Siding in Lakeland
Lakeland is an inland Polk County city between Tampa and Orlando. A siding job here may cover a whole frame house, or only the gables, an addition, a porch or the trim on a block-and-stucco house. Either way, it deals with the same four things: heat, moisture, insects and water from the sky and from the sprinklers.
Heat and moisture
Central Florida summers are long, hot and wet, and walls rarely get a dry spell. The NOAA engineering weather stations are on the coast at Tampa and inland at Orlando, so this page gives no station figures for Lakeland. What matters for siding is plain enough: water that gets behind a panel or into a joint stays there a long time in humid air, and that's where rot, mildew and paint failure begin.
Ask each contractor:
- how they'll flash windows, doors and the joints where siding meets stucco or block;
- what water-resistive barrier goes behind the siding, and how its seams are lapped;
- whether the wall will have a drainage gap so it can dry;
- how they'll treat the cut ends of fiber cement or engineered wood.
Termites and wood
A University of Florida study published in February 2026 found that the invasive Formosan subterranean termite is now established in most of Florida's coastal counties and major urban centers, and that it and the Asian subterranean termite are still spreading. Wood trim, wood siding and the framing behind any siding are food for termites. Ask the contractor:
- how much clearance the lowest course will have above the soil and the mulch;
- what they'll do if they find termite damage in the sheathing or framing once the old siding is off;
- whether the trim they propose is wood, composite or PVC.
If you have a termite contract on the house, ask the termite company whether new siding affects it.
Hard water on the walls
Lakeland's water has always come from the city's own wells. Today 13 wells drilled an average of 750 feet into the Floridan aquifer feed the T.B. Williams Water Treatment Plant. The city's plant chemical analyses show finished water with a total hardness of about 126 mg/L (as calcium carbonate) from the Williams plant and about 108 mg/L from the Combee plant. Sprinklers that spray the walls every day can leave mineral spots and keep the bottom of the siding wet. Aim them at the lawn, not the house, and keep shrubs trimmed back so the wall can dry.
Choosing a material
Vinyl, fiber cement, engineered wood and wood all appear on Lakeland homes. Compare them on how they handle constant moisture, how often they need paint, how they stand up to termites and how well they match any stucco or block on the rest of the house. Ask for the manufacturer's installation instructions and whether the warranty depends on following them.
Florida's licenses
Florida contractors either hold a state certificate of competency, shown by a license number beginning with C, which lets them contract anywhere in the state, or a registration, beginning with R, which lets them contract only in the local jurisdictions where they met competency requirements. Ask for the number, look it up on DBPR's license search at myfloridalicense.com, and check that the license type matches the work.
After a storm
If a storm damages your siding and you file a claim, take photos before any cleanup and keep every estimate. Florida's Division of Consumer Services, in the Department of Financial Services, advocates for policyholders free of charge through its Insurance Consumer Helpline, 1-877-693-5236, and offers a free, non-binding mediation program for residential property insurance claim disputes.
Comparing quotes
Get every quote on the same scope: material and grade, removal of old siding, sheathing and framing repair pricing, the barrier, flashing, trim and soffit, paint, the permit and the warranties. Compare line by line rather than by the total.