Recently Oregon Building Codes Division made yet another revision for  siding installers.  Code R703.1 and R703.2 now state that their must be a 1/8 inch minimum gap between siding and  the moisture barrier so rain can drain out. Heres the CRAZY part - does it rain LESS in southern washington?  What about the hundreds of thousands of homes done over all the years that don’t have this gap?  What happens to them?  Doesn’t it rain on those homes too?  Heres something even more ridiculous - oregon state building code for “panel” siding, commonly called T1-11,  has never even required ANY moisture barrier between the siding and the studs.   Since we specialize in siding with almost 2 decades experience, Superior Siding Solutions installs a moisture barrier when we replace panel siding because it ads another level of moisture protection for the studs even though it has never been code. So has oregon state building codes division never thought your studs should be protected?  Endless homes in the portland metro area and southern washington have T1-11 panel siding, often on 3 sides of the home, with NO moisture barrier protecting the studs. So heres how this new “rain screen” idea affects you. If you live in oregon, need a siding contractor and  are buying Hardie Plank, Weatherboards or cedar, this new code states their must be a rain screen gap and that will raise your cost simply because there is considerably more labor and more materials. The word rain screen definitely makes any homeowner “feel’ good and protected but it will raise other potential problems. For instance, most people don’t know that Hardie Plank is breakable especially if their is a spacial cavity behind it.  Also, most sidings will  likely look MORE wavy on the walls.  These are only a few potential problems. Building codes division doesn’t care how your siding looks. They need to scramble for more money for the state in the form of fines and this is pure evil genius.   Siding contractors in the northwest are frantically working on carrying different product options but we’ll see what becomes available.   By the way, shouldn’t siding contractors fix the siding problem so that rain DOESN’T get in?  And if wind driven rain did get thru, it would only be a very very minor amount isolated in a very small area.  I’m sure the pencil pushing bureaucrats who came up with this idea have never installed ANY siding and are not seeing the practical downside in final looks. Did they even think this thru?  Think about it. Why are they doing this now?  Why during a horrendous economy where everybody is struggling? I’m glad you asked. So the state  can give very hefty fines to siding contractors AND homeowners since they are desperate for revenue in this economy too. Bottom line - its going to cost the homeowners and siding installers more. One tiny bit of good news though. Although vinyl siding  was more popular years ago than it is now, it’s excluded from this because there is already a gap since it is never nailed tight so that it can contract and expand.  Vinyl siding also has tiny weep holes every few feet in the bottom of each panel for potential water drainage when hosing off.  BUYER BEWARE: most contractors will NOT know about this new code so they will naturally be giving you a much cheaper enticing cost but will cost you MORE in the form of state regulated fines. I dont like this state run scam called “rain screen”  because of the obvious  cost to homeowners AND the potential damage to allowing more water to run down your subwall and giving homeowners a false security with a pretty name like rain screen.  Don’t let rain get in and you wont have any of these problems, costs or fines.  I must say though that I also don’t like giving into my  wife but I know I need to and therefore I do, but only when the powers that be demand it. And ‘big brother” is now demanding it because they are also hurting for money and want yours.

The answer is yes BUT you want to make sure the siding contractor is using a very potent industrial fungicide and not just the typical bleach and water most siding contractors use because they haven’t done their research or are not specialists in replacing Lp siding. Even in the middle of summer, when your house is fully dry, we will still saturate it with our special order fungicide, mined in the salt mines of California and designed specifically to kill ALL mold and preserve the subwall and studs.  Remember salt has been a preservative since the beginning. (I realize that sounds corny, but it’s true)

The disodium octaborate tetrahydrate is a powder that is mixed in with water as the carrier and then crystallizes on the subwall of your home when it dries under the new Hardie plank, Certanteed Weatherboards, cedar or vinyl siding.  After almost 2 decades of using it, Superior Siding Solutions will guarantee you wont get mold again. Its also best for the contractor to work on 1 wall at a time to control the amount of moisture so as not to water the crystals down. The type of moisture barrier and weatherization system is equally critical in our climate.

