If you’re evaluating siding choices for your home here in the Minneapolis area, perhaps you’ve taken a look at fiber cement siding from The James Hardie Company. It’s very popular here in Minnesota. One reason is that this siding is known for its strength and longevity.
It’s not known for its ease of installation, though. That’s why most people decide to hire trained professional siding contractors to complete the siding installation for them.
Here are some reasons why James Hardie siding might be the right choice for your home. If you’re not sure, we can help you evaluate your options. We are a licensed Minnesota siding contractor, and we’ve worked with lots of home owners here in the Twin Cities area to help them choose the perfect siding for their homes.
Here’s an overview of the preparation process for a high-quality siding installation. Whether you decide to hire professionals to help with the project, or you go through it yourself (which we do not recommend), you should know these steps.
Choosing the Proper Siding
The very first step is to choose the siding that will go on your home. Siding is an investment, so choose a quality product like James Hardie fiber cement siding from Windows Outfitters or another reputable company. This siding is known for lasting for many years and it comes in a range of styles so that you can get the look you want. Your siding contractor should work with you to examine the different siding types to help you figure out which type is going to be best for you overall.
Inspect It Closely
If you’re buying the siding yourself, be sure to inspect the siding that you receive closely for cracked pieces or other blemishes that you don’t want going up on the sides of your home. If you’re hiring professionals to do the work, they will look over the siding for you to ensure that you received good quality material before they start the project.
Disposing of Old Siding
Before new siding can go on, the old has to come off. It’s a tiresome job, but it’s one that’s necessary. The professionals will begin prying or using a special tool to remove the existing siding on your home. The process depends on the variety of siding that they have. It’s common to start at one side of the home and to move around to the others after fully removing the siding from a single section. If you’re doing this yourself, you’re also going to want to have a dumpster on site to dispose of the old material. A contractor will take care of this if you’ve hired a siding company for installation.
Protecting the Walls
With all the old siding off your home, it’s time to begin protecting your walls against weathering, and to take care of any rotten or damaged sections. Remove rotten material, and worn or damaged wall coverings like house wrap and OSB. Make sure to take note of how far apart each stud is throughout the wall so you know how to mark it later on. Add new OSB to any sections that require it, and cover it up with a house wrap material.
Mark the Studs
Finally, go back through and mark all the stud locations over the top of your house wrap using a marker or some other tool; this will make cutting and installing the siding easier later on.
That’s the whole process in preparing a home for Hardie siding installation. It’s best to leave this up to professionals if at all possible, but if you’re determined to tackle the task on your own, here’s how to start.
Does this sound like too much work? Speak with us here at Window Outfitters, a preferred James Hardie siding installation contractor for the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. We install a variety of quality siding products. To find out more, call us for a free in-home consultation.
Window Outfitters is a premier Window Replacement, doors, siding contractor and installer. As Contractor in the St Paul, Minneapolis, (Twin Cities) Minnesota (MN) metro, we proudly serve, but are not limited to, the following areas: Minneapolis Energy Efficient Vinyl Windows, Replacement Window Contractors Minnesota, Burnsville, Apple Valley, Lakeville, Savage, Bloomington, Edina, Richfield, Eagan, St Paul, Hastings, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Farmington MN, Chaska, Shakopee, Chanhassen, Victoria, Mendota Heights Anderson Windows Minneapolis, Marvin Windows Minneapolis.
