Siding

• Full tear-off of the old siding down to the sheathing, so what is behind it gets seen rather than covered up
• Sheathing inspection and repair — soft, delaminated or rotted board replaced, not sided over
• A weather-resistive barrier (house wrap) installed correctly, lapped shingle-style so water drains out rather than in
• Flashing at every opening — window and door heads, sills, penetrations, and where siding meets a roof line
• Kickout flashing where a roof edge meets a wall, the single most commonly omitted detail in siding and a leading cause of hidden wall rot
• Proper fastening and expansion allowance, because vinyl must be hung to move, not nailed tight
• Soffit, fascia and trim addressed as part of the same assembly, with attic intake ventilation kept clear
• Sealants and terminations at corners, transitions and abutments
• Permits pulled where your jurisdiction requires them
• Full cleanup — nails swept, cutoffs hauled, and a final walk with you before we leave

Vinyl is the most installed siding in America for real reasons: it never needs painting, resists rot and insects, comes in a wide color range, and it is the best value per square foot. Heavier gauges hold their shape and read far less plastic than builder-grade. Its limits are impact — hail can crack it, especially in cold — and extreme heat near a grill or reflective glass.

Insulated vinyl is vinyl with rigid foam backing laminated to the panel. It adds real R-value, stiffens the panel so it looks flatter and more like wood, and quiets the house. It costs more and it is the upgrade that actually shows.

Fiber cement is the premium workhorse: cement, sand and cellulose, non-combustible, dimensionally stable, immune to insects, and it holds paint for 15 years or more. It carries a genuine architectural look. It is heavy, it needs careful cutting and a longer install, and it costs more than vinyl.

Engineered wood gives you real wood grain with better stability than cedar, comes pre-primed or pre-finished, and installs faster and lighter than fiber cement. It needs its edges and cut ends sealed and its paint maintained.

Steel and aluminum are the hail answer. Steel is the most impact-resistant siding we install and a serious option in hail alley; aluminum is lighter and dent-prone but never rusts. Both are non-combustible.

Cedar is beautiful and historically correct on certain homes, and it is the highest-maintenance option on the board — stain or paint on a cycle, or it grays and checks.

Our weather is the whole conversation here: hail in spring, straight-line wind, 100-degree summers, hard freezes, and 50-degree swings inside a single week. That combination punishes siding in three specific ways — impact, thermal movement, and water intrusion at the details.

What we actually recommend, by priority:

• Worried most about hail? Steel, then fiber cement. Vinyl cracks under large hail, particularly in cold weather when it is brittle.
• Worried about wind? Fastening and panel engagement matter more than material. A properly hung panel at the correct nailing schedule outperforms a premium panel hung carelessly.
• Worried about energy bills? Insulated vinyl or a continuous rigid insulation layer behind the siding. Walls are where a surprising amount of a Midwest energy bill leaves the house.
• Worried about maintenance? Vinyl or insulated vinyl. No painting, ever.
• Want the best-looking result and will maintain it? Fiber cement or engineered wood.

And regardless of material: the house wrap, the flashing and the kickout details decide whether a wall lasts. Material is the part you can see; the details are the part that keeps the wall dry.

Siding damage is the most under-claimed storm loss on a house, because homeowners look up at the roof and never look at the walls. Hail cracks and punctures vinyl, dents steel and aluminum, chips fiber cement and strips paint. Wind pulls panels loose at the lock, tears them off, and drives rain behind panels that look intact from the driveway.

What to look for after a storm: cracks and punched holes on the storm-facing elevations, chipped or gouged panels, panels that have unlocked or waved out at the bottom, dents and dings on metal siding and window wraps, torn window screens, and dented gutters and downspouts — the soft metals that tell an adjuster the storm was real.

Here is what matters financially: when a storm damages your roof, the siding is usually part of the same claim. Cracked panels, damaged wraps, torn screens and dented gutters belong in the scope. Because we roof and side with our own crews, one inspection documents the entire exterior and one written scope goes to your adjuster instead of three contractors on three schedules. See storm damage and roof insurance claims.

