Wind lift. Panels that were nailed too tight cannot flex, so they crack at the fastener and let go. Exposed gables and west elevations go first.
Hail. Older vinyl gets brittle with age and UV, and a hail event that a newer wall shrugs off will crack a twenty-year-old one.
Impact. Ladders, trailer hitches, hockey pucks, a mower throwing a stone. Usually one or two panels.
Cold-weather cracking. Vinyl is significantly more brittle below freezing. A knock in January does damage that the same knock in July would not.
Trough and fascia. Ice load pulling a run of eavestrough off the fascia is one of the most common winter calls we get.
The colour matching problem
Here is the honest part nobody mentions until the repair is done. Siding fades, and profiles get discontinued. A replacement panel on a twenty-year-old wall will almost never be invisible — it will be the right colour as manufactured and the wrong colour next to two decades of sun.
We will tell you that before we start. Sometimes the right answer is taking panels from a hidden elevation to patch a visible one, and putting the new stock where nobody looks. Sometimes it is re-siding one elevation. We would rather have that conversation up front than hand you a repair you are unhappy with.
Insurance work
We photograph what we find with dates and locations, and we will give you a written scope your adjuster can read. What we will not do is tell you what your claim is worth or negotiate it for you — we are contractors, not adjusters. Good documentation is what actually helps.
How we work
Built for an Ontario winter
Everything we hang on the outside of a house has to survive roughly a hundred freeze-thaw cycles a year. That changes the details.
We look behind it first. On any tear-off we open a section and tell you what the wall is actually doing before quoting the whole job.
Room to move. Vinyl expands and contracts a long way between February and August. Fastened tight, it buckles and splits. We hang it.
Water gets out. House wrap lapped so it drains, flashing that sheds outward, kickouts where a roof meets a wall.
One trade, one edge. Siding, soffit, fascia and eavestrough all meet at the same line. Doing them together is how that line ends up straight.
Every photo is a Cave-Men job in southwestern Ontario. Tap any one to see it full size.
Questions
Siding Repair & Storm Damage FAQ
Can you match my existing siding?
Often closely, rarely perfectly, and we will tell you which before starting. Siding fades over decades and profiles get discontinued, so a new panel is the right colour as manufactured and the wrong colour next to a twenty-year-old wall. Sometimes the better answer is robbing panels from a hidden elevation.
Do you work with insurance claims?
We document the damage properly with photographs and a written scope, which is what helps a claim. We are contractors rather than adjusters, so we will not tell you what your claim is worth or negotiate it.
My eavestrough came off in the winter. Can that be fixed?
Usually yes, and it is one of our most common winter calls. Ice load pulling a run off the fascia often means the hangers were spiked rather than screwed, or the fascia behind them has rotted. We will check both.
