The spring and summer months can stress and strain your home’s siding. Before autumn starts, you need to ensure it can sufficiently protect your house during cold weather. Let’s explore the tasks you should include on your fall siding maintenance and repair checklist.
Look for Warping
Factors like age, moisture and heat can cause your home’s siding to warp. Warped siding makes your home’s exterior look unkempt. It also compromises your home’s energy efficiency and can make it easy for pests, like beetles and spiders, to get inside your house. You can protect your home by looking for and repairing warped siding.
Tighten Loose Panels
Wind and structural shifting can cause siding panels to come loose. Loose panels can fall off or let in cold and moisture, making your home less energy efficient. You should include tightening loose panels in your fall siding maintenance and repair checklist.
Clean the Siding
Cleaning your siding provides your home with several crucial benefits. This task not only adds to your home’s curb appeal, it also prolongs the life of your siding, prevents damage from dirt and dust buildup and creates a healthier inside living environment. You can use a mild detergent and warm water to spray off the siding or hire a siding professional for this task.
Look for and Remove Fungus
As you maintain your siding, look for fungus like mildew and algae. The fungus can penetrate siding, particularly if the siding is made from wood. This leads to decay and rot. It can also damage the air quality inside your home.
Fill in Gaps
If you find any gaps, such as cracks and punctures, in your siding, fill them in before cold weather arrives. Filling them in keeps out cold and moisture. This task also lends to the energy efficiency of your home and helps improve the indoor air quality.
Repaint the Siding
Your fall checklist should also include repainting any areas of the siding that need it. Repainting it protects your siding from moisture because the paint acts as a barrier from snow and ice. It can also keep out pests, like termites, and improve your home’s curb appeal and value.
Inspect Around the Doors and Windows
Gaps in the siding around your doors and windows threaten your indoor comfort. During your seasonal upkeep and repair project, inspect the areas around the doors and windows and fill in any spaces you find. You can use a high-quality caulk to seal gaps or hire a siding professional for the job.
Look for Pest Damage
Pests like termites and carpenter ants can inflict serious damage, such as holes and feeder tubes, to your siding. This damage can compromise your siding’s structural integrity and lead to moisture problems.
It can also ruin your home’s exterior look and leave openings for other pests to build nests or invade the inside of your house. You should look for and repair pest damage before winter.
Trim Your Trees and Shrubs
As autumn approaches, inspect your trees and shrubs and trim them to protect your home’s siding. Overgrown shrubs and trees rub against your siding, causing damage like scratches and dents. They can also attract squirrels and woodpeckers that can chew or peck at the siding in a bid to find food.
Clean the Gutters and Downspouts
Your home’s siding can survive winter better when you take the time to clean the gutters and downspouts. These fixtures keep water away from the siding, minimizing the risk of water damage to it.
Inspect and Repair the Flashings
Add inspecting and repairing your roof’s flashings to your autumn checklist. Damaged flashing makes it easier for water to seep into your home, causing damage to your ceiling, walls and flooring. The damage also weakens materials like plywood and framing, which can cost you a significant amount of money to replace.
Ensure Proper Ventilation
Check the ventilation in the attic or upper floor of your home. Good ventilation reduces the chances of water getting trapped behind the siding, creating an ideal environment for mildew and algae to grow. It can also help extend the lifespan of your home’s siding.
Look for Water Damage
Water damage can cause soft spots and sagging. Before winter arrives, look for water damage and replace any affected siding. This tip not only safeguards your home’s appearance but also keeps out cold air and moisture and helps your home remain energy efficient.
Inspect the Soffits and Fascias
Don’t forget to inspect the soffits and fascias as you inspect your siding this fall. Damage to these fixtures compromises your siding’s structural integrity and weakens your home’s rafters and sheathing.
It also creates entry points for pests like rodents, birds and bugs to get into your home. If you can’t reach these parts of your house to inspect them, you need to hire a siding construction professional to handle this task for you.
Inspect the Chimney and Roofline
Areas like the chimney and roofline also need close inspection as you look over and repair your home’s siding. Openings around these fixtures increase the risk of moisture damage to structures like your home’s exterior walls.
They also reduce your home’s energy efficiency, making it harder for you to maintain a consistent indoor temperature. A siding repair professional can inspect these fixtures and fill in gaps or replace parts of your siding as needed.
Look for Paint Bubbles
At first glance, you may not pay much attention to paint bubbles in your siding. However, paint bubbles can cause the paint on the siding to peel and chip away as well as ruin the outside look of your home.
Paint bubbles can also have trapped moisture in them, which can lead to wood rot. The solution can involve scraping off the paint, sanding the surface and then repainting the siding. You can also replace siding that has paint bubbles on it.
Check the Outdoor Lights
Your checklist should include checking the outdoor lights. These lights can have a big impact on the effectiveness of your siding. The heat from them can cause damage like cracks and warping. They can also cause the color of the siding to fade. Repair or replace siding that shows damage from the outside lights on your home.
Schedule Professional Maintenance
Schedule an appointment for professional siding maintenance before the start of winter. Professional yearly maintenance can prolong the life of your siding and protect its curb appeal.
This service also safeguards both the structural integrity of the siding and your home. If your siding has an active warranty on it, you can keep the warranty intact by outsourcing its upkeep to experienced siding professionals.
Choose Our Professional Siding Maintenance Services
As a multi-generational locally owned construction business, Taylor Made Construction has years of experience providing customers in the Shingle Springs service area with reliable services, including siding maintenance and siding repair. Our team abides by core values like accountability, communication, dependability and collaboration. We have a “Solve it” attitude when maintaining the siding on your home. Contact us at Taylor Made Construction for more details on our professional siding services!
