Let's talk vinyl house siding

[rdsnake]

My house was build in '79 and the current wood plank siding has far reached its life span. My place is half brick/half wood plank siding. I was looking to replace it with vinyl siding in spring/summer. I plan on talking to a few contractors but I know my cheap ass is going to end up doing it myself.

I was looking for some input on the subject and figured you guys might have some answers. I am no stranger to some hard work and problem solving. I remodeled my kitchen and put in hard wood floors in my whole first floor but I have zero siding experience. I hear it is more a time consuming job than hard work so I'm fine with that. Any other things I should be aware of before tackling this job myself? My second story is rather high so I would need to rent some scaffolding or one of those Genie electric lifts.

I haven't heard good reviews from the big box stores about vinyl siding. There must be some type of general pubic whole saler for this stuff? Also, anyone have personal experience with specific brands or types of siding that they would use again?

Click to read more...

 

[FESTER665]

Nothing to it really. Get a good pair of snips to work with, and if you have it, a compound miter saw. Flip the blade so it spins backwards and itll cut the vinyl siding easy as can be.

Trim around all the doors, windows, corners, soffit, etc. with channel, then snap a level line for your starter piece. Nail that up, then start putting up the vinyl. When you nail in the siding, don't set the nails in tight, you want the siding to be able to expand and contract between the channels.

I got all the vinyl from Home Depot for my shed and had no problems with it at all. They also have all the extra parts for around spigots, electric boxes, address blocks, light mounts, etc.

After doing it on my shed, I'd never pay someone to do it. It's not hard at all, just time consuming especially if youre doing it alone.

 

[Outlaw]

As far as the miter saw/ skil saw blade, the more teeth the better. I always use a 90+ tooth plywood blade, as said, flipped around.

I sided that whole garage/shed I built in a day. It's stupid easy. Level your starter strip and start going. Just be mindful of how much you're slacking the pieces as you work your way up. Don't want it to be angled by the time you get to the top.

 

[rdsnake]

Good info on the compound miter saw. I have 2 from all the flooring projects I've done.

Any idea on where to buy some quality siding? I'm sure I will need a ton of the stuff.

 

[FESTER665]

If you don't want to go to a big box store, most contractors use ABC....

There should be a supply house somewhere close to you and they carry a few different manufacturers stuff.... Im sure youll recognize the logo, I usually see it when roofers have shingles delivered for jobs. I'm guessing you could have it delivered as well if you wanted.

https://www.abcsupply.com/products/siding/vinyl-siding

 

[rdsnake]

Yes I did run into ABC's website while searching. Wasn't sure if it was contractors only or open to the general public. No info on price per square foot. I guess I will have to stop into the store.

 

[HeavyG]

give Lake Front Siding a try

 

[Mr. SBF]

A little more to it than that to have nice long lasting results but it's not hard at all... You want to make sure that you have room inside the j-channel for the expansion and contraction not just the driving the nails loose. 3/16 to a 1/4"per side. You must stagger the seams as well as pay attention to which way the seams are facing so you can to make them blend in at the more seen direction. Helps to be able to make window head flashings and misc flashings for certain situations. Intsall a vapor barrier house wrap and tape all seams around the windows and add insulation pink board where needed. And of course do the Sofit and facia first and work the siding up to it which eliminates a extra j-channel and looks better.

 

[torquelover]

If white trim works, get some white vinyl Brick mould with integral j channel. Way nicer than janky siding j channel that looks cheap as hell.

If you're keeping the house for a while, look into cement board siding.

 

[rdsnake]

A little more to it than that to have nice long lasting results but it's not hard at all... You want to make sure that you have room inside the j-channel for the expansion and contraction not just the driving the nails loose. 3/16 to a 1/4"per side. You must stagger the seams as well as pay attention to which way the seams are facing so you can to make them blend in at the more seen direction. Helps to be able to make window head flashings and misc flashings for certain situations. Intsall a vapor barrier house wrap and tape all seams around the windows and add insulation pink board where needed. And of course do the Sofit and facia first and work the siding up to it which eliminates a extra j-channel and looks better.

I planned on doing new soffits as well as Facias. All the outside wood is just toast.

Where would be a situation where you would use the insulation pink board?

I peaked under the current pealing wood siding today and saw 2 x 4's NOT flat sheets of plywood. I suppose the old siding double as the outside ply wood? Say it ain't so but I think I have to remove the wood siding and cut ply wood sheets to go on first before the new siding? That sounds fucking horrible.

Is insulated siding worth the extra cash? How is this stuff sold by 200 square feet? What can I expect to pay for quality siding?

 

[SinisterSHO]

Good info on the compound miter saw. I have 2 from all the flooring projects I've done.

Any idea on where to buy some quality siding? I'm sure I will need a ton of the stuff.

Vinyl siding is kind of all the same, really. There's different thicknesses, but some of that is also based on the style. If anything you could go to a box store and figure out what you want to use and find the best prices.

 

[rdsnake]

So, I ran across this website which does list prices along with top rated siding. But it doesn't list how the price is sold. Is this per 100 squre foot?

Vinyl Siding Rankings – Research Vinyl Siding