Siding Contractor in North Reading

Profiles, Colors & Materials

Which siding style is right for your house?

Most of the siding we put up around North Reading, Reading and Wilmington is standard vinyl. It costs the least up front, never needs painting, and comes in dozens of colors. Profile is the bigger design decision. Clapboard is the traditional New England look. Dutch lap has a deeper shadow line along each course. Beaded siding has a softer, rounded edge, and board and batten runs vertically and is often used on gables, dormers or a garage to break up a large wall.

Insulated vinyl has a foam backing fused to the panel. It costs more, but it adds insulation and makes the wall feel more solid, which matters most on older homes that have little insulation in the walls. Fiber cement costs the most and needs repainting every 10 to 15 years. Some homeowners still choose it for the look and because it stands up well to impact.

It helps to pick siding, trim and roof color together instead of one at a time. If you're planning a metal roof as well, our Color Visualizer lets you try Drexel Metals roof colors on a house before you commit. For a side-by-side table of vinyl, insulated vinyl and fiber cement, see our vinyl siding guide for North Reading homes.

Siding Repair

Do you need siding repair or a full replacement?

Siding rarely fails everywhere at once. Usually one wall or a handful of panels goes first, and a repair is the right call. We match the existing profile and color so the patch doesn't stand out. Signs that point to a repair:

• A few cracked or broken panels from a storm, a ladder or a stray baseball
• One section warped by heat, often on a south- or west-facing wall or next to a grill
• Loose or blown-off panels after high wind
• Damaged soffit or fascia in one spot, often where a gutter has been overflowing

Signs that point toward replacement:

• Fading, chalking or warping across most of the house, not just one side
• Gaps and loose panels showing up in many places
• Soft, spongy sheathing or peeling paint and stains on interior walls, which means water has been getting behind the siding
• You're already replacing the roof and the siding is near the end of its life anyway

If water has gotten behind the siding, swapping panels alone won't fix it. We open the wall, repair the housewrap and any damaged sheathing, and then close it back up. If it turns out to be a repair job, we'll say so. We don't turn a repair into a replacement.

New England Weather

How does New England weather affect siding?

Siding on the North Shore deals with a wide temperature range every year, and that's what wears it out. A few things we see again and again on homes from Lynnfield to Andover:

Expansion and contraction

Vinyl grows and shrinks with temperature. A wall that sits in hot summer sun and then drops below zero in January moves a surprising amount. When panels are nailed tight or butted hard against trim, that movement has nowhere to go, and the siding buckles or pops loose.

Wind-driven rain

Nor'easters push rain sideways, and it gets behind siding at every window, door and corner. The siding sheds most of it, but the housewrap and the flashing at openings stop the rest. That's why we don't skip the layer you never see.

Ice dams and the roof edge

When ice builds up at the eaves, meltwater can back up into the soffit and fascia and rot them out from behind. New soffit won't last if the roof keeps sending water into it. Our guide to preventing ice dams in Massachusetts covers the causes.

Shade and mildew

North-facing walls and walls under trees stay damp and grow mildew. Washing once a year with a garden hose and a soft brush keeps it from staining. Also check the caulking around windows and doors each year, since that's where most leaks behind siding begin.

Siding FAQ

Siding questions we get asked