The order the work happens in
Tear-off and disposal first, down to the sheathing. This is the step an overlay skips, and skipping it is why an overlay costs less.
Sheathing inspection and repair. With the wall open, rot, insect damage and previous water entry are visible for the first time. Anything found here is replaced before the wall is closed back up.
The weather-resistive barrier goes on next, lapped so water drains down and out rather than in. This is the actual water control layer of the wall.
Flashing at every opening and penetration, integrated with the barrier in the right order. Window head flashing, sill pans, and anything that passes through the wall.
Siding, then trim: corner posts, channels around openings, soffit and fascia, and the cuts and seals around lights, vents, hose bibs and meters.
What siding contractors also commonly do
Soffit and fascia, because they are the same elevation and the same trip. Gutters, because gutters hang on the fascia. Exterior painting on wood or fiber-cement. Window and door trim wraps. Repair work on wind-damaged or storm-damaged elevations.
At United Developers the same crews run roofing, siding, gutters, windows and painting, which matters mainly at the joints. Roof-to-wall transitions, step flashing behind siding, and gutter and fascia detail are exactly the places where a job split across two companies produces two opinions and one leak.
Materials, and what each asks of the installer
Vinyl is the most common in this region. Its failure modes are installer-made: nailed too tight so panels cannot move, no expansion gap at the ends, wavy courses from a bad starter strip.
Fiber-cement is heavier, cut with dust control, and demands correct fastening and painted or sealed cut edges. Done properly it is very durable; done quickly it swells at the ends.
Aluminium is what much of the older stock in this area carries. It dents and it chalks as the finish oxidises, and matching an existing profile for a partial replacement is often the hardest part of the job.
Engineered wood and cedar bring a real maintenance schedule with them and should be sold with one.
How to tell a real siding contractor from a crew with a trailer
Ask what goes behind the siding. An installer who talks about house wrap, flashing sequence and expansion gaps has done this properly; one who only talks about colour and price has not.
Ask for the licence number and the insurance certificates, ask whether the installers are employees or subcontracted, and ask for the workmanship warranty in writing with a named party behind it.
We inspect free across Maryland and Northern Virginia, usually within twenty four hours, and you keep the photo report either way.
Get it looked at, free
We inspect across Maryland — Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore counties. Free inspection, photo report within 24 hours, and the report is yours to keep whether or not you hire us.