Vinyl siding repair

[RichieP_MechE]

Recently expanded my concrete driveway and am looking for ideas for repairing the vinyl siding. This siding was previously partially buried (note dirt stains of the previous ground level in the picture below). I had the concrete guys just rough cut the siding along the slope of the new driveway with intentions of doing a proper repair later. The siding was installed by a previous owner of the property back in 1998. The siding is attached to furring strips which are attached to the terracotta block walls of the garage.

I plan to remove the bottom three courses of siding and replace them. Not too concerned about an exact color match, it seems Lowes has a gray dutch lap vinyl that should be close enough. I am wondering how to finish the bottom edge since I'm sure my angled cuts to match the driveway slope will not be perfect. Would J channel be appropriate in this case? I am open to other ideas as well.

 

[firebirdparts]

I would certainly use a J channel for that.

 

[PCustoms]

I would leave 12" exposed block wall and not side to the ground

 

[The Cobbler]

yes, I would run J along the concrete , or just remove the siding up till it's full strip and expose the concrete block

 

[PCustoms]

I would certainly use a J channel for that.

If you use j channel put another piece of finish trim inside that to capture the cut edge

 

[thammel]

J channel or starter strip, which is intended for that purpose. Pull off some siding. Look at the back....you may find manufacturer and other info printed on the back.

 

[PCustoms]

J channel or starter strip, which is intended for that purpose. Pull off some siding. Look at the back....you may find manufacturer and other info printed on the back.

Starter strip doesn't do anything if you cut the bottom of the siding off at an angle

 

[The Cobbler]

Starter strip doesn't do anything if you cut the bottom of the siding off

fixed it

 

[jack stand]

I would investigate removing any courses below the sill plate leaving a block wall to take any driveway type abuse & shovel snow against.
Pull the furing strip and re parge the block if needed.
Now if they "stepped" the block you can't do this, but I'd keep the siding as high as you can above the driveway.

 

[OccupantRJ]

The siding does not have to be in a straight horizontal line at the bottom. The siding may need to be installed in a stepped fashion leaving brick exposed.

 

[PCustoms]

The siding does not have to be in a straight horizontal line at the bottom. The siding may need to be installed in a stepped fashion leaving brick exposed.

Stepped is still straight and horizontal.

Unless he switches material, the siding at the bottom needs (at least should) follow the same lines as above or else it's going to look incredibly goofy.

 

[RichieP_MechE]

Good input here, thanks guys.

The block walls are cosmetically pretty sloppy (prior owner built this garage himself in the '60s from what I can find) . This is a photo from the interior when I was framing out walls to insulate the garage. From other work I have done on the exterior, it looks like it might have been painted before the siding was added in the late 90s.

Removing the bottom courses and parging the block is an interesting idea. I've never done parging before, is it difficult to get a good finish?