South Bend, about 35 miles east, in NOAA's tables
The nearest station to Michigan City in NOAA's engineering weather data is South Bend, about 35 miles east of Michigan City, at an elevation of 774 feet. For South Bend, NOAA gives a 99% winter design temperature of 3°F and a 1% summer design temperature of 88°F, with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 73°F. The same South Bend data lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.0 inches per hour, and about 54 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
Michigan City in Census QuickFacts
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts puts the population estimate for Michigan City at 31,338 on July 1, 2025. The Census count on April 1, 2020 was 32,075. For 2020-2024, QuickFacts lists 13,008 households, with 2.23 persons per household.
Three sizes of siding job
Before you phone anyone, decide which kind of job you are asking about. Each one is priced differently, and a bidder who guesses wrong will hand you a number you can't compare.
- A spot repair. A handful of cracked, loose or missing pieces, a damaged corner post, or a patch behind a downspout or a grill. Ask whether the existing product can still be found, or something close enough to pass.
- One or two walls. Storm damage on a single side, or a wall that has failed while the rest holds up. Here the hard question is matching, covered further down.
- The whole exterior. Old cladding off to the sheathing, a new barrier and flashing, plus any new trim, soffit and fascia you want done at the same time.
If you aren't sure which one your house needs, say so plainly. Ask each bidder to explain their recommendation and to show you photos of what led them to it.
Walk the house before the first visit
A slow loop around the outside, done before anyone comes to measure, gives every bidder the same starting point. Bring a phone and a notepad:
- Stand back from each wall and sight along it for waves, bulges, open laps or pieces that have slipped out of their locks.
- Take a dated photo of every side of the house, plus close-ups of anything that looks wrong.
- Indoors, check closets and rooms on outside walls for stains, peeling paint or a musty smell, especially below window corners.
- Note caulk that has cracked or pulled away from window and door casings.
- During a heavy rain, if you can stay dry doing it, watch where gutters spill over and where water sheets down a wall.
- Write down what you know about the current siding: product, color name, and roughly when it went up.
Put it all on one page and give a copy to each company.
The wall, from the sheathing out
What sits under the panels has a lot to do with how a siding job holds up. Ask each contractor to walk you through the layers in order:
- Sheathing. If boards or panels under the old siding turn out soft or delaminated, what happens next? Ask for a written price per sheet and ask to be shown the damage before it is covered again.
- Water-resistive barrier. Which product goes on, how are upper courses lapped over lower ones, and how are seams taped?
- Flashing. How are window and door heads and sills handled? What about a porch roof or deck ledger where it meets the wall, and kick-out flashing at the bottom of a roof edge?
- Drainage space. Will a gap or rainscreen mat sit behind the siding, and how is its bottom edge screened against insects?
- Foam board. Is any insulation board included, and how does it change the depth of window and door trim?
- Cladding and fasteners. What fastener, length and spacing will the crew use? What wind rating does the product carry, and which installation method does that rating assume? Which wind requirements, if any, apply at this address, and who inspects them?
Windows, doors and trim
Around every opening you have three broad choices: keep the existing casing, wrap it in bent metal, or replace it with new trim boards. Ask each bidder which they propose and why. For wrapped trim, ask what happens to any water that gets behind the metal. For new trim, ask how its top edge will shed water, whether a drip cap or head flashing goes above it, and how wide the sealant joints will be. If you expect to replace windows later, ask how this siding work would affect that job.
Matching a partial repair
Siding that has been on a wall for a while may not look like fresh stock, even under the same color name, because sun and weather can fade a finish unevenly. Ask:
- Can you find the same product and profile, and can I see a sample held against the wall before you order?
- If not, could pieces come off a hidden wall, such as the back of a garage, to patch the front, with new stock going on the hidden side?
- For painted siding, will the repaired wall be repainted from corner to corner so the patch doesn't show?
Gutters, downspouts and the roof edge
Siding work runs right up to the roofline, so settle these points before the price is final. Will the gutters come down and go back up, or be replaced, and who rehangs them? Will the fascia get new wrap or boards? How will soffit vents stay open? Where siding meets a roof surface, how will the step flashing be handled, and does that part need a roofer? Ask too where each downspout will discharge once the work is done.
Questions for the company
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Which city permits does the job need, who pulls them, and will an inspector come out?
- Can you show proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation? Your own insurer can help you read the certificate.
- Will your own crew do the installation, or a subcontractor? Who is in charge on site each day?
- Has the crew hung this product before, and can you share addresses of finished jobs I could drive past?
- How will you protect plantings, windows, the air conditioner and the driveway?
Why two bids can be far apart
Two totals can sit far apart simply because they cover different work. Before you compare prices, line the bids up item by item: the product line and thickness, how much trim is included, the barrier and flashing, the sheathing allowance, gutters, permits, debris hauling and the warranty terms. Ask the lowest bidder what they left out, and the highest what they included that the others did not. Compare the deposit, the payment schedule and the start and finish dates as well.
A final walk with the crew
Before the last payment, walk every wall with the person in charge:
- Panels lie flat and locked, with no gaps at corners or where they meet trim.
- Trim joints are sealed, and fasteners are hidden wherever the maker's instructions call for it.
- The bottom course keeps the clearance the maker lists above soil, decks and roof surfaces.
- Vents, hose bibs, lights and meters are back in place and sealed.
- The yard has been swept for nails and the debris is gone.
Ask for the product name and color in writing, the leftover pieces, both the manufacturer's warranty and the installer's workmanship warranty, and any permit sign-off.