What NOAA lists for the Tallahassee station
For Tallahassee, NOAA's engineering weather data lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 120 mph, measured as a 3-second gust at 33 feet, along with a 100-year rainfall rate of 4.5 inches per hour and about 26 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year. The same Tallahassee data, at an elevation of 69 feet, puts the 1% summer design temperature at 93°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 76°F, and the 99% winter design temperature at 28°F.
Drinking water, for the record
The City of Tallahassee has supplied the community's water for more than 120 years. Its 2025 water quality report puts hardness at about 150 mg/L as calcium carbonate, a level considered hard, because the area's groundwater flows through a limestone aquifer.
Put the job on paper before anyone measures
Bids only compare well when every company prices the same work. Spend an evening writing a short scope you can hand to each visitor:
- Which walls are involved: the whole house, one side, the gables, a porch or an addition.
- What you have noticed, with photos: cracked or loose pieces, soft trim, paint that keeps peeling, stains indoors under a window.
- Whether you want the old cladding taken off or are open to hearing about covering it.
- Whether soffit, fascia, window trim and gutters are part of the job.
- The look you are after, and any color or profile you need to match.
When a contractor suggests a different scope, ask them to price yours as well, so you can compare like with like.
How the cladding stays on the wall
Every siding product comes with printed installation instructions that set out fastener type, length, spacing and how far the fastener must reach into framing or sheathing. Those instructions also govern how the product's wind rating applies. Questions for each bidder:
- What wind rating does this product carry, and which installation method does that rating depend on?
- Which wind design requirements, if any, apply at this address, and who inspects the work against them?
- What fasteners will you use, and will they be corrosion-resistant?
- How will starter strips, corners and the top course under the soffit be secured?
- Will the crew follow the maker's instructions in full, and will the contract say so?
Getting water out from behind it
No cladding sheds every drop. The layers behind it decide whether water that slips past drains away or sits against the sheathing. Ask:
- What water-resistive barrier goes on the wall, and how are its seams lapped and taped?
- How will window and door heads, sills and jambs be flashed, and in what order?
- Will there be a drainage gap or rainscreen mat between barrier and siding?
- Where a roof edge meets a sidewall, will kick-out flashing steer water into the gutter?
- How will penetrations such as hose bibs, vents, meters and light fixtures be sealed and flashed?
Once the old siding comes off, the sheathing behind it is exposed. Ask for a unit price per sheet for replacing damaged sheathing, and ask to be shown any rot before it is covered.
The bottom course and the ground
The lowest row of siding takes splash from rain and sits closest to soil, mulch and insects. Ask what clearance the maker requires above grade, patios, decks and roof surfaces, and how the crew will treat a spot where the yard sits too high against the wall. Ask how wood trim near the ground will be protected from rot and insects, and whether a composite or PVC trim would make sense there instead.
Choosing a material
Vinyl is light and quick to hang, needs washing rather than paint, and must be fastened loosely enough to slide as it warms and cools. Ask about thickness and whether an insulated backer is offered.
Fiber cement holds paint well and does not rot, but it is heavy and its cut edges and butt joints need the treatment its maker specifies. Ask how dust from cutting will be controlled.
Engineered wood is lighter than fiber cement and comes primed or prefinished; every field cut needs sealing, and the bottom edge must stay clear of soil and roofs.
Wood lap or shingle siding can be repaired a board at a time but needs a regular paint or stain cycle.
Metal panels resist rot and insects; ask how dents are repaired and how the panels are grounded if needed.
Whatever you pick, ask for the product's printed instructions and its warranty, and read what voids the warranty.
Florida's C and R numbers
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.
Get that number from each siding bidder in writing, look it up on DBPR's license search, and check that the license type matches the work.
Permits, coverage and the crew
- Which permits does this job need, and who pulls them?
- Can you show proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation? Your own insurer can help you read the certificate.
- Will your own employees do the installation, or a subcontractor? If a subcontractor, who supervises on site?
- How will you protect plants, windows and the roof while the old siding comes off?
- What cleanup is included, and will the crew sweep the yard for nails each day?
What the written proposal should list
A proposal worth signing names the scope you wrote down, the product with its profile, thickness and color, the barrier and flashing details, trim, soffit and fascia work, the unit price for damaged sheathing, gutter removal and rehanging, permits, cleanup, start and finish dates, the deposit and payment schedule, and both the manufacturer's warranty and the installer's workmanship warranty. If a bid leaves something off, ask about it before you weigh the prices against each other.