I built a small addition on a home with white double 5 aluminum siding. I need 500 square feet of additional siding to complete the job, but no one seems to make this product anymore. The customer already said “no way” to the vinyl samples that I showed him and isn’t interested in alternatives like shake or shingle for that area.
Has anyone run into this before, and if so, what have they done?
Thank You.
Replies
hardi plank, cemplank, etc.
Nothin worse than and aluminum siding purist.
Tom
Thanks for the advice on the Hardiplank, but he rejected that one also (I showed him those examples). He rejected them because they didn't have a clapboard profile, that is, they were consistent in their thickness from top to bottom and didn't have the taper that his siding has.
Unfortunately, I am still searching for an alternative that he will accept- UGH!
Thanks again for the response and best of luck to you.
I hope you can find aluminum to match. But, I think he rejected Hardie for the wrong reason. True, there is no taper top to bottom on the clapboard, but when it's installed you can't tell. Because the top is hidden behind the course above there's no way to tell if it's tapered or not. Hardie is thinner, though, than siding, so the shadow line would look different. Better than aluminum, though, in my opinion.
Good luck.
I had several pieces of Hardi that I put together and presented to my customer, but he rejected them I think because he knew that they were not tapered. He is a retired university professor and even though I got the answer right, he still marked me down because I didn't show my work correctly- at least I think that is where he is coming from. I think the same thing happened with the vinyl- looked the same but he knew it wasn't aluminum.
Thanks for the time and thanks for participating in the forum.
Not sure why I am responding to this, but when the fiber cement is installed, it will match the clap profile.Tom
Hi Tommy-
You responded because you have probably found yourself in a similar situation once and would have appreciated a forum for discussion like this one. I know I appreciate all of the responses.
He didn't like the shadow line created by the cement board- the aluminum profile is wider and he is a fanatic for details.
Thanks for the thought and the response- your input is appreciated.
Ebuild.com is a good resource for nationwide suppliers and thebluebook.com is a good one for searching locally. Double 5 is available but the smooth exposure seems to be the tricky part. But, I don't need to tell you that. Good luck
Spruce,
I am pretty sure that Alcoa still makes the siding you have. Here is a link:
http://www.alcoahomes.com/prospec/prodline.asp?line=Horizon
Hope this helps,
Bill
Thanks for the link MrBill. I tried the Alcoa product as an alternative but unfortunately it has a woodgrain texture and his house has smooth siding. I think the reason that no one makes smooth siding that wide anymore is because it is weak without the texture and it dents easily. The rest of his house looks terrible (17 years old) because of the existing siding's condition, so I suggested that this may be a good time to re-side the house but he thinks the house looks fine.
I am still looking for that unsold inventory of this stuff- I'm sure there is a cache of this stuff with an inch of dust on it somewhere- just have to find it.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond- I appreciate the help.
had a thought,never tried it but seems like it could be done.to please those special customers lol.What about taking painted coilstock and making the bends.i mean we make j channel and drip edge all the time why not try a piece of siding?who knows might work
That's a possibility. I'll ask my siding guy to give one a try (I don't have a brake). Thanks for the thought- I appreciate the effort.
Have a good day-
I ran into this before, found one outfit in my town that specialized in aluminum siding. Most types are still available, some are not. Price was pretty high per square. I remember the back side of the siding indicated the manufacturer, gold was one and ? was another.
remodeler
Spruce-
Not to knock you, but how in the world did you give the client a price on the job if you didn't know where you were going to get siding to match (which you now CAN'T find)??
This is the kind of stuff that kills more and more contractors- they throw a number together on a job, figuing they'll work things out later, and something like this comes back to bite them in the arse! What if you can't find ANY siding that he'll be happy with- are you going to end up re-siding his entire house for free so the new and old match? Maybe that's why he keeps rejecting your samples- he knows you can't find a match, and he wants a free siding job.....
You've gotta get this stuff worked out up front. If you did the research before the contract, you could have had a disclaimer in the contract about the siding not being available, or you could have made the case to re-side the whole house as part of the contract. He may have you over a barrel now.
Bob
Hi Bob-
How did I give him a price for the job if I knew I couldn't get the siding? We were going to to try and re-use the siding as I had done several times in the past with vinyl- didn't work. The siding proved to be tenaciously attached and we damaged several pieces trying to remove them. I don't actually need 500 square feet to complete the job, but I would need that much to replace enough of it to have all the same material in one area.
Unfortunately I wasn't born with all of the experience and expertise of a lifetime. I don't think there is anyone who can't say that they know everything and have never learned anything through experience. This has been a valuable lesson for me and it is through forums such as this one that we can all benefit from others and hopefully avoid making similar mistakes going forward.
It is people like you who care enough to take the time to particpate in these forums that helps the industry as a whole- Thank You.
Best of luck to you in all of your endeavors.
Not to act supid or nuttin', but if its a beveled siding why not use cedar clapboard
andy
In his first interview since the stroke, Ram Dass, 66, spoke with great difficulty about how his brush with death has changed his ideas about aging, and how the recent loss of two old friends, Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg, has convinced him that now, more than ever, is the time to ``Be Here Now.''
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Hi Andy-
That is not a stupid idea at all. The homeowner was so proud of the fact that his aluminum looked "just like real wood" that I suggested we just skip the whole aluminum thing and I would put up cedar. He said, "I don't think we have to go to that extreme" which is a complete puzzler to me because he rejected vinyl and cement board, both of which were perfectly acceptable to me. I thought that cedar was going to be the trump card and end the discussion, but he would still like me to try and find the smooth aluminum.
I think I will try a couple more days, then he gets cedar.
Thanks for the advice and good luck to you.
Spruce
You "can" find aluminum. Just have your siding supplier order it.
Don't use a lumber yard. Go to a "siding/roofing" supplier.
Personally cedar is easy to install, just a bit costly but not terribly.And its da real deal!
Have fun....hope this guys paying good.
Be well
andy
In his first interview since the stroke, Ram Dass, 66, spoke with great difficulty about how his brush with death has changed his ideas about aging, and how the recent loss of two old friends, Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg, has convinced him that now, more than ever, is the time to ``Be Here Now.''
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
All of the siding suppliers in the greater Detroit area that I have been in contact with have informed me that the suppliers that they order from (Alcoa, Revere, Quality Aluminum Products, etc.) no longer manufacture double 5 in smooth. Most of them make a double 5 in woodgrain texture and it is still available, but nobody stocks it because of the low volume. The best I can do is a minimum 2 square order and then wait two weeks for delivery and hope the customer likes it. From past experience I am certain he won't like the woodgrain so I have resorted to less conventional means for trying to locate a source including phone calls and emails to suppliers in other states. I have been leaving my name and number with re-siding companies and have offered to remove exisiting siding if they come across some of it , but nothing so far. I was hoping that this forum would catch someone's attention who knows of some old stock somewhere or who knows?
If you know of a supplier that can order this material, I would be happy to pay a finder's fee for the information.
Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Unless the customer is yur wife.....tell them to let their fingers do the walking...seems you've gone beyond the call of duty already...hey....if its your wife..tell her the same thing..lol
good luck bro
andy
In his first interview since the stroke, Ram Dass, 66, spoke with great difficulty about how his brush with death has changed his ideas about aging, and how the recent loss of two old friends, Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg, has convinced him that now, more than ever, is the time to ``Be Here Now.''
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM