Learn What Your Home Needs
How do you know when it’s time to replace your home’s siding? While the exterior siding plays a crucial role in protecting your home against the elements, most homeowners don’t give it much thought – until it begins to break, crack, or leak.
Should you wait for these things to happen before replacing or updating your siding? A siding installation expert in Alpharetta says ‘no’. Leaks in your exterior siding can be an extremely serious issue and waiting too long to fix it will only make matters worse. Thankfully, several telltale signs can help you determine if it’s time to upgrade your siding so you can avoid all these troubles. Here are some of them.
New Siding Installation for Your Alpharetta Home: Do You Need It?
You’ll know it’s time to upgrade your exterior siding once you see the following signs.
Your house needs constant painting and/or staining.
As a general rule, a good siding needs to be painted or stained only once every eight to ten years. Some even keep their shape and color longer. Hence, if your current siding calls for a new coat of paint every five to six years, you can be sure that there is something wrong with it so it would be more practical to replace it.
Frequent refinishing can take a lot of your time, energy, and resources. Do you think it’s worth the effort? Or would replacing your siding be the more logical choice? If you’re not quite sure which option will work best for you, consult a home improvement expert.
You have rotten or warped siding.
It pays to do a visual inspection of your home’s siding from time to time. Inspect it from multiple angles and be on the lookout for any warped, bulging, or rotted sidings. If you see visible signs of damage, poke under the siding using a sharp object (a screwdriver will do) to see if it is starting to rot. A rotting siding cannot protect your home and its occupants against the elements and can seriously affect your safety and in-home comfort so don’t take it lightly.
The exterior siding cracked or became loose.
While one or two cracked or loose boards may not be a cause for immediate concern (as long as there are no cracked or broken layers underneath), seeing larger sections with visible signs of cracking or having numerous loose siding pieces can indicate a more serious problem that requires professional help. In any case, siding installation experts in Alpharetta highly recommend removing and replacing all cracked or loose pieces to prevent further water damage.
You see peeling paint and loose wallpaper inside the home.
Bad siding allows moisture to seep through the exterior wall and permeate through the wallboard. When this happens, expect to see visible signs of damage (e.g. peeling paint, loose wallpaper) on your interior walls.
You have ridiculously high cooling and heating costs.
So, your monthly energy costs are way too high compared to your neighbors’? If you have ruled out all other possible culprits (lack of proper attic insulation, leaking roof, not using energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances, etc.) and still can’t find a logical explanation, you may have a problem with your exterior wall insulation.
Could it be possible that your home’s heating and cooling is simply escaping through the siding? It is very much possible, says a siding installation expert in Alpharetta, particularly if low-grade wall insulation and siding materials were used during the construction.
The siding shows signs of mold, mildew, and fungus growth.
There is no place for mold, mildew, and fungus in your home. Aside from causing ugly patches on your walls, kitchen drain, shower curtain, and basement floor and leaving a characteristic musty smell, they can trigger allergic reactions and make you sick. Numerous studies indicate that these microorganisms can cause adverse health effects including headaches, coughing, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses. Some studies even suggest that it can be linked to other more serious health conditions although more studies are needed to confirm or invalidate the findings.
Mold and mildew are not welcome in anyone’s home but they have an uncanny way of getting inside and claiming your home as their own. They can easily enter through any open doors, windows or vents, and will thrive in moist surfaces. So, if you have damaged or worn out siding where water seeps through, there is a big chance that you will also see signs of mold and mildew infestation.
There are holes and bubbles in the siding.
Do you see bubbles forming under the surface of your current siding? If you do, then it’s time to replace it. Since the presence of bubbles indicates that moisture is being trapped on or under the siding, ignoring the issue can lead to bigger problems and require more expensive fixes later on.
In the same manner, holes in the siding (usually caused by insects) can also affect your home’s aesthetic value and may cause serious issues so deal with them appropriately.
A good siding can ensure your safety and in-home comfort, improve your home’s longevity, and increase its resale value so don’t think twice about replacing it when you start seeing these signs.
In Need of New Siding Installation? It’s Time to Call the Experts!
Replacing your siding is not an easy job but you don’t have to do it alone. We are here to help. At Four Seasons Painting and Home Improvement, you can be sure that your siding installation project in Alpharetta is completed according to the same high quality standards we use in all our projects and that it will be completed on time and within your budget.
Our dedication to providing quality service earned us an A+ rating on the Better Business and Angie’s List as well as the prestigious Best of Kudzu award for six consecutive years (2012 to 2017) so you can be sure that you’re in good hands if you choose to work with us.
Are you ready to let us help with your upcoming project? Contact Four Seasons Painting today at (678) 235-9179 to get started.
