The Importance Of Proper Siding Installation For Long-Term Home Protection

From the scorching sun to hurricanes and freezing winters, your siding is your first line of defense against everything that Mother Nature will throw at you.

A common misconception is that choosing the right siding material is everything in home protection.

However, many homeowners don’t know that installation is just as important as the siding material that you choose.

It is true that your siding will be taking the bulk of the stress and elements.

But don’t forget that even if theoretically your siding is impenetrable and unbreakable, water, pests, sound, and heat can still pass through gaps if you don’t seal them up properly.

And even the best siding won’t protect you if it can’t stay on your walls, now can it? If you don’t secure your siding properly, strong winds and hurricanes can rip it right off.

So while your siding material is indeed of paramount importance, so is the installation. Poor installation will severely hinder the effectiveness of any siding, even high-quality materials.

Read on to find out exactly why you need to install your siding properly.

What Does Your Siding Protect You Against?

First off, to understand the importance of siding installation, we need to understand the role of siding.

After all, if you don’t even know why your siding is important, it’s going to be hard to convince you to invest time, effort, and money on proper installation.

1. UV Rays

The sun may give life and warmth, but it’s also extremely hot and can be damaging to many materials when exposed for extended periods.

Your home exterior is no exception. Without siding, ultraviolet rays would be shining directly onto your home’s walls.

This alone is enough to cause UV degradation over time, causing your walls to weaken, crack, and even rot. Over time, this damage can worsen to cause deep structural damage and in the worst-case scenario, even collapse.

While that’s a very unlikely extreme scenario, the fact remains that without siding, you’re leaving your home vulnerable to weakening, cracks, and rotting.

2. Moisture

Another element that can severely damage your home’s exterior, even more so than UV rays, is moisture.

Siding, when installed correctly, is supposed to help keep water and moisture from reaching your home’s exterior.

While a little water won’t hurt, constant moisture exposure will over time lead to issues like mold, mildew, rod, and again, structural failure and possible wall collapses.

Even in the driest climates, there will still be rain occasionally, and without siding to keep moisture and water away from your home’s exterior, there’s a good chance of the aforementioned issues occurring.

When installed right, siding will keep your home dry and safe from any moisture issues, saving you costly repair fees and even possible wall collapses.

3. Pests

Termites, carpenter ants, and wood-boring beetles are just a few of the pests that can seriously damage your walls by eating away at any wood elements.

In the case of severe pest infestations, wall collapses are a very real concern, endangering your family and your safety.

Even if your home’s walls don’t have a lot of wood, most homes will still have underlying wood framing.

Either way, siding is crucial in keeping not just these insects out, but also rodents and small animals.

This is only if your siding is properly sealed up though, which is why proper installation is so important.

4. Heat/Cold

Finally, during winter, siding helps keep your home warmer and keeps the cold out. During summer, it keeps the unbearable heat out and keeps your home cool.

On its own, most siding materials aren’t super good insulators, as that’s not their main role.

Nevertheless, they will help your insulating layers and elements perform their job better.

What Does Proper Siding Installation Do For You?

Now that you know how important your siding is, let’s go over what proper siding installation will do for you.

1. Aesthetic Appeal

While you probably won’t be screwing up the installation so much that your home becomes unbearable to look at, even small misalignments or slanted panels can be quite noticeable.

Proper installation translates to well-aligned panels, seamless joints, and clean transitions around the windows and doors.

These all combine to help your siding boost your home’s aesthetic appeal and fetch a higher resale price if you’re planning to sell it.

2. Energy Efficiency

While siding isn’t the main factor in energy efficiency, it still does play a part.

In fact, when you choose siding materials that insulate well like insulated vinyl, it can lower your energy bills by anywhere from 10-20%!

These can add up over time, especially when you consider that your siding will last you for multiple decades. That’s 10-20% lower energy bills every month, multiplied by 12 months in a year, multiplied by multiple decades.

That’s almost guaranteed to more than cover what you spent on professional installation.

3. Warranties

When you purchase siding, manufacturers will usually provide warranties that cover quality control issues.

However, if you DIY the installation and don’t install it properly, eg not sealing properly, not aligning the pieces, etc, manufacturers often will void the warranty. This is because improper installation increases the risk of siding damage.

As such, hiring professionals is often a smart investment. Not only will you have a warranty on the siding material itself, but professionals will also offer a warranty on their installation.

This means that whatever issues arise with your siding in the future, whether it’s a quality issue or installation issue, you’ll be covered, giving you peace of mind.

4. Longevity/Maintenance

Finally, it’s been proven that your siding’s lifespan is directly affected by the quality of the installation.

Depending on your siding material, it should last you anywhere from 20-100+ years.

However, poorly installed siding usually requires replacement within a decade, sometimes even as soon as 5 years.

By trying to save on professional high-quality installation, you’re actually costing yourself more in the long run with frequent replacements.

It’s not just longevity either.

Maintenance-wise, just like how a poorly installed sink or toilet will have frequent leakages and chokes, the same goes for your siding.

Improper installation, as mentioned earlier, can lead to issues like mold, mildew, pest infestations, and even structural damage

As such, proper installation makes maintenance not only simpler but also less frequent and cheaper.

Conclusion: Investing In High-Quality Professional Installation

All things considered, professional installation by great siding contractors like Dallas Siding Pros is well worth the investment to keep your home protected for the long term.

Proper siding installation not only protects your home better from many elements, but also helps your siding last much longer and require much less maintenance, saving you money and lots of headaches in the long run.

Properly installed siding can also earn you anywhere from 75-150% of your investment, so economically, it makes perfect sense.