People often ask me if Hardie Plank fiber cement siding  can be installed in the rain.  First let me say that Superior exterior Systems is a completely independent siding contractor with no affiliations with any manufacture other than installing their products.  I can honestly say that over the years we have consistently installed more residential  Hardie PLank siding than anything else.  The local supply houses who stock Hardie siding have told me that year after year.  So can hardie Plank be installed in the rain?  The answer is yes if done properly.  If you have Lp panel style siding that  is getting soft at the bottom drip edge or around windows,  the question is do you want to leave that on another rainy season with potentially more expensive damage happening underneath?   If you have panel style, take 10 minutes and walk around your house and gently pull up every 12-16 inches or so along the bottom.  If you have a 2 story, see if the drip edge at the bottom of the 2nd story is swelling.  Take a crew driver and gently poke around the bottom corners of the windows. The south and west sides usually take most of the abuse so make sure to check those areas well.  If you have sprinklers check the siding where the sprinkler water  hits the house as this excellerates any wood decaying.  Heres the problem: panel Lp siding or ANY panel style siding (4 x 8 sheets) never has a moisture barrier.  It is nailed up directly over your studs.   Hardie can be installed in the rain.  Siding companies generally  give more competitive pricing to keep business flowing during the rainy season.  Hardie Plank comes covered with waterproof plastic put on at the factory because the back side of Hardie isn’t primed so that section should stay protected.  All 4 edges and the surface is primed to protect from the rain.  Superior Exterior Systems sprays an industrial strength fungicide on your wood as a mold inhibitor which also kills carpenter ants & termites.  I know of  no other company that uses this specific fungicide.  The fact is that if your house is completely dry and is sided during summer, we will still wet it since the fungicide is a powder and water is the carrier to spread the powder so that it can impregnate the wood.  If you are removing panel Lp siding, extra care needs to be taken so that your insulation doesn’t get wet.  Fiber cement is made for all climates so can be installed during the rainy season.  It is by far  the most common siding used here in the Portland - Vancouver metro. Look up my past blogs on Hardie Plank and its competitor Certainteed Weatherboards for more info on fiber cement siding. For pics and more technical info on your options log into  http://www.superiorexteriorsystems.com/ or simply call us at (503)285-0875 or (360) 687-8936.

As a siding contractor,  I have seen siding trends & styles come & go.  Hardi Plank  fiber cement siding is one that has come and stayed.  It has been the siding choice of homeowners consistently since it started being used in Vancouver and Portland metro areas.  Vinyl was popular before Hardi came into the northwest but vinyl siding took a back seat a long time ago.   As an independent siding contractor, Superior Exterior Systems orders and installs any siding products the consumer wants so we have no motivation to sell one product over another but Hardi Plank  is definitely what most people want.  Hardi fiber cement has been the siding of choice since it has been available since the mid 90’s in the northwest.  I seem to recall being introduced to it first around 1995 or so.  Over the years, we have installed so much of it exactly the way they want that we were privileged to get a personal invite from the  James Hardi organization.  They are very protective of the manufacturing process and generally don’t let people see it.  I  know of no other installer that has been there.  I believe it would be impossible for another siding contractor to get a tour of their factory now simply because it was so rare to get a tour when we did.  If you have any interest or want your siding inspected feel free to call (360) 687-8936 or (503)285-0875.  Log into http://www.superiorexteriorsystems.com/ for more technical info and a picture gallery of Hardi Plank design ideas we’ve come up with.

Many realtors, buyers and sellers  call us to inspect homes with Lp siding or EIFS stucco when they are for sale.  Although clearly not all homes have problems many sellers are in denial until they list their homes and don’t get a decent offer within 5-6 months.  Without question our lousy economy doesn’t help this problem.  Lower priced homes will always sell quicker than higher end homes.  Buyers hire us because they simply don’t want to purchase a problem and want independent objective advice which is understandable.  Many companies charge for every inspection.  Superior Exterior Systems doesn’t and never will.  We just want the opportunity to earn your business if that time comes.  It surprises me that so many realtors still don’t know how to identify Lp siding and many don’t know that if there is Lp on the front, it probably is also on the back 3 sides even though it is the panel Lp siding style.  Panel Lp siding is also clearly identifiable.  Todays home buyers are more picky than ever simply because there is so much inventory for sale everywhere.  If they like your area, but not your siding, they will simply keep looking until they find a home where the problem siding has already been replaced.  Most buyers negotiate with the seller on price if they make an offer at all to cover the full cost of unfixed siding.  Seems logical to have it inspected,  get price quotes and then decide IF that is the best route for the seller to take.  Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.  For a free inspection or to verify if you do indeed have Lp siding or EIFS stucco call (503) 285-0875 or (360) 687-8936 or simply log into http://superiorexteriorsystems.com/. Thanks again for listening.