I recently bid on large 31 year old condo project that had cheap sheetrock under aluminum siding and NO house wrap at all. NONE!!  Old school siding contractors often leave out critical details or are just uneducated in mold treatments because its just a job to them, not a career. Another big advantage for the consumer is that  you will get reduced pricing to keep crews working and company advertising moving forward. We often earn the trust of your friends and neighbors when they see our craftsman working. So, even if the weather is dry, it needs to be wet for the crystals to impregnate into the wood. If you live anywhere near Portland Oregon or Southwest Washington feel free to call us or visit www.superiorsidingsolutions.com for more info.

Thanks for listening. Bill Vidovic-owner

I often get asked exactly what areas of portland oregon and southwest washington does Superior Siding Solutions work in. As boring as this blog may be here goes a list of all the areas…

Around the portland metro area we work in Tigard King City Oregon City Milwauke  Gladstone Clackamas Happy Valley Estacada Canby Lake Oswego Wilsonville Tualatin Sherwood Beaverton Aloha Hillsboro Cornelius Newberg  Dundee Banks Rock Creek North Plains Forest Grove Cornelius NW portland Cedar Hills SW Portland SE Portland North Portland Downtown Portland Gresham Troutdale  Wood Village Fairview Boring Sellwood & Sandy. This would cover most of Multonomah  County Washington County Yamhill County and Clackamas County. We will go to Salem and the oregon coast if need be to install siding but not just if the client only wants windows.

For southwest washington we work in …

Camas Washougal Downtown Vancouver Salmon Creek Ridgefield Woodland LaCenter Kalama Longview Battleground Brush Prairie and Fishers Landing which covers more than just Clark County.

One again I apologize for this boring blog. My next one will be more detailed and informative for the consumer.

Thanks and feel free to visit  www.superiorsidingsolutions.com

Being a siding contractor in  portland oregon and southwest washington for almost 2 decades I often get asked about the pros & cons of LP siding replacement during the holidays so I thought  I would address this valid question.

A few pros are that the homeowner would most likely get better incentive material pricing in that supply houses don’t want to sit on too much  inventory through the winter. The siding contractor will also generally give some incentive as we usually want to spread out work flow throughout the year rather than just being swamped in spring and summer.  Another plus is that often customers can be home during the holidays watching the crews and making sure they are getting what they paid for. There will also be less waiting time which fluctuates  quite a bit in the busier season as workload often gets backed up IF the company does exceptional work. Remember also that the best contractors are the ones working during the holidays. The pack gets thinned to only the best of the best.  As the owner of Superior Siding Solutions, this is huge to me. Employees that make me really happy get to work because they are the ones that make YOU really happy. Over all these years I have interviewed and known endless crews. Realistically over 100 siding contractors. Every one says they are the best crew.  Talk is too cheap and sometimes so is their work. The judge is the customer and myself. Another pro is that popular siders are managing less jobs so they can give more attention to each individual customer. Also, your yard is generally dormant so it is easier on the landscape although courteous workers will always be respectful. I am sure there are more pros but these are the first that come to mind.

A few cons are  the obvious inconvenience of  noise and strangers around your yard. Although our work is on the outside this is a legitimate downside. All our customers fill out a report card and grade us on numerous details so my crews know I expect exceptionally good comments on the card. Everybody who knows me also knows I will give  a lengthy lecture on “overachieving” if for any reason we don’t get an A or B on the report card itself. (My full grown kids and wife of 29 years are probably rolling their eyes right now because they’ve got these for a long long time) Another con is that if you pick Hardi-Plank, sometimes spelled Hardie Plank, or Certainteed Weatherboard fiber cement siding  you will need to wait for a small dry spell to paint. This also isnt too much of a problem as painters will often give better pricing during the holidays and are also not backed up.  Just make sure to wait for a dry week.

I sincerely hopes this helps and feel free to visit www.superiorsidingsolutions.com as we will always try to give you clear, unbiased, logical information to help you which ultimately helps us.  Our company moto is Solving your problems once and for all.  Thanks for listening portland oregon and southwest washington.

