Re-siding hereSiding on a brick city, and humidity behind it
St. Louis is largely brick, so siding here is usually on the parts of a house that are not — gables, dormers, rear additions and the post-war suburbs. That changes the job.
Siding is often a partial elevation, not a house
On the city and inner-ring stock the siding is frequently a gable end, a dormer cheek or a rear addition attached to brick. The work is smaller and the detailing matters more, because almost all of it is transition.
Where siding meets masonry there has to be a flashing and a gap. Fitted tight to brick it traps water against both materials, and the brick loses that argument slowly.
The post-war ranches are a different job entirely
South County through Affton, Mehlville and Oakville runs to mid-century ranches with long, simple runs and low elevations. Those are straightforward re-sides and they go quickly.
Long runs do mean expansion matters more, because a full-length panel has further to move. Room left at the ends is not optional on a wall like that.
Humidity is behind the wall, not on it
A humid summer pushes moisture into a wall from the outside during the day and the house pushes it back the other way at night. A barrier that cannot dry in one direction or the other will hold that moisture against the sheathing.
It is an argument for taking the old siding off and for what goes back behind the new — a wall that can dry is worth more here than a wall that is merely sealed.
Hail marks siding as well as roofs
The same summer hail that bruises a roof dents and cracks siding on the windward elevation, and older vinyl gets brittle enough that it cracks rather than dents.
That is part of the same storm claim as the roof and belongs in the same scope. It is also the case that a cracked panel on a discontinued profile is frequently not matchable, which we would rather tell you before we try.