Siding in Cleveland
Cleveland was planned before it was built. The city's history says Bradley County was established in 1836, after the 1835 Treaty of New Echota, and that the legislature required only one thing of its county seat: that it be named Cleveland, in honor of General Cleveland. The site chosen was Taylor's place, the home of Andrew Taylor, one of the area's first settlers in 1835, and in 1842, after a vote of its citizens, Bradley County reported to the legislature that it would be the site of the city.
Whether a house here is old or new, the job its siding does is the same: shed rain, survive summer heat and damp, and let any water that slips behind it get back out.
Whose weather figures these are
NOAA's engineering weather data has no station in Cleveland. The nearest is Chattanooga/Lovell Field (elevation 689 feet), about 20 miles southwest, and the numbers below belong to that station rather than to Cleveland. At Chattanooga/Lovell Field NOAA records:
- about 894 hours a year with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F, and about 2,434 hours above 67°F;
- a 1% summer design temperature of 92°F, with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 75°F;
- a 99% winter design temperature of 20°F;
- a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet);
- a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.4 inches per hour;
- about 48 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
Use them as a description of the area around you, not a reading from your own house.
Humidity is the main story
Those 894 muggy hours at Chattanooga/Lovell Field point at the problem siding in this part of Tennessee faces most: walls that get wet and then stay wet. Damp air slows drying, shaded walls hold moisture for days, and mildew and rot follow.
What helps:
- A drainage gap. Ask whether the bid includes a rainscreen mat, furring strips or a drainable housewrap so water behind the siding can run down and air can move.
- Clearance at the bottom. Ask how far the lowest course will sit above soil, mulch, patios and driveways.
- Ventilated soffits. If the soffit is being replaced, ask how attic air will move once the new panels are on.
- Space from plants. Shrubs pressed against a wall keep it wet; plan landscaping that leaves a gap.
Downpours and wind
A 100-year rainfall rate of 3.4 inches per hour and a 90 mph basic wind speed at Chattanooga/Lovell Field describe storms that drive rain sideways into every lap and joint. Ask each contractor to explain:
- the water-resistive barrier they will use, how the seams overlap and which seams get tape;
- head flashing above windows and doors, and kick-out flashing where a roof edge ends against a wall;
- how they seal around hose bibs, outlets, dryer vents and meters;
- nail or screw type, length and spacing, and whether those follow the product's wind instructions.
Heat, cold and movement
The station's design range runs from 20°F in winter to 92°F in summer, and its average year includes about 48 freeze-thaw cycles. Vinyl expands and contracts the most across that range, so it must hang loosely on its nails with room at the corners and channels. Fiber cement and engineered wood move less but still need the joint spacing and end sealing their makers specify. Ask how the crew adjusts on a very hot or a cold install day.
Choosing siding for a damp climate
- Vinyl sheds water and needs little upkeep; its back side can trap moisture against the wall if nothing lets it drain.
- Fiber cement resists rot and insects and holds paint well, but it is heavy and every cut end must be sealed.
- Engineered wood is lighter and easy to cut; it depends on sealed edges and good ground clearance in a humid climate.
- Wood looks right on older houses and needs regular paint and close watching for rot.
Ask each bidder which product they would put on your walls and why, and for the maker's installation instructions they plan to follow.
Water at the house
Cleveland Utilities serves the City of Cleveland and much of Bradley County, treating source water from the Hiwassee River and Waterville Springs at two water treatment plants. When that water goes onto the lawn, watch where it lands; a sprinkler that hits the same wall each morning adds to the moisture the climate already brings.
Tennessee licensing
In Tennessee, a state contractor's license is required for a construction project totaling $25,000 or more, including materials, labor and profit, and the license must be in place before a price is bid or offered.
For residential remodeling or repair work on an existing home costing more than $3,000 and less than $25,000, Tennessee requires a Home Improvement Contractor's license in Bradley County.
Ask the contractor which license they hold and its number, then look the business up on the state's Verify tool (verify.tn.gov) before signing a construction contract. Ask, too, for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation, and which local permits the job needs and who pulls them.
Comparing bids
Ask every bidder to price the same scope in writing: removal and disposal of the old siding, the product and its grade, the weather barrier and any drainage layer, flashing, trim, soffit and fascia, a per-sheet price for sheathing repair, permits, cleanup, the schedule, and the product and labor warranties. Read the bids side by side, line by line. A low total that leaves out flashing or the drainage layer is not the bargain it looks like.