How Does Replacement Siding Keep My Home Dry?

Put Your Newly Updated Home Exterior to Work For You

You’ve been living with leaking siding for years, using quick fixes to extend the life of your home exterior. But at a certain point, you can no longer deny it: it’s time to replace siding on your house.

The cost to replace siding might feel like a barrier at first, but if you consider the cost of the damage your old, leaking siding is doing – and the amount you’re paying for maintenance – it’s absolutely the right move.

Keep reading to learn all the ways replacement siding and its supporting cast can help keep your home dry and your family safe. It also puts an end to the time-consuming temporary solutions you’ve been using.

The Major Risks Of Siding Leaks

Living with siding that leaks and allows water into your home is a major problem. You’re at risk of:

• Interior damage. Your interior walls, insulation, and wiring could sustain damage and require extensive repair, including new drywall, trim, paint, and flooring.
• Mold and mildew. Moisture trapped in your walls is the perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. These fungi can spread their spores throughout your home, affecting your indoor air quality and causing major health issues, like allergic reactions, breathing problems, chronic headaches, and fatigue. Certain types of mold are extremely dangerous and require professional remediation, or removal.
• Structural damage. Prolonged water intrusion can rot the framing of your home. Framing is what keeps your walls up. A structural engineer may need to assess the damage and create a plan for repairs.
• Termites and carpenter ants. These insects love moist wood. If your siding is letting water into your home, it’s like a buffet for these pests. You’ll need a professional exterminator to get rid of them. Don’t put it off, as they can cause structural damage, too.
• Decreased energy efficiency. Did you know that when your insulation gets wet, it becomes less effective? Wet insulation can let cold or hot air enter your home, leading to higher heating or cooling bills because your HVAC system struggles to keep up.
• Lower property value. If you think of your home as an investment, siding that lets in water is doing you no favors. Visible signs of siding issues can lower curb appeal and home value.
• Insurance issues. If your homeowner’s insurance determines your leaking siding caused long-term problems and you didn’t address it promptly, your insurance company may not cover related damages.

Replacing your siding removes these risks.

Why “Bandaid Solutions” For Siding Leaks Don’t Last

Fast solutions to attempt to stop siding leaks often don’t last long because they only address the surface-level problem.

• If you seal one gap in your old siding, it’s likely water will simply flow to another weak spot. Improper sealing can trap moisture and make things worse.
• Temporarily stopping a leak doesn’t address the damage behind your siding, like rotted sheathing, wet insulation, or mold. Covering it up makes it look OK for now, but the deterioration continues where you can’t see it.
• Your siding is meant to expand and contract with temperature and humidity. A small caulk job or makeshift patch doesn’t flex with the siding. Because of this, it can quickly develop cracks or put pressure on your siding panels that eventually leads to an even bigger hole.
• UV rays from the sun can break down patch materials, like duct tape or low-quality sealants. Your leak will be back before you know it.

Instead of relying on temporary fixes or short-term solutions, replacement siding blocks water from entering your home.

Replacement Siding Helps Keep Your Home Safe and Dry

Each part of the siding installation process contributes to keeping moisture out of your house.

With Your Old Siding Off, It’s Time to Take a Look At Your Flashing

Flashing are pieces of metal that cover transitions in your home exterior, such as around windows and doors. They provide protection against any moisture that may accidentally find its way behind your siding.

Replacing your siding could include adding new flashing, if that’s what your house needs. Talk to a replacement siding company to learn whether your house could benefit from new flashing.

House Wrap or Vapor Barrier

If your siding crew removes all your old siding before installing your replacement siding, they’ll likely add a house wrap as a first layer of protection. House wrap is sometimes called a vapor barrier.

House wrap helps prevent water intrusion into the walls of your home. It defends your home against moisture, working with the other parts of your replacement siding to do it.

Your Replacement Siding Itself Keeps Your Home Dry

If your old siding was leaking, getting new siding is the only way to 100% fix the issue. Think of your siding as the final exterior protective layer of your home – its armor, if you will.

When installed properly, your siding prevents rainwater from entering your home. Moisture shouldn’t have anywhere to go but away!

Caulk, If Necessary

Depending on the type of replacement siding you choose, your home exterior may require an application of caulk around any seams or joined pieces of siding. This is especially true if you’re replacing vinyl siding with engineered wood or fiber cement. Caulk is necessary to create a seal between laps or siding boards.

Most exterior house caulk is made of silicone or silicone-latex. It comes in a variety of colors to blend in, and many types are paintable, so you can’t see it when your replacement siding installation is complete.

Choosing to Act Now to Prevent Further Damage

Take a look at your home exterior. Really evaluate your existing siding. Is it cracked, bent, rotted, or even missing?

No amount of temporary repairs you can do will give you peace of mind that water is no longer entering your home. It’s just like when a bandage falls off your finger after you’ve worn it a while.