A year of siding care in Burlington
Siding rarely fails all at once. A crack opens, a seam lifts, caulk pulls away from a window, and water does the rest over months. In Alamance County, the county formed from the western half of Orange County in 1849, houses face cold winters and sticky summers, and a short walk around the outside each season catches most problems while they're small. This calendar sets out what to look for and when.
Winter: December to February
NOAA's engineering weather station at Greensboro/Piedmont Triad, the closest to Burlington, records about 56 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year, and its 99% winter design temperature is 19°F. Each freeze expands any water that has worked into a crack or behind a lap.
- After a hard freeze, look for cracked or split boards and panels, especially on the north side, where walls stay cold and damp longest.
- Watch for ice dams and overflowing gutters that send meltwater down the wall.
- Vinyl gets brittle in the cold; avoid hitting it with shovels, ladders or snow blowers.
- Make a list of repairs for spring rather than patching in freezing weather, when caulk and paint won't cure.
Spring: March to May
- Walk the whole house and photograph each wall, so you have a record if a storm damages it later.
- Check caulk around windows, doors, trim and penetrations such as hose bibs and vents, and replace any that has cracked.
- Look for kick-out flashing where roof edges meet walls; without it, water runs down the siding.
- Wash off the yellow film of spring pollen with a soft brush and a garden hose rather than a pressure washer, which can drive water behind laps.
- Trim shrubs back so air can move along the walls.
Summer: June to August
The Greensboro/Piedmont Triad station counts about 573 hours a year with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F, and its 1% summer design temperature is 90°F. Damp, warm walls are where mildew and paint failures start.
- Look for green or black growth on shaded walls and clean it with a cleaner suited to the material.
- Check painted wood and fiber cement for blistering or peeling, which often means moisture is coming through from behind.
- Point sprinklers away from the walls.
- After a summer thunderstorm, check for loose pieces and damaged trim. NOAA's data lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph and a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.5 inches per hour at the same station.
Fall: September to November
Fall's dry, mild days are the best time for repairs and painting.
- Replace cracked boards and panels found during the year.
- Repaint wood and fiber cement within the paint's temperature range.
- Clean gutters after the leaves fall, and make sure downspouts carry water away from the foundation.
- Seal gaps where pipes, cables and vents pass through the wall before the cold comes.
Older siding
Many Burlington houses have older wood siding, sometimes under a later layer. When you replace a damaged board, keep a spare piece, note the paint color and the date, and keep photos of the profile. Matching an older lap width gets harder every year.
Keep a record
Keep the seasonal photos, repair receipts, paint colors and product names in one folder. When it's time to repair or re-side, that history tells a contractor what the wall has been through.