While the roof of your home is arguably the most important point and something that needs a great deal of care, because it protects every other section of your house, your siding is probably the next most important. Without quality siding, you’ll experience water damage, suffer invasions from pests and probably spend more than you have to in heating and cooling costs throughout the year.
That’s why it makes so much sense to put all-new quality siding on your home when your current covering begins to wear out and show serious signs of aging. It's also why you want to work with a licensed Minnesota siding company for installation.
What Wears Out Siding?
There are three major elements that wear out siding over time, and even if you have a product that holds up particularly well against one of these elements, it’s likely that one of the others will break down your home covering eventually.
- Wind – Wind itself probably won’t damage your siding or remove any sections unless you have a very poorly installed product or we’re talking about tornado force winds. That said, wind does carry with it dust particles, small rocks and all other sorts of debris such as cut grass and weeds that can all aid in the wear and early aging of your siding.
- Moisture – Siding works hard to protect the exterior walls of your home from moisture and water damage. Over time that moisture can affect the siding and cause some serious aging. For some types it will lead to fading, in others it will cause rotting, and some metal-based sidings such as aluminum will eventually corrode from moisture.
- Sunlight – This is one of the biggest factors in aging siding, especially products like vinyl that do poorly in sunlight. Not only does sunlight contain damaging UV radiation but also causes the material to heat up and cool down over and over again, which isn’t good for its health over time. The constant temperature fluctuations can lead to warping and distortion, which means it doesn't lay flat and properly protect the underlying structure. Gaps and bulges mean air and water are getting underneath.