7 Causes Of Siding Damage and How to Avoid Them

Advice From a Trusted Local Siding Company

Your home exterior takes a beating from Mother Nature. Sun, wind, falling tree limbs, insects, temperature changes, hail, and fungus are all threats to your siding. Deferred maintenance causes further issues.

But you can take steps to prevent damage, and a siding company can help you with most of them.

Keep reading to learn more about the common causes of siding damage and what you can do to keep your home looking its best.

Fallen Trees

Diseased, dying, or damaged trees are a major hazard. Limbs that break off and fall can do serious damage to your siding, including cracks, scratches, dents, and detachment.

Without tree expertise, you may not be able to predict when your tree becomes dangerous. To prevent siding damage from fallen limbs, call an arborist to inspect and trim trees that are close to your home.

Wind Damage

Heavy winds can damage your siding. The most common type of wind damage is detachment, where sections of your siding are removed from your home exterior.

Certain types of siding are more susceptible to wind damage, such as vinyl installed using an old-fashioned hammer-and-nail method. Powerful windstorms can also crack or chip vinyl or wood siding.

To prevent detachment, a siding contractor can check for and reinforce loose pieces of siding.

Hail Damage

Hail damage can cause your siding to chip, crack, or dent. Even small hailstones can cause major issues. Over time, small chips or cracks can let rainwater penetrate your siding and get inside your home.

It’s nearly impossible to prevent hail damage, but you can minimize the after-effects, like water intrusion, by quickly calling a siding contractor to make repairs.

Sun and Temperature

The sun’s harmful UV rays – the very ones that cause certain types of skin cancer – can cause certain types of siding, like vinyl, to fade and crack. Temperature changes make siding materials expand and contract, which can also cause cracking.

Although fading is solely cosmetic, cracking can cause leaks and allow for pest intrusion; it also weakens your siding, which leads to worsening damage over time.

If your home is exposed to the sun or temperature changes, it’s almost impossible to prevent fading and cracking due to UV rays. The only preventative measure is purchasing siding that never fades and resists cracking in the first place.

Mold and Mildew

Mold and mildew can appear on your siding for a variety of reasons. A build-up of dirt and moisture fuel the development of fungi. Mold especially thrives on sections of siding that get little sun exposure.

To prevent mold and mildew growth on your vinyl siding, you’ll want to regularly wash your home exterior with a solution of liquid dish soap and water. You can also try pressure-washing your home exterior, but be aware that harsh washing methods can damage weakened siding.

Deferred Maintenance

Skipping regular siding maintenance can cause damage to your home exterior. If you have wood siding, you’ll need to scrape, paint, and repair wood rot every few years. When vinyl siding comes loose, you’ll need to reinforce it. You also may need to clean your home exterior to prevent mildew.

When you don’t maintain your home exterior, it can fall into disrepair, and soon you may have major problems on your hands.

Pests

Wood-boring insects can damage engineered or natural wood siding. For example, termites eat wood from the inside out, creating tunnels that weaken the structure. This can cause your siding to crumble. The holes created by wood-boring insects can then let in moisture.

Only a professional exterminator can help you get rid of wood-boring insects in your siding. If not caught early, the damage can worsen — potentially requiring you to replace the damaged wood.

Choose a Strong Siding That’s Designed to Last

To keep your home looking as good as the day your siding was installed, choose a siding company that works with durable materials.

• Seamless polymer siding has three times the impact resistance of vinyl siding.
• Its Perma-Strate Wall System® prevents detachment in high winds by holding the siding firmly on your home’s exterior.
• The attachment system allows the siding to naturally expand and contract as seasons change. Expansion and contraction make other types of siding more prone to warping and buckling.
• Seamless polymer siding does not become brittle over time, like vinyl does.
• Seamless polymer siding resists mold and mildew, and won’t trap moisture in the walls of your home with the help of form-fitted insulation and house wrap.

The Only Siding Company That Can Give You Confidence, Pride, and Peace Of Mind

If your goal is a low-maintenance home exterior, Continental Siding can help you with seamless polymer siding, invented by our founder, Jerry O’Neal.

When you choose seamless polymer siding for your home, you’ll get:

• Confidence in your purchase, because our siding is strong and backed by our lifetime warranty.
• Pride in your home, because you’ve renewed your home’s curb appeal.
• Peace of mind for your future, because you’ll never have to worry about replacing your siding again during your lifetime.

Call (800) 533-3880 to get a FREE estimate on new siding.