One caution specific to vinyl: color-matching a discontinued line years later is often impossible, which is why a hail claim on a partial elevation can legitimately support replacing a full elevation or the whole house rather than patching in panels that will never match.

• Cracked, split or punctured panels, or panels with pieces missing
• Panels that have come unlocked, wave, buckle or rattle in wind
• Soft spots when you press the wall — that is sheathing, not siding, and it means water has been behind it
• Peeling or bubbling paint on interior walls, or interior wall stains with no plumbing above them
• Mold, mildew or dark streaking on the siding surface, especially on north elevations
• Rotted or spongy trim, corner boards, window casing or fascia
• Woodpecker holes, wasp nests or insect activity behind panels
• Rising heating and cooling bills with no other explanation
• Warped, faded or chalky panels where the finish has failed
• Daylight or drafts around windows and outlets on exterior walls
• Caulk joints that keep failing at corners and transitions
• Siding that needs painting every few years instead of every 10 to 15

Repair is right when the damage is isolated and confined: a few cracked panels on one elevation, a section of trim, a length of soffit or fascia, a failed flashing detail, or storm damage on a single wall — assuming a matching panel can still be sourced.

Replacement is right when the problems are systemic: damage across multiple elevations, a discontinued color that cannot be matched, widespread fading that will make any repair obvious, soft sheathing found in more than one place, or siding at the end of its service life that has already been patched. There is also the honest economic case — three separate repair visits on an old wall usually cost more than doing the elevation once.

The test we apply is the same one we apply to roofs: will this repair hold for years, or only until the next storm? We will tell you when a repair is genuinely the right answer even though it is the smaller job.

We do not publish a per-square price, because two houses with identical square footage can differ by half. What actually drives siding cost:

• Material and grade — vinyl gauge, insulated versus standard, fiber cement versus engineered wood
• Total wall area, which is driven by stories and roofline complexity more than floor plan
• How many corners, gables, dormers and transitions — cuts and terminations are the labor
• Windows and doors, each one a flashing and trim detail
• Tear-off and disposal of the existing siding, and whether there are two layers
• Sheathing repair found after tear-off
• Trim package — corner boards, window and door casing, soffit, fascia, wraps
• Insulation added behind the siding
• Access — two and three-story elevations, steep grade, tight lot lines
• Permits and any code requirements in your jurisdiction

The inspection and written itemized estimate are free, and the estimate is itemized so you can compare it line by line against any other bid — which is the only honest way to compare siding proposals.

1. Free inspection and measurement. Every elevation walked and photographed, trim and sheathing condition noted, findings shown to you.
2. Material and color selection, with samples in your hand against your roof and brick rather than off a screen.
3. Written itemized scope and price — material, trim package, flashing, warranty, all on paper before anything starts.
4. Insurance, if it applies. We document the damage and meet your adjuster at the property.
5. Permits and scheduling.
6. Protection and prep — landscaping covered, fixtures and shutters removed.
7. Tear-off of the existing siding and disposal.
8. Sheathing repair and a correctly lapped weather-resistive barrier.
9. Flashing at windows, doors, penetrations and roof-to-wall junctions, including kickouts.
10. Siding installation at the manufacturer's nailing schedule, with expansion allowance where the material requires it.
11. Trim, soffit, fascia and wraps, with attic intake ventilation left clear.
12. Cleanup and final walk — magnet sweep, debris hauled, walked with you before we leave.

Most homes run three to seven working days depending on size, material and how much sheathing has to come out. Fiber cement runs longer than vinyl. Weather moves siding schedules more than anything else.

Walls are a bigger share of a Midwest energy bill than most homeowners expect, and a siding project is the one time in 30 years the wall is open. Three upgrades are worth considering while it is:

• Insulated siding or continuous rigid insulation behind the panel, which reduces thermal bridging through the studs — the heat path that cavity insulation cannot address
• Air sealing at penetrations, band joists and around window openings, which often does more for comfort than added R-value
• House wrap installed as a true drainage plane, lapped correctly, so the wall can dry

Insulated siding also stiffens the panel, deadens outside noise, and hides minor wall irregularities that thin vinyl telegraphs. It is the single upgrade customers most often tell us they are glad they paid for.

