What are the types of siding that I need to worry about, and how can I tell what it is?
Let’s face it; most people really don’t care about their exterior siding until it fails, allowing water into the walls of your home. You may discover siding failure when you go to paint your home and you find that you can push your finger right through your siding or trim! And if you have wood windows, Portland’s legendary weather always proves to be too much for the exterior sills and trim.
After you make these discoveries is when you want to figure out what went wrong, or how to make it right.
The really good news is you don’t have to know what happened, or what went wrong. Just call us, and we will look at it for you and give you a solution at absolutely no cost.
If you’re the type of person who would like to know the types and kinds of defective siding here in Portland, Oregon, here is a simple breakdown:
In an effort to replace real cedar siding, at least three companies made Oriented Strand Board or (OSB). They made it out of wood chips and fiber and steam pressed and formed it to look like wood. Between the years 1990 and 2000, thousands of Portland homes were sided with OSB type siding. The most popular siding used in Portland, Oregon was made by L.P. (Louisiana Pacific). It was the first to the market and a lot of builders switch to it from cedar. (It saved them a lot of money and it met the wood siding requirements of the neighborhoods). Right behind L.P. was Weyerhaeuser and Masonite products with very similar products.
All of these products came with a 25-year warrantee, but within 3-5 years, the boards started to swell, absorb water and develop mold and mildew within the boards. All of these types of siding need to be removed and replaced as soon as possible.
The two other types of defective siding you will find in Portland is Masonite’s imitation stucco board. It starts out with a hard outer shell and then quickly softens and begins to rot. 50% of the problem is the product and 50% in due to poor installation. A lot of Tudor style homes built in the last twenty years used this stuff and it is bad news.
Another type of siding in Portland is called EFIS. (Exterior Finish Insulated System). Some call it “Fake Stucco.”
It looks great and you can make some really amazing accents and facades on your home, but when it fails, it will cost you a ton of money to fix or replace. The biggest areas of concern are the window trim accents, transitions between floors, and doorways. They crack out and leak; we have too much water here in Portland for this type of siding.
I hope this information is helpful and I look forward to serving you.
Do you have questions about your siding? Call us, or leave a comment below…
I live in Washington State and am the president of a condo association. In re: the LP siding at our complex, we have always assumed (and were told) that we could replace individual siding as it showed signs of defect; however, we were recently told that ALL of the siding should be replaced. On top of that, we’ve been told that all of the sliding glass doors and windows will also probably need to be replaced if they fail a water test. Thus, the first quote we’ve received for this work (4 bldgs. + cabana and carports, 45 units) is $1.94 million. We’ve already paid an engineer who, if hired, would oversee the work, for his opinion, and the above were his thoughts, along w/a quote from one contractor. People here cannot affor the $42,000+ this work would cost. Is there anything you can suggest in terms of ways to mitigate the cost AND any questions we should be asking? Also, in such cases is it a good idea to get another consultant’s opinion (i.e., maybe not an engineer, but someone who oversees such projects)? Really, none of has has experience with this and our property management company is not being particularly helpful. Thanks much for any guidance/info/thoughts you can provide!—Ellen Pearlman
I unfortunately have Masonite Stucco Boards which have rotted. Since I cannot afford to reside the entire house, is it possible to find these now discontined Masonite Boards for replacement?
I am aware of the risks, but it is the most economical choice for me, especially since they lasted 20 years.
Thanks
I also have the Masonite Stucco Boards. Two are beginning to rot, otherwise no problems for 20 years. I have been looking for a close pattern match but have been unsuccessful. LP makes a stucco hardboard which looks closest so far.