Replacing Wood Composite Siding
It was clear when I showed up to the jobsite why the homeowner had
a leak around his bathroom window. The wood composite siding, popular in the late 80's and early 90's, had failed. Water does
significant damage to a home but wood composite siding is even more at risk. Water has a tendency
to "wick" behind these panels spreading moisture and potential rot the length of the siding.
You can see the damage that was done here.
Step one is demolition...get the old stuff off and inspect
the studs to try and ascertain the scope of the damage. Step two is to sort out the reason for the water damage. In this
case, the culprit is the gutter attached to the siding directly over the window. I trimmed the gutter back about a foot and
capped it. Then I used "L" flashing to direct water away from the side of the house and into the gutter. Finally,
the replacement siding was cut, erected, and caulked. Every seam gets a bead of caulk...no
exceptions. Once finished, it was time for the homeowner to prime and paint it. By the way,
the replacement siding was a solid pine reproduction of the type of wood composite siding which was originally used on the home.
