Vinyl Siding Repair

[dkroth]

My garage has vinyl siding. I have one cracked panel and three that are, *ahem* heat damaged from a gas grill.

Assuming I can purchase matching siding* is this something I should tackle myself or should I call a roofing/siding guy?

My concern is detaching and reattaching the panels above the ones I'm replacing. Siding snaps together top to bottom which is simple enough, but is it difficult to un-snap and re-snap 18 year old siding? Am I doing to shatter everything trying to get it apart? Would light application of a heat gun help?


* I expect a decent building supply will have the siding I'm looking for. I'm sure the stuff I have has faded somewhat. I may try to move some old siding around to minimize the appearance of the patch areas.

 

[zhaddock]

Easy fix. I've done it on a couple of my houses and their sheds/garages. You can pick up a little stamped metal tool at home depot that makes it almost a no brainer.

 

[rlitman]

Definitely no to the heat gun. A few hours in the sun wouldn't hurt.
Even if the replacement siding is an exact match, after 18 years, the original siding is going to have a chalky surface from UV damage. Nothing can match that.

But the replacement of a few pieces is itself pretty easy. It doesn't really snap. It has parts that overlap and hook into each other. The tool to get it apart is cheap and simple.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I know the tool as being called a zip tool. A cheap one is like $6.00. You just sip that bad panel out at the bottom. Then the bottom of the next one up so you can get to the nails at the top of the damaged panel, then just pull it out. Nail in the new piece, leaving the nails not quite sent all the way home so the panel can move slightly, and re-attached the panel. You will likely have to use the zip tool to install the second panel as well. It's a little bit tricky to re-install untill you figure out the tool but it is pretty easy to figure out.

 

[MoonRise]

The siding 'zip' tool is essential to unzip and then rezip siding pieces/sections.

The job is difficult or impossible without that tool.

Some 18 year old siding may end up cracking (even in warm/mild weather, forget about doing it in the winter!) during the R&R process. Have some 'extra' pieces.

+9 on NO to using a heat gun. Just put the replacement siding pieces in the warm sun for a while before doing the job, and also allow the sun to warm up the existing siding pieces before attempting to remove them.

All of which eventually comes to the crux of the matter.

Getting siding to 'match'. The color will NOT match (too much time and sun and weathering, even on 'good' siding) and depending on exactly what brand and 'style' of siding you are dealing with, you might not even be able to get a 'physical' match or mechanical compatibility match (dimensions, 'lip' details, etc). BTDT.

Is it a 'tough' job? No, not really. But if you don't have the zip tool, it can be tough to impossible and if you can't 'match' the existing siding (check with a piece of the existing siding at the supply house before starting the job) then the job can be un-doable.

 

[dkroth]

So I need this and a tolerance for color/fit mismatch.

Check.

Thanks for the pointers.

 

[engineer2]

I've been R and R 'ing 23 year old vinyl siding for window replacements. No problems with anything cracking. Tool above works great. Had been using a GM window trim removal tool.
Just leave the nails a little loose so the pieces can move around as they expand and contract. It'll be easy since the original nail holes will guide you when you put it back.

 

[MScott]

If you have a "back wall" on the garage which is less visible, you might be able to remove several panels from there to use for repair and then use your new panels there where it will not show or will be less obvious.

 

[cowboyjosh]

If you have a "back wall" on the garage which is less visible, you might be able to remove several panels from there to use for repair and then use your new panels there where it will not show or will be less obvious.

x2, I was just going to suggest this.

Vinyl is a helluva lot easier to replace a piece then fiber cement is. I have 5-6 pieced of fiber cement sizing on my house that needs replaced from either mechanical damage or it was nailed or caulked too tight or whatever, cause a couple pieces split. Yeah, I know its not suppose; to do that but if it didn't Hardie and the other manufactures wouldn't just give out new material to repair with without question when I call.

 

[boiler7904]

I had to pull a couple dozen pieces of siding off the back of my garage last fall and it went quite smoothly with the siding zip tool mentioned before. Start with your highest piece and work down for the removal will save some time and minimize changes of damaging pieces instead of using the zip tool on every piece. Like someone else mentioned, pull a piece of siding from somewhere else on the building for this repair and install the new material in the less conspicuous spot - back side, behind bushes, etc. Leave the siding loose so it can expand and contract. Don't forget to trim the nailing flange if you have to **** to another piece of siding on a row since the flange won't lay flat without a notch. New siding is notched to lay flat from the factory.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you have a Menard's local, here's a direct link for the tool with the SKU.

http://www.menards.com/main/buildin.../p-1474978-c-5824.htm?tid=3009587968148039039

When you start replacing the siding, you may be able to use the old nail holes as line up marks (depending your specific situation) to stay level. You want to try to hit the wall studs but we all know, that's not always possible. Some siding will have the slotted holes numbered or lettered, they repeat on 16" centers.

If you don't have them, a good pair (not old wore out) straight snips to cut the siding helps. If you use your utility knife, make sure to have a good sharp blade in it also.

http://www.menards.com/main/tools-h...p-1455901-c-9123.htm?tid=-8605973126270171496

 

[Kevin54]

The siding 'zip' tool is essential to unzip and then rezip siding pieces/sections.
The job is difficult or impossible without that tool.

Some 18 year old siding may end up cracking (even in warm/mild weather, forget about doing it in the winter!) during the R&R process. Have some 'extra' pieces.

+9 on NO to using a heat gun. Just put the replacement siding pieces in the warm sun for a while before doing the job, and also allow the sun to warm up the existing siding pieces before attempting to remove them.

All of which eventually comes to the crux of the matter.

Getting siding to 'match'. The color will NOT match (too much time and sun and weathering, even on 'good' siding) and depending on exactly what brand and 'style' of siding you are dealing with, you might not even be able to get a 'physical' match or mechanical compatibility match (dimensions, 'lip' details, etc). BTDT.

Is it a 'tough' job? No, not really. But if you don't have the zip tool, it can be tough to impossible and if you can't 'match' the existing siding (check with a piece of the existing siding at the supply house before starting the job) then the job can be un-doable.

I've unzipped many a piece of siding using a claw hammer. Get underneath and pry the lip down, then just pull it slightly and it will unzip very easily. As long as you have something to snag the lip, it comes off. Even if you have tough fingers, you can take the siding loose that way also.

For the OP....as far as replacing the siding.......if your current siding has any age to it, you may want to replace the complete wall. Nothing looks worse than having to patch in a couple of pieces, and they are totally different color due to your old siding fading out. Don't worry about the corners or "J"s, but just the siding itself. Then save the faded panels for patching in, in the future if you need to.

 

[vinylguy]

Definitely no to the heat gun. A few hours in the sun wouldn't hurt.
Even if the replacement siding is an exact match, after 18 years, the original siding is going to have a chalky surface from UV damage. Nothing can match that.

But the replacement of a few pieces is itself pretty easy. It doesn't really snap. It has parts that overlap and hook into each other. The tool to get it apart is cheap and simple.

We had a similar problem with our tan siding. replacement piece did not match the 14 year old siding that was on the house. two options. replace the piece then have the siding color matched at a paint store and paint. or use a restorer/sealer. we used a product called vinyl renu and it restored the old siding and is almost an exact match. our neighbors couldnt tell the difference. its been almost 10 years since we did that and it looks like the day we applied it. hope this helps.