Siding Question

[Stevedore]

Not exactly garage-related, but there seem to be many here who are experienced in various aspects of construction, so I thought I'd ask:

What's a good way to secure vinyl siding that will no longer "hook" back in place? We recently bought a house with several sections of the siding coming away from the house, and for whatever reason, they don't hook back into place at the bottom edge as they should. I found that in these areas, as well as in a few others, small brads had been nailed upwards into the section above, but the brads have rusted & loosened, letting the siding curl outwards. I had the opportunity to speak with the former owner, and he said that the siding was original (30 yrs old), and he didn't do the nail repair, and assumes that it was done by the original installers.

I understand that I can't just nail the vinyl straight into the house, which would restrict exansion/contraction. I could re-do the brad nail technique, using stainless brads so they'd last. But I'm also wondering if there's any type of glue that might hold the siding pieces together. Maybe PVC glue like is used for PVC plumbing?

I attached a few photos so you can see what I'm talking about. If anyone has any experience with a similar problem, I'd appreciate hearing about a solution.

Thanks!

 

[GTO]

Vinyl siding hangs,it is not nailed completely.Remove entire piece and check nailing points.It appears that those pcs have buckled due to being nailed to tight.
Good luck

 

[6768rogues]

The problem you have often occurs where the first and second floors meet; over time the band joist shrinks and the siding does not. It usually happens in the first year after the house is built.
The best but a time consuming repair would be to take the siding off from that point to the top of the wall and put it back on, pulling it up so it is fully locked.
If it partially locks but not fully, you can put some butyl caulk under the top lock of the panels and then lock it back as far as it will go. It will glue itself back together. Both panels expand/contract equally, so it will work as long as it partially locks.
If it does not partially lock, take off the lower panel and cut up under the top lock with a utility knife to remove the lock. Then use a nail slot punch (available where siding is sold) to punch slots at the uppermost part of the panel. Nail it back on leaving the nails a little loose. Then drop a piece of starter strip (usually used at the bottom to start the siding) down over the nails, nail it in place and lock the upper panel into it. Essentially you will be restarting the wall with one panel a little smaller than the others. Done right, all will be able to expand and contract. You will probably need a zip tool to lock the panel back in; that tool is cheap and available where siding is sold.
I fixed that kind of stuff for 21 years in a former life.

 

[Stevedore]

The problem you have often occurs where the first and second floors meet; over time the band joist shrinks and the siding does not. It usually happens in the first year after the house is built.
The best but a time consuming repair would be to take the siding off from that point to the top of the wall and put it back on, pulling it up so it is fully locked.
If it partially locks but not fully, you can put some butyl caulk under the top lock of the panels and then lock it back as far as it will go. It will glue itself back together. Both panels expand/contract equally, so it will work as long as it partially locks.
If it does not partially lock, take off the lower panel and cut up under the top lock with a utility knife to remove the lock. Then use a nail slot punch (available where siding is sold) to punch slots at the uppermost part of the panel. Nail it back on leaving the nails a little loose. Then drop a piece of starter strip (usually used at the bottom to start the siding) down over the nails, nail it in place and lock the upper panel into it. Essentially you will be restarting the wall with one panel a little smaller than the others. Done right, all will be able to expand and contract. You will probably need a zip tool to lock the panel back in; that tool is cheap and available where siding is sold.
I fixed that kind of stuff for 21 years in a former life.

Many thanks for your detailed response!

As you mentioned, the problem areas are precisely where the 1st & 2nd floors meet.

Taking the siding off up to the roof is out of the question for me. And the gap appears to be too great for the butyl caulk fix, i.e., not even close to locking, so I'll probably try your last suggestion.

One question: What is the need for punching new slots in the piece I'm removing & replacing? Can I not re-nail the piece using the existing slots? Or do they get removed when I cut off the hook part?

Thanks again. Aside from my wife not wanting me to go up on a ladder anymore, this looks like a workable solution.

 

[jimmiller2]

I am doing my garage build as we speak using vinyl siding. I have also done several other small DIY siding jobs on other buildings of mine. I always use sheet rock screws with #10 flat washers under each screw. I know it is time consuming but have never had any siding problems. I just don't trust nail guns shooting staples into OSB. With the screws you can back off any that go in too tight.

 

[raceman6135]

I've used a Pop© rivet or stainless steel self-tapping (i.e. sheetmetal) screw. They have held fine through 5 years of Canadian temperature fluctuations from -30C to +30C (-22F to 86F) without buckling.

Lots of guys will balk at this, but I'm just sharing with you what's worked for me, was quick, and certainly affordable. Win-win-win.

 

[6768rogues]

When you cut the top lock from the lower panel, use a utility knife and cut up under the lock. That will maximize the height of the remaining clapboard but will remove the existing nail slots. Then when you punch in new slots they will be high enough to be covered by starter strip that is restarting the upper panel.
You have to cut off the top lock or it will hold the starter strip out and look bad.
I used to set up equipment, tear down the wall from the top and reinstall it pulled up so it is fully locked. Typically a wall would take about a half day for me alone and I charged for about a half day.

 

[Stevedore]

I've used a Pop© rivet or stainless steel self-tapping (i.e. sheetmetal) screw. They have held fine through 5 years of Canadian temperature fluctuations from -30C to +30C (-22F to 86F) without buckling.

Lots of guys will balk at this, but I'm just sharing with you what's worked for me, was quick, and certainly affordable. Win-win-win.

I like that solution also. Really small screws wouldn't be very noticeable, and it's on the back of the house anyway. I may try that.

 

[6768rogues]

I am doing my garage build as we speak using vinyl siding. I have also done several other small DIY siding jobs on other buildings of mine. I always use sheet rock screws with #10 flat washers under each screw. I know it is time consuming but have never had any siding problems. I just don't trust nail guns shooting staples into OSB. With the screws you can back off any that go in too tight.

I would at least used galvanized fasteners. Regular drywall screws will rust and when it bleeds out of the weep holes in the bottom of the siding panels it really looks bad. About 30 years ago I fixed one done with bare screws and the only way to fix it was to tear it off and do it again with new siding and rust resistant fasteners.

 

[6768rogues]

I like that solution also. Really small screws wouldn't be very noticeable, and it's on the back of the house anyway. I may try that.

Fixing it with fasteners that show is an option. When I fixed it, they were calling someone in the business to fix it so it looked as good as new, so I could not have exposed fasteners. What the heck, drive a spike through it and it will stay there, if that is all you want.