The Real Reason You Need New Siding: Avoiding Unwanted Housemates
Siding protects the exterior of your house from rot and environmental influences that could damage the structure. Whether you deal with intense heat, large hail, or another problem, the siding acts as a first line of defense. As tough as siding can be, however, it will eventually reach the point where it needs to be torn out and new siding installed. Chief among the reasons for installing new siding is the need to avoid unwanted pests that like to live between the siding and the wall of the house.
As siding gets older, gaps open up, and that looks like an invitation to pests to come on in. New siding that is properly installed can help to prevent this problem.
Siding Aesthetics Have Improved, and That's Both Good and Bad
It used to be that siding would look pretty beat up by the time it was ready to be replaced. That's not always the case now. Modern siding is well manufactured and able to withstand a lot of environmental abuse. It can look like it is in great shape for a long time.
This is both good and bad. No one wants terrible-looking siding; if your house can look great for a long time, that's an improvement. But that also means that problems—like small gaps at corner seams or where the siding meets the underside of the roof—can appear without you really knowing until you hear scratching inside the walls (which is really in between the wall and the siding).
Pests Don't Need Huge Gaps to Get Inside
Animals and bugs do not need huge gaps to get into the space between the siding and the wall. You might not even see these gaps unless you know what to look for. For example, in 2018, Fredericksburg.com printed the story of a family who bought a house only to find the house infested with small bats that got in through tiny gaps under the siding. Even their home inspector missed the signs.
Eventually, Repair Is No Longer an Option
You could patch a gap or two. Eventually, however, that siding is going to be too warped to keep repairing. You can't crawl all over the house to seek out gaps, either. Have the old siding removed and new siding installed. The installers will be able to go over each piece they install to ensure that the borders of each siding piece are tight and meet up with the house or other siding panels correctly.
Sometimes you have to start over. If you've been told you've got a bunch of siding gaps, or if you've already started having pest problems, it may be time to install new siding. Contact a company that offers siding installation services to learn more.
