoveled against the wall, rain splashing back from soil and mulch, string trimmers, and stones thrown by mowers. A bottom edge buried in mulch or snow stays wet, and paint and sealed edges break down there first. The fix is clearance. Keep soil and mulch several inches below the bottom edge, slope the ground away from the wall, and use gravel or a hard border where the trimmer runs.

What happens if you find rot behind the siding?

We stop, photograph it and show you before anything is covered. Rotted sheathing is cut out and replaced, framing is checked and repaired if needed, and we trace where the water came from, because a missing kickout or a leaking window will rot the new wood too. Sheathing replacement is listed as a unit price in your estimate, so you know its cost in advance.