What Are The Steps on How to Maintain Home Siding?
CoMo Premium Exteriors is here to show you the best ways to maintain home siding and keep things intact for decades. Good siding installation should minimize the need for hours of maintenance, but there are a few upkeep habits that’ll allow you to get the most out of your investment.
Best Ways to Maintain Home Siding
How much should you do to maintain your home’s siding?
It depends on what kind of siding you have. If you have James Hardie fiber cement or LP wood siding, you can paint them, but it’s only necessary after their long warranty periods. The major draw for those brands is the relatively easy maintenance because the paint doesn’t fade as fast as it would with vinyl.
One common upkeep concern that many people overlook with brands like James Hardie or LP is ensuring the caulk does not need re-done. Over time caulk will pull back in certain places or just wear out. It is a good idea each year to inspect your siding and look for areas that need re-caulked or where you may have experienced damage from a tree or some collision. Any such areas should be addressed to ensure water is not getting behind the siding or in areas where it should not be.
Lastly, it is always a good idea to make sure you don’t see any boards popping off the walls. It is common to see maybe one or two pop a little over time, but if you have lots of that happening then you should have an experienced siding company like CoMo Premium Exteriors inspect the work to ensure it is installed correctly.
What About Vinyl Material?
Vinyl siding is also maintenance free for the most part. Most people find that vinyl will fade over time or get holes from lawnmowers, weed wackers, or the occasional baseball. It is important to replace boards with damage that is up high to ensure water does not get back behind the vinyl siding. If you have issues with your For vinyl siding growing algae or mold you can do a soft wash or even some power washing to address these concerns. Just be careful that the water pressure is not so high it damages the siding.
Inspect Your Siding Often
Regardless of which style you have on your home, you should inspect your siding at least annually, but preferably every six months.
If you own wood siding, you’ll need to do this most often to check for termites, wood rot, and other moisture-driven problems. Steel siding is very low maintenance, but you’ll want to check for scratches and power wash it occasionally.
More on James Hardie Maintenance
Since James Hardie Siding is a popular feature among Missouri homes, we thought it might help to delve a little more into its specific maintenance considerations. Here are a few other helpful suggestions for maintaining this popular fiber cement siding:
- When you’re ready to replace the caulk, be careful about which variety you select.
- Try to prune or reposition your landscaping to avoid constant contact with the siding. While it’s a very durable material, even the best siding will damage prematurely if you expose it to constant friction.
If you’d like to learn more on this topic, please read our earlier post on James Hardie maintenance.
CoMo Premium Exteriors: Helping you Maintain Home Siding with Exemplary Installation
As we said, if you can trust your siding contractor to do a good job up front, then homeowner maintenance will be a breeze. That’s where we shine the best with our dedicated and certified installation technicians.
We are the only contractor in Mid-Missouri designated as Elite Preferred status with the James Hardie for installing fiber cement siding. We’re also adept at hanging vinyl, wood, LP Smart Siding, or any other material. Our reputation extends even further with over 200 positive evaluations on Google Reviews, and an A+ accreditation with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Contact us anytime to learn all the important ways to maintain home siding in Columbia, MO.
About The Author
Elias Abadi
Owner
Elias, the founder of CoMo Premium Exteriors, has steered the company to become a leading exterior renovation firm in Mid-Missouri, emphasizing quality and customer-centric values. A Columbia resident since age 10, he is an ardent Mizzou athletics supporter. Outside of work, Elias enjoys family time, attending his three sons’ sports activities, and engaging in outdoor pursuits like hiking, fishing, gardening, and hunting.