Common Problems
|
Let’s face it, most people don’t replace their siding because their siding is wonderful and without problems. More times than not, there is a problem with the current siding. Problems are for a variety of reasons: Lifestyle: Some homeowners don’t want to spend their weekends washing, sealing, or re-painting their siding year after year. Whether it’s because they are busy traveling the world or watching a little league game it’s time away from the family. Regardless of the reason, it’s tough to find the time in today’s fast paced environment to keep up with every single maintenance task. Maintaining a home’s exterior can be a daunting task and dangerous as well. Without the proper equipment and training, replacing rotten wood and rotting siding can be very risky business, and sometimes best left in the hands of trained professionals. Wood Rot: What causes wood to rot? Wood rots for several reasons: moisture works it way into the wood, gets trapped, and is unable to escape. Another cause is ultra violet exposure. U.V. rays from the sun cause the wood to split and crack. Many times this happens when paint fails; the wood becomes exposed to the elements, moisture sets in, and causes the wood to become saturated; the sun dries the wood and the repeated process of wet and dry causes the wood to fail. This process is commonly known as dry rot. Hardie products installed by The Siding Doctor cure all those problems. Not only are we able to substitute traditional wood products with durable Hardie products or comparable composite materials, but we also have the design capabilities to match all of your current architectural design detail.
Damaged or Cracked Siding: Damaged Siding - Whether the siding is damaged from being old and worn out, or the sun has warped and faded it, no one wants damaged siding. After all, it is the first thing they see when they return home from a long hard day at work. Other common reasons for damage are: improper flashing and poor maintenance. Regardless of the reason, damaged siding can lead to much bigger problems. The biggest concerns should be structural damage, mold, and mildew.
Improper Flashing:
Proper flashing is critical! Lack of proper flashing allows water and moisture to penetrate the home’s exterior envelope, thus causing problems like toxic mold and mildew, along with major structural defects due to water settling in places where it should not go. Some of the most common areas we find flashing defects are:
The Siding Doctor ensures that all flashing details relative to our work are properly addressed to make certain that moisture is not an issue.
Too Many Nails: Most people take pride in the exterior of their home. Proper fastening of the siding and trim makes all the difference in a project’s appearance and performance. Fasteners will rust and corrode if they are not HOT DIPPED GALVANIZED fasteners. Hardiplank is not like concrete; it is CONCRETE, and the lime content in the concrete siding can corrode substandard fasteners, causing the siding to streak when exposed to moisture, or, worse yet, allow the siding to break away from the structure. The Siding Doctor only uses genuine Hitachi, James Hardie Hot Dipped Galvanized Nails for the installation of Hardiplank siding and trim. However, not only is the proper Fastener a critical issue, so is the proper placement of the Fastener. If not properly secured the siding will rattle in wind or simply fall off the wall. The Siding Doctor strictly adheres to all of Hardie’s installation guidelines to ensure proper installation.
|