Recently I went on another siding inspection with a potential client who painted vinyl sidinga few years ago in Battleground Washington. it was similar to a siding inspection years ago in Portland oregon area where they painted there vinyl siding. They were advised from Sherwin Williams that an ultra hi-end paint they sell called Duration will work. Let me make this clear DONT EVER PAINT VINYL SIDING!!!  This homeowner now has extremely bad looking siding. The heat from the darker green they painted the vinyl siding is building up creating substantial warping.  This is not just happening on the south wall but EVERY wall.  All vinyl siding constantly contracts and expands so at most seams the paint is wearing out showing the original color underneath. It looks terrible. Why would a painter AND Sherwin Williams rep give this extremely bad advice? They were completely out of bounds. Duration paint is THE most expensive paint you can get. Roughly twice the cost of their other paint.  The actual can of paint says it can be used on vinyl siding and  has a 50 year warranty. That doesn’t mean it will adhere or will work on every product. I have been inspecting siding problems for almost 2 decades in the portland vancouver area and have inspected and seen thousands and thousands of homes.  From  fiber cement based Hardie-plank to vinyl siding to cedar siding to Eifs stucco.  Live with the color you have or change the siding. In my assessment, Sherwin Williams is fully responsible but I’m sure will not own up to all the cost of replacing. If this bad advice would not have been given, the homeowner would simply live with a color they dont like. That hurts alot less than what they are going thru now.  They  understandably cant sell it and cant live with it. They are also haggling with Sherwin Williams over who will pay to replace this and that headache will definitely take some time. I’m sure that will come with aggravation that nobody deserves. Why did this rep & painter give such bad advice? DONT EVER PAINT VINYL SIDING!  You’ll be opening a can of worms after you’ve  opened  expensive cans of paint  that will cost you even more!. You’ve heard the saying just do it?  Just DONT do it!

For unbiased logical info on all lines and styles of siding visit www.superiorsidingsolutions.com. Thanks again for listening.

We only have 1 chance to fix  our siding problem properly the first time. Always make sure the siding contractor is licensed bonded and fully insured specifically in Portland and Vancouver. But remember that doesn’t guarantee you quality siding work. With the economy being as it is many “general contractors” are trying to apply new siding so make SURE  to pick a company who is a siding specialist in that the siding installers do this all day, all week and all year. General contractors are generally more like schedulers that do a little of everything and often dont have the best application techniques or experience in difficult areas on your home. Dont let your biggest investment  be their experiment. Many “old school”  siding contractors only install vinyl since that was popular in the past and is lighter to carry, easier to cut and generally more forgiving in the installation process. For example, if you choose Hardie-plank, also generically called Fiber cement,  make sure the company you hire has installed  ALOT of it and that they have done it for years!  Although basic prep work is similar to vinyl siding, the installation techniques are completely different and the true siding contractor knows this. Back in the day, many vinyl only contractors slammed Hardiplank, Weatherboards and fiber cement siding because they didn’t want to learn about it and have to change their thinking process. Also it is good if the company you pick has actually been to the manufacturing factory to see the details of how the product is made. As the owner for  Superior Siding Solutions, I have been to numerous factories out of state including the Hardie Plank, Certainteed Weatherboards, Wolverine and Alside factories. We hope this helps a bit in your selection of choosing the right siding contractor for you biggest investment. Feel free to get more information at www.superiorsidingsolutions.com. Thanks for your time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bill Vidovic, Owner of Superior Siding Solutions

Fall is in the air. Have you been procrastinating on fixing your siding? Some homeowners wait until the end of summer to have their LP or other siding looked at. This can make it difficult for you when it comes to scheduling as siding contractors can be backed up. Customers want to get the siding fixed before fall. Some siding contractors only work during the spring and summer so their pricing is higher because they have to  make all their overhead and profits for the year in a few months instead of spreading it through the year. We at Superior Siding Solutions believe working all year round enables the operating cost of a licensed, bonded and fully insured company  to be less per customer because the load is simply spread out thru the year.  As a TRUE specialty siding contractor, Superior Siding Solutions has always kept our pricing reasonable with this simple business principle.  For the consumer this makes good sense. Ask us about our Fair Price Guarantee. You’ll be glad you did!!! Visit our website at www.superiorsidingsolutions.com and see some pictures of homes we’ve fixed. We are here to serve you and appreciate your word of mouth advertising.