Originally Posted by ottotheboar

Will the contractor be responsible for disposing of the old wood siding ? . We get three quotes and ask to see a couple of jobs they have recently done

Originally Posted by lansbury

Don't worry it was obviously a moronic comment.

Originally Posted by lansbury

With T1-11 siding it is quite common to leave the old stuff in place, put a new vapor barrier over it and then the new on top. Several neighbors have had theirs replaced that way. T1-11 comes in 8 x 4 sheets, so all they take off if necessary are the water damaged sheets.

Problem is with vinyl siding you can get three quotes but are they all for the same quality of product, which one is the good stuff and which is crap. This is were you are disadvantage by lack of knowledge.

Originally Posted by General Tojo

We're likely going to have a house constructed in the not too distant future out here semi-rural way, how long did it take for the wood to be 'all coming away'?

I'm pretty ignorant having lived in rented Tokyo flats all these years, didn't even know the word 'siding'

Did you think of attempting the painting yourselves, Sally?

Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills

Not really, Dh just replaced one whole wall of T1-11 siding on our house, it's the sunniest wall and it had buckled and looked just awful. While all the siding was off he added a little more insulation and made sure the moisture barrier was all good.
He only needed my help a few times to make sure the siding didn't move as he was fixing it down.

Originally Posted by Sally Redux

The house was built in 1980 so I guess it's lasted this long.

The problem we have is the height of the house, it's two-storey and built into a hillside and sits on top of the garage, the inspectors at the time of purchase wouldn't even go up high enough to look at the bit which is particularly badly 'all coming away' If it were a ranch house it would not be the same problem.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

The back of our house is 3 stories high...there is no way I would let my hubby climb up that high. It's just not worth the risk of falling. Like you said if it was a ranch/bungalow we would do all the repairs/maintenance ourselves.

Our entrance foyer and family room is 2 stories high...again I don't want hubby taking the risk when decorating.

Originally Posted by lansbury

One wall maybe, a two story house and garage is a little more than a one man job.

Originally Posted by Sugarmooma

We have a brick house but it has a very large extension that was built on before we moved in that had wood siding and also an extra large double garage joined to the extension that had wood siding also.

Last October my husband and a friend covered the original wood siding with new vinyl siding. He removed some of the old weather damaged siding, and the fihe looknished job with all the trim made such a difference! Now I need some new doors to finish the look I guess by doing it ourselves we saved a fair bit of money and it certainly will increase the value as well.

Originally Posted by lansbury

Back in the UK I knew what was a good product for the job and what was a reasonable labor cost. Here I don't have a clue, you can see how people fall for scams.

Originally Posted by sir_eccles

I think this is the key phrase and applies to a lot of things.

The A/C just failed on our car. $2200 to replace it, I had the guy break it down on the phone each part and then the 6hrs labor. Problem is these days you can look online and find the parts for a third of the price and then there's a video on youtube showing you how easy it is... Anyway we're saving up, maybe get it fixed before next summer.

Originally Posted by Sally Redux

Can't help except say the wood is all coming away from our house and based on what a small amount of painting cost, it will be $20,000 at the very least to put right.

Oh for brick.

Originally Posted by Awesome Welles

Not necessarily. I have a relative in Loveland OH, who lives in a beautiful place made entirely from clay brick

Originally Posted by lansbury

One thing with living in a different country is having the confidence to deal with things which only crop up on rare occasions.

Last year we had new windows put in and at that time the contractor mentioned that the siding would only last another 3 or 4 years, and be $20K plus to replace. It is T1-11 siding and we knew when we got the house unless it had been well looked after the siding would need to be renewed. We had it painted but it has started to fail on two sides.

So just had a quote for $25K to replace all the siding, trim, fascia, soffits, and porch roof with a top quality vinyl siding and trim. So the problem is while I think it is a good deal, I have a nagging doubt I'm getting screwed because coming from England where brick built is the normal, I have no experience to base the validity of my decision on.