Wind, rain and freeze-thaw at Jackson/Reynolds
For a station named Jackson/Reynolds, NOAA's engineering weather data lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph, measured as a 3-second gust at 33 feet. The same listing gives a 100-year rainfall rate of 2.8 inches per hour and counts about 63 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
Your own walk around the walls
Before a contractor measures anything, take a slow lap around the house with a phone and a notepad. What you find becomes the brief every bidder works from.
- Photograph each side from the same corner, then move in close on anything that looks off: cracked, warped or loose pieces, gaps at corners, faded or chalky patches.
- Look up at the soffit and fascia for sagging, stains or holes where animals could get in.
- Check the joints where siding meets window and door casings.
- Inside, look at walls and ceilings under windows for stains, and note where they are.
- Write down the profile and color you have now, and whether you want to keep them or change.
Date the photos and keep them. They help with comparing bids now and with spotting changes years from now.
Patch, one side or the whole house
Three scopes get priced very differently, and bids drift apart when each company guesses which one you meant.
- A patch replaces a handful of damaged pieces. Ask whether the contractor can find a matching profile and color, and what happens if they can't.
- One elevation redoes a single wall that took the wear. Ask how the corners will be finished where new material meets old.
- The whole house opens every wall. Ask what that lets the crew inspect and renew underneath, and how the price breaks down by side.
If a bidder recommends a bigger or smaller scope than you asked for, ask them to price both, so you can still compare like with like.
What tear-off can uncover
Nobody knows what the sheathing looks like until the old cladding comes off. Settle in writing how surprises will be handled:
- a unit price per sheet for damaged sheathing, and per linear foot for rotted framing;
- a promise to stop and show you hidden damage, with photos, before it is covered again;
- how older layers under the current siding will be dealt with;
- where the dumpster goes, how debris leaves the site, and how dropped nails will be picked up.
If someone proposes installing over the existing siding, ask what that would hide, how window flashing would be handled, and whether the product's maker allows it.
Behind the cladding
Rain that slips past the face of the siding has to meet a second line of defense and find a way back out. Have each bidder describe the layers from the sheathing outward:
- the wrap or barrier product by name, and how its overlaps and tears get taped;
- the order the window and door flashing goes in, from the sill pan up to the head;
- whether any spacer, mat or furring will leave an air space for water to drain and the wall to dry;
- the diverter flashing at the bottom of each roof-to-wall line;
- how each dryer vent, faucet, meter, light and cable that passes through the wall gets a mounting block and a seal.
Foam board under the cladding thickens the wall, so ask what happens to the window and door trim if it is included.
Nailing and the wind rating on the label
The number printed on a siding carton for wind is earned in a test, with the product hung a specific way. To learn whether your wall will match that test, ask each contractor:
- Show me the wind figure for the product you're quoting, and the fastening schedule it was tested with.
- Which nails or screws will go in, how long are they, how far apart, and do they resist rust?
- How do you hold down the first course at the bottom, the last course at the top, and the short pieces tucked under the eaves?
- Does any wind provision apply at this address, and does someone inspect for it?
- Can the contract state that the crew follows the maker's printed instructions, start to finish?
Choosing a cladding
- Vinyl needs no paint and goes up quickly. Ask how the crew will leave room for it to expand and contract at the nails and the ends, what panel thickness is quoted, and whether an insulated version is an option.
- Fiber cement holds paint well and is heavy to handle. Ask how cut ends will be sealed and how cutting dust will be controlled on site.
- Engineered wood is lighter and comes primed or prefinished. Ask about edge sealing and the clearance its maker calls for above soil and roofing.
- Wood clapboard or shingles can be repaired piece by piece. Ask how often the finish will need renewing and what that work involves.
- Metal panels in steel or aluminum resist rot. Ask how a dent would be repaired and whether matching pieces will be available later.
Whatever you choose, ask for the printed installation instructions and the written warranty, and read the section on what voids it.
Trim, soffit and the roofline
Edges are where a neat job and a sloppy one part ways. Get each bidder to describe their corner posts or mitered corners, the first course just above the foundation, and the detail where a wall rises past a lower roof. The siding maker publishes gaps to keep between the bottom edge and the ground, a deck surface, steps and shingles; ask what those gaps are for the product quoted and how the crew handles a bed where the soil has crept up. Up at the eaves, find out whether the old fascia boards will stay bare, be capped in metal, or come off for new ones, and whether the soffit panels will be vented.
Questions to settle on paper
Before a deposit changes hands, get written answers to these:
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Does Jackson require a permit for this scope, who applies for it, and is an inspection part of it?
- May I have a certificate showing liability coverage and one for workers' compensation? (If a line on either is unclear, call your own insurance agent.)
- Are the installers on your payroll, or hired in, and whose name do I call when something goes wrong mid-job?
- What goes over the flower beds, the glass and the shingles while panels are being cut and hung?
Reading the proposals
Set the written bids next to each other and check that every one names the same items: the scope you described, the product with its profile, thickness and color, the barrier and flashing, trim, soffit and fascia work, unit prices for hidden damage, gutter removal and reinstallation, permits, daily cleanup and a final nail sweep, start and finish dates, the deposit and payment schedule, and both the maker's warranty and the installer's workmanship warranty. If one proposal is silent on an item, ask about it before you weigh the totals.