As the owner of Superior Exterior Systems, I have had homeowners in the portland-vancouver metro tell me many times that they got bids where the company gave them a low price up front and then charged them considerably more when little things came up.  Be careful accepting a bid that is just too good to be true.  Think about it.  Will the owner of a siding company pay to put siding on your home if a salesman underbid it.  Believe it or not, I actually paid $1123.00 once when an eager new salesman I eventually fired DID charge too little where I paid to finish the home.  Rather than lose integrity and probably get a bunch of legal problems, I decided to simply finish siding the house.  It was painful but I did.  I don’t use salesman anymore for this reason.  Generally the best siding contractor will be  priced in the middle.  Prices that are not too high and not too low.  If it’s too low, the siding company is probably leaving out critical prep work details or more likely WILL come back and charge you more for anything they can.  Maybe they aren’t licensed or bonded or insured.   Insurance is really expensive these days. If it’s too high they probably have too much overhead or salesman that get bonuses when the profits are high.   To be fair if the customer changes details or structural rot is found underneath, it is obviously reasonable to get charged more.   So if the price sounds just too good to be true, it probably is.  In life all of us get what we pay for.  Unfortunately in this economy some siding salesman will say whatever they can to “get” your business.  Don’t learn the hard way with a ridiculously low bid.  Superior Exterior Systems doesn’t want to  ”get” your business. We want to earn it.  For more info call (503)285-0875 or (360)687-8936 or simply log into  http://www.superiorexteriorsystems.com/ and we’ll be glad to answer any questions and maybe earn your business.  Thanks again for listening.

I was talking today with a person who recently inherited a home in the Raleigh Hills area of Portland. Unfortunately it has Eifs stucco and she asked me some very pertinent questions that I thought would be useful to you if you are stuck with the Eifs problem.  She asked, Can I just pass on a discounted price to the potential buyers instead of the hassle of replacing it?   The main problem with selling when you have the Eifs siding is threefold.   1. If the buyers or realtors have any info on Eifs,  most will look to other homes for sale down the street because of the large risk and question mark as to how much mold may be under it.  They are generally asking themselves will I be buying a money pit in this economy?  Most people will buy with the path of path least resistance in mind.  They have enough headache with simply  moving all their accumulated “stuff”.  Ask yourself - what would I do & what would my spouse do?  Although some people by nature are risk takers,  as I am being a business owner, most would not take that chance with such a large investment. Choosing a home and moving is already emotionally draining enough.  Oftentimes the pain of divorce is a major factor too.   2. The next question is - If you finally find someone who is a risk taker will the bank loan go thru since the bank would then be taking the risk and Eifs MUST be disclosed with the lending laws?  Banks want stability and security especially in this oppressed market. Loans are hard enough to get with lending nightmare of the last couple years. 3. Will realtors show my house if they think their deals wont go thru?  Will they bypass us for others in the area knowing they have to disclose to the bank it has Eifs?  Will my house sit in this economy?   In summary: You can try to list it with Eifs and see if you get any offers but be prepared for the worst. Better to be prepared than not.  For pics and a lot of information specifically on Eifs log into http://www.superiorexteriorsystems.com/ or simply call (503) 285-0875 or (360)687-8936.  This is what we do all day, all week and all year. Thanks for listening.

Over the years Superior Exterior Systems has seen an increase with stucco problems when a home has Eifs in the portland and vancouver areas. Without question there is considerably more Eifs synthetic stucco in portland but still some in the vancouver washington out lying areas.  Eifs stands for Exterior Insulation Finish System. The problem is wherever there are openings like windows or doors and rain gets behind it  thru wind or simple constant dripping,  it doesn’t get out.  It doesn’t evaporate  since there isn’t any airspace between the styrofoam under the Eifs and the subwall so the moisture begins to soak into the wood subwall.  When the rain gets in these openings or cracks it penetrates the building envelope and gets behind the Styrofoam under the thin stucco style layer on the surface.  Here is a BIG difference between Eifs stucco and Lp siding.  Lp generally shows some moisture deterioration on the surface but Eifs doesn’t show deterioration on the surface at all  because of the thin stucco style layer.   Over the years, Superior Exterior Systems has worked on homes that were only 6 years old with considerable rot underneath and almost every home has had some wood rot or mold in portions of the house.  The homeowners were POSITIVE there wouldn’t be problems simply because Eifs homes generally aren’t very old.  Usually under 10 years old.  Remember, this will NEVER be under the whole home but only in the areas water is getting past the top layer of stucco.  The good news is many builders installed Eifs only on the front of the home to give a high end look.  For pics and more information on Eifs feel free to visit   http://superiorexteriorsystems.com/ or simply call (503)285-0875 or (360)687-8936.  Thanks for checking in.

I may be a bit picky here but as I get on siding companies websites and look at their photo galleries, many if not most of them look like the generic pictures manufactures  like Hardi Plank & Certanteed Weatherboards have offered for me to use on my website.  No way could I use generic pictures of siding, roofing, windows, stone or any other products that my carpenters didn’t do the actual work.  Why?  Doesn’t it make more sense for potential customers to see projects the siding company has  truly completed when it’s in their website gallery.  Maybe consumers can’t tell this but I usually can.  Now as I think of this, some of my pics have blue skies which isn’t very common these days here in the northwest.  But my workers have completed the siding on them.  For picture of homes we have fixed log into http://www.superiorexteriorsystems.com/.   A friend says  I’m being too picky so please chime in on if you feel pictures in a siding contractors gallery should be homes their carpenters have actually done?  Thanks again for looking and sorry if I’m splitting hairs.

Superior Exterior Systems has recently created a new video and loaded it on our website. It loads automatically on the home page and has lots of detailed pictures of residential homes that are actually in progress and completed.  This new video show projects with Lp siding, Eifs stucco being removed and is extremely informational.  We would love your opinion, good or bad.  Please visit   http://superiorexteriorsystems.com/ Thanks for watching.