Websites for siding installers.

Vinyl costs roughly half as much installed, never needs paint, and good Canadian vinyl lasts twenty-five to thirty years if it is hung correctly. Fibre-cement costs more and takes longer to put up, but it does not melt near a barbecue, dent from hail or fade the way dark vinyl does, and it holds a crisper look on a house with a lot of trim. We quote both when it is a close call and let you compare, but on a budget-driven job we will say vinyl and mean it.

Not for a like-for-like recladding in most Ontario municipalities, since it counts as maintenance. You will need one if the job changes window or door openings, alters structure, or if the house sits in a heritage conservation district. Townhouse and condo boards often have their own approvals and colour rules. We check before quoting so it does not stall the job.

Vinyl over old wood or hardboard can be done and sometimes is, but we recommend against it. Stripping to the sheathing is the only way to see rot, install a proper weather barrier and flash the windows, and it keeps the wall flat so the new siding does not telegraph every wave underneath. Fibre-cement cannot go over vinyl at all under the manufacturer's rules.

Almost always it was nailed too tight. Vinyl grows and shrinks more than a centimetre over a long run between January and July, and if the nails pin it, it has nowhere to go but out. The other culprit is heat: dark colours on a south wall, or sunlight bounced off a neighbour's low-E windows, which can literally melt a panel. We rehang loose where we can and replace what has distorted.

Vinyl goes on spring through fall without any fuss. It gets brittle in the cold and cracks when cut or nailed, so we slow down or wait once it is well below freezing. Fibre-cement and aluminum can go on most of the year with care. Stucco patching needs a few days above about five degrees to cure, so it is a warm-season job.

A typical two-storey house takes one to two weeks depending on weather and how much rot turns up. Price is driven by wall area, the number of windows and doors to trim, height and access, the material you pick, and how much sheathing and fascia turns out to be soft. We quote a fixed price with a stated allowance for rotten wood, so a surprise behind the old siding does not become a surprise on the invoice.