Siding does not end at the siding. The soffit is the underside of the overhang and it carries the intake ventilation your attic needs; the fascia is the board your gutters hang from. Get those wrong and you create roof problems from the ground up: blocked intake vents mean a hot attic that cooks shingles from underneath and drives ice dams in winter, and rotted fascia will not hold a gutter no matter how good the gutter is.

We install and repair roofing, siding, soffit, fascia, gutters and windows with our own crews, which means the roof edge is one company's responsibility instead of a seam between three trades pointing at each other. If your siding project touches the roof line — and it almost always does — that matters. See gutters and residential roofing.

Three separate warranties come with a siding job and they cover different things. The manufacturer's product warranty covers the material against defects, fading and, on many vinyl lines, hail — often with lifetime and prorated periods, and usually transferable once when you sell. The finish warranty on fiber cement and engineered wood covers the factory paint. And workmanship covers the installation itself — which is where nearly every real siding failure originates.

The practical points: product warranties are commonly voided by improper fastening, painting vinyl a darker color than rated, or pressure washing the panels at high pressure. Register your warranty after installation and keep the invoice — you will want it at resale, and a transferable siding warranty is a genuine selling point.

• Wash it once a year with a garden hose, soft brush and mild detergent — low pressure, working bottom to top, rinsing top down
• Never high-pressure wash vinyl or fiber cement, and never spray upward behind panels; it drives water into the wall and voids warranties
• Walk the perimeter each spring and after every hail or high-wind event, looking for cracks, unlocked panels and dents
• Keep mulch, soil and sprinklers off the siding — contact with wet soil is how insects and rot get in
• Trim shrubs and branches back at least a foot from the wall so it can dry
• Check and renew caulk at corners, transitions and where dissimilar materials meet
• Keep grills and reflective glass away from vinyl — both can warp a panel
• Repaint fiber cement and engineered wood on schedule, typically 10 to 15 years
• Fix a cracked panel promptly. The panel is cosmetic; the water behind it is not

Siding attracts the same out-of-state crews that hail brings out for roofs, and the same rules apply. Walk away from: an offer to cover, waive or absorb your deductible — that is insurance fraud in most states and it puts you at risk too, not just the contractor; pressure to sign before your adjuster has inspected; no local address, license number or certificate of insurance; a demand for cash or the full claim check up front; a price that only holds today; and a "free siding" pitch tied to a claim.

A siding warranty is only as good as the company still standing behind it. We are licensed and insured (License # 104.011957/105.007037), BBB Accredited, a BBB Torch Award for Ethics recipient, family-owned through three generations since 1947, with more than 50,000 satisfied customers, our own in-house crews in seven local markets, and 24/7 emergency service answered by a person.

We side homes in 143 cities from seven local offices. Each market has its own crews, its own phone and its own list of cities — open your market for the local number and the full city list.

• St. Louis — (314) 429-6000
  Brick and frame housing stock from the 1920s through new subdivisions, with hail and straight-line wind as the recurring threat to walls and trim.
• Kansas City — (816) 872-9500
  Wide hail exposure on both sides of the state line, and a lot of 1960s–1990s vinyl now reaching the end of its service life.
• Indianapolis — (317) 726-6000
  Freeze-thaw cycling and wind-driven rain are the wall killers here, with fiber cement and insulated vinyl both popular replacements.
• Springfield — (417) 429-1927
  Ozarks-edge hail country. Impact resistance and correct flashing at roof-to-wall junctions matter more here than almost anywhere we work.
• Columbia / Jefferson City — (573) 343-8993
  Mid-Missouri sun exposure fades south and west elevations first; insulated siding is a common upgrade on older ranch stock.
• Lake of the Ozarks — (573) 343-8993
  Lake-area homes, second homes and steep lots, with heavy sun and wind off the water and long stretches of unoccupied months.
• Metro East & Southern Illinois — (618) 549-0800
  Storm corridor running up the Mississippi, with hail and wind claims common and a lot of older wood and aluminum siding still in place.