When people ask what’s behind vinyl siding, they’re usually asking the right question for the wrong reason. The layers behind the cladding are what actually keep water out of your wall, and the siding is mostly there to shed it and look right.
Here’s what should be back there, in the order it goes on, and what happens when one of those layers is missing or wrong.
What is Vinyl Siding Made Of?
Vinyl siding is PVC, a plastic made from ethylene and chlorine. Pigment and stabilizers are added for color and UV resistance, which is why cheaper grades fade faster than better ones.
What Does Vinyl Siding Cost?
Vinyl is the least expensive siding available, which is most of its appeal. At the time of writing, it ran $2 to $7 per square foot installed, though material and labor prices have moved since. Our pricing guide has current Colorado figures.
What Goes On Before the Siding
Siding is the last thing to go on, and by then the layers that matter are already hidden. Here’s what should be there, in order, whether you’re doing the work yourself or checking what a contractor has done.
Getting Started with Vinyl Siding Installation
First of all, to get started with vinyl siding, you must make sure you have all the tools and equipment you may need at different points of installation.
Here is the list of everything you will need for vinyl siding installation:
- Hammer
- Square
- Chalk line
- Level
- Tape Measure
- Power saw
- Knife
- Tin Snips
- Unlocking Tool
- Nail Hole Slot Punch
- Snap Lock Punch
- Electric drill
- Staples
- Safety glasses
- Inside and outside corner posts
- Trim and molding
Prepare for Vinyl Siding Installation
Once you have gathered everything you need, it is now time to prepare the walls for installation.
1. Deal with what’s underneath first.
Siding hides whatever is behind it, which is why covering over a problem is so tempting and so expensive later. Replace rotten sheathing, refasten loose boards, and find out where water has been getting in before anything new goes on. This is the single most important step, and it’s the one most often skipped on a fast job.
2. Clear The Area
Also, make sure the area is cleared of fixtures such as lights, molding, mailbox, etc. If there are any trees or plants obstructing the area, you must tie them up until you complete the installation task.
3. Get On The Work
You can start working by doing measurements and marking them with chalk. So, now you must have gotten the idea of what goes below a vinyl siding, which is: flashing, furring, house wrap, and sheathing.
Here’s the actual order, from the wall outward.
- Sheathing. The structural panel is fixed to the studs, usually OSB or plywood. It gives the wall its rigidity and something to fasten into. It isn’t insulation.
- Water-resistive barrier. House wrap or building paper over the sheathing. This is the layer that keeps wind-driven rain off your structure, and it isn’t optional.
- Flashing. At every window, door, and penetration, the lapping water runs out rather than in. More leaks start at flashing than anywhere else on a wall.
- Furring, where needed. Strips that create a flat plane on an uneven wall, or a drainage gap behind the siding. Run them perpendicular to the siding, so vertical furring for horizontal siding.
So, from the wall outward: sheathing, water-resistive barrier, flashing at the openings, furring where needed, then the siding.
Not Sure What’s Behind Yours?
If your siding is twenty years old or more, there’s a reasonable chance something behind it needs attention, and you won’t know until it comes off. That’s the argument for a proper tear-off rather than siding over what’s there.
Contact GS Exterior Experts, and we’ll tell you what we find before we quote the work.
