Construction & Contractors Blog
Do you have a section of vinyl siding that is damaged and needs to be replaced? It will help to know how to fix it on your own so that you can make your home look great again.
Know How Vinyl Siding Attaches To Your Home
The good thing about vinyl siding is that it is fairly straightforward to work with. Every section of vinyl siding is designed to look like two pieces of horizontal sizing material. A nailing strip is attached to each piece of siding on the top side, which allows the sections to be nailed directly to your home. The piece of vinyl siding above it also hooks around that nailing strip so that everything is secured in place. This makes it easy to pop off any piece of vinyl siding that needs to be replaced.
Remove The Damaged Siding
Start by identifying the section of siding that needs to be replaced, since you want to unhook the piece above it. You should be able to find a seam along the side of the siding that will allow you to get your hand underneath it. You can then use that seem to pull back on the siding so it detaches from the nailing strip on the damaged section. Since vinyl siding overlaps, you may have to do this to two sections of vinyl siding.
With the nail strip exposed, you can now pull out those nails that hold the vinyl siding in place. Pull down on the damaged section of vinyl siding to unhook it from the section of vinyl siding below it, and it should come loose from your home.
Install The New Vinyl Siding
Start by sliding that new piece of vinyl siding into the good piece that surrounds the gap. You should be able to push it a little bit into that side piece, which allows you to easily slide the opposite end into the other adjoining piece of siding. The new piece of siding should be roughly held in place.
The key to inserting the nails into the nailing strip is not to put them in too tightly. The nails should hang the siding to the home so that there is room for the siding to expand and contract over the years, much like if you were putting in nails to hang a picture on the wall. When finished, you will need to use a special zip tool that allows you to pull down on the vinyl siding pieces above the replaced section and hook that old piece to the new nail strip.
Share10 May 2021
There's a common misconception that all construction workers and contractors do the same job. On one hand, this is kind of true. Construction workers and contractors all built things. However, most people in this field have a specialty. Some hang drywall. Others paint. Still others know how to pour foundations or install roofs. While some construction workers and contractors move from field to field throughout their careers, others spend their career honing one particular skill. Either approach is fine, from our perspective. What we really care about is the excellent work that these workers do, and that's what we plan to feature on this website.