St. Joseph and the first Pony Express ride
On April 3, 1860, the first official Pony Express delivery began at the route's eastern terminus in St. Joseph, Missouri, with a pouch of 49 letters, five telegrams and other papers; around midnight on April 14 it reached San Francisco.
Population in Census QuickFacts
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts gives St. Joseph a population estimate of 71,001 for July 1, 2025 (V2025). Its Census count for April 1, 2020 was 72,473.
A note on weather figures
NOAA's engineering weather set has no station near St. Joseph; the nearest listed, Kansas City, is about 45 miles away. So this page quotes no temperatures, wind speeds or rainfall rates. Ask each siding company which wind and weather assumptions their product choice and fastening plan rest on.
Name why you are calling
People call a siding company for many reasons, and the reason shapes the visit. Before you phone anyone, write one or two sentences that say what started this. A storm tore pieces off one side. Paint keeps peeling from the same boards. A wall looks wavy from the street. Water stains turned up inside under a window. You simply want a different look. Or you are getting the house ready to sell.
A clear reason helps a bidder bring the right samples and look in the right places. It also helps you notice when a bid drifts into work you never asked about, so you can ask why.
What a useful estimate visit includes
An estimate for siding should take more than a tape measure along the front wall. As each company visits, watch for and ask about these:
- Does the estimator walk every side, including behind shrubs and under the deck?
- Do they lift or release a loose piece, where that can be done without harm, to look at what lies beneath?
- Do they check window and door edges for soft wood or gaps, and look up at the soffit and roof edges?
- Do they ask about stains inside the house, and offer to look at them?
- Do they explain what they saw before they leave, or only send a number later?
A short visit is not proof of a poor bid, but a bidder who never looked closely has less to base a price on. Ask the same questions of every company.
Color and profile, chosen in daylight
Small chips under store lights can look very different on a whole wall outdoors. Ask each company for full-size samples, and hold them against the house in the morning and again in late afternoon. Look from the street as well as up close. If you are choosing a lap profile, ask about the exposure, meaning how much of each course shows, and how that reads next to your windows and trim. For a darker color, ask whether the maker's line is designed for it, and what the warranty says about fading. Keep the product name and color written down for future repairs.
Foam-backed siding and the depth of the wall
Some siding comes with foam backing, and some jobs add a layer of insulation board under the cladding. Either one makes the wall thicker. Ask how that extra depth will be handled at windows, doors, outdoor lights, faucets and meters, whether the trim will be extended or replaced, and how flashing will tie into the new face of the wall. Ask, too, how the added layer affects the drainage path behind the siding.
Soffit, fascia and the air in the attic
The underside of the roof overhang may be included in a siding job, and it is also part of how the attic breathes. Ask whether the plan replaces soffit panels, wraps the fascia, or leaves both alone. If vented soffit is going in, ask whether the attic insulation is blocking airflow from it, and who will check. If animals have been getting in at the roof edge, mention it, and ask how the new work will close those gaps.
The awkward joints
Careful flashing matters at the places where one part of the house meets another: a porch roof against a wall, a deck ledger bolted to the rim, an addition joining the original house, or a chimney passing through the siding. Ask each bidder to point to these spots on your house and describe how each will be flashed and sealed. Ask whether any of them call for a roofer or carpenter as well, and whether that work is in the price.
Planning the household around the crew
A siding job puts people, ladders and debris all around the house for a stretch of time. Ask where the dumpster and material deliveries will go, whether cars need to be moved, and how pets and children will be kept clear of falling scrap. Ask whether windows need to stay shut, how pictures on outside walls should be handled when hammering shakes the walls, and how the yard will be cleared of nails at the end of each day.
Two warranties, two questions
Siding work can carry two kinds of coverage: the maker's warranty on the product, and the installer's warranty on the workmanship. Ask for both in writing. For the product, ask what it covers, for how long, whether it transfers to a later owner, and what installation errors would void it. For the workmanship, ask what the company will fix, how quickly they respond, and whether the promise is in the contract or only in a brochure.
Questions for each siding company
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Does this scope call for a city permit, and if so, who applies for it and arranges any inspection?
- Can you send proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation? Your own insurer can help you read it.
- Will your own employees install the siding, or a subcontractor, and who leads the crew each day?
- How will you handle damaged sheathing found during tear-off, and will you show it to me before it is covered?
- What does the written price include, and what is left out?
Ask each company to price the same scope in the same order, so the bids can be read side by side.