Vinyl Siding and Weather

Vinyl is a waterproof material, but vinyl siding is not necessarily a waterproof barrier for your home. In fact, one of the biggest problems related to vinyl siding is the moisture that tend to get in under the panels. The reason for this is that vinyl siding is not nailed directly to the wall of the house. It can’t be, because vinyl expands and contracts according to the temperature of the air. To keep the vinyl panels from warping, they are hung on nails in a way that allows them to move a little. This also makes them easy to install and easy to remove if necessary, but it also means that if there is a strong wind, water can get up under them.

To protect against this, an underlayment is put on under the siding, and that is waterproof. But it is also punctured by all the nails that are holding the siding on, so sometimes moisture will make it past that barrier as well. The result can lead to mold, mildew, insects, and generally damp walls. This can get very expensive. Vinyl siding may not be the best choice in an area that experiences high rainfall and general humidity.

Another type of weather that is not particularly friendly to vinyl siding is very cold weather. Vinyl is made from PVC, a material that melts when it’s heated and which gets not only hard but brittle when it gets cold. Vinyl siding is most often damaged in cold weather because it has become brittle and so easily breaks if it is hit by debris, hail, or other objects. When a part of a panel is damaged there is nothing to be done but to replace it and put on a new panel. This is not difficult, but it may be hard to find a panel that will exactly match your old ones, especially if the old ones have faded a bit through the years. It’s much the same as trying to paint a small spot on a wall if you don’t have an absolutely exact match on the paint.