Exterior Remodeling

The two things an exterior here has to survive are hail and ultraviolet exposure at altitude. Fiber cement and engineered wood both perform well and hold paint far longer than older materials. Steel is the most hail resistant of the common options. Vinyl is cheapest but can become brittle in deep cold and is more vulnerable to hail.

Whatever goes on the wall, what determines whether it lasts is underneath: house wrap, flashing at windows and penetrations, and a drainage path for water that gets behind it. Siding that fails early has almost always failed at a detail, not at the panel.

Often a section can be repaired. Hail damage, a failed corner or a run of boards that stayed wet behind a downspout can usually be cut out and replaced without touching the rest of the wall, as long as the material is still available and the surrounding siding is sound.

Full replacement makes sense when the damage is widespread, when the wall is failing at the flashing or house wrap, or when a partial repair would never match what is already there. We look behind the siding before recommending either one, because the cause matters more than the visible damage.

The usual signs are fogging or moisture between the panes, drafts and cold spots near the frame, windows that stick or will not stay open, and soft or stained wood around the frame. Fogged glass means the seal has failed. Soft wood means water has been getting in, and that is a framing and flashing question, not only a window question.

If a window is only drafty, weatherstripping or a reseal may be enough. If the frame is damaged, replacement is the better repair, and the flashing around the opening should be redone at the same time so the new window does not fail for the same reason. Bedroom windows also need to meet egress requirements, which we check when we size a replacement.

Less often than the calendar suggests if the prep was done well, and more often than you would like if it was not. Intense high-altitude sun breaks down paint faster than in most of the country, and south and west walls fade and chalk first. Trim, fascia and any surface that stays wet will fail before the field of the wall does.

How long a repaint lasts depends on the material, the color, the exposure and above all the preparation: cleaning, scraping, repairing rot, caulking and priming. We repaint the walls that need it and repair the trim that is failing instead of painting over it.

Almost always water: a gutter that overflows or has pulled away, a roof edge without proper drip protection, or attic moisture from poor ventilation. The wood behind the paint stays damp, and by the time the paint peels the board underneath is often soft.

It should not wait. Rotted fascia lets water into the roof edge and wall, and open soffit lets birds and insects into the attic. We replace the damaged sections, correct the source, whether that is gutters, flashing or attic ventilation, and prime and paint the new work so the repair lasts.

Both, and that is why one contractor is easier. Hail rarely hits only the roof. It dents gutters, downspouts, siding, window wrapping, garage doors and paint, and a claim covering the roof frequently covers those too if they are documented properly.

Start with storm restoration for the damage assessment and claim process, or see our roofing page for the roof itself. We handle the exterior repairs that come with it either way.