I’m considering replacing the aluminum siding on my three-story Northern Virginia townhouse that was built in 1983. There was no house wrap or insulation under the aluminum siding when it was built. Five years ago we had replacement windows installed. I would keep the aluminum siding if I thought I could solve the door and window leak problems that I have had for the past several years. Apparently, I will have to get final replacement siding.
We are getting estimates from Home Depot and Lowes to replace the siding. They have both proposed siding around the existing window frames, rather than installing new window units as part of the project. Additionally, we have a deck between the lower and middle level and the ledger board is mounted to the wall. That will present challenges to whoever installs the new siding.
Would it be better to get brand-new windows together with the siding so that the entire installation could be done in the highest quality manner? We are going to own this house for another 30 or 40 years and it will become a rental in two years. We do not want to have to worry about repairs in the future.
Also, has anybody had experiance using Home Depot for this type work? We are considering going with them because of their guarantee on the work. We have not been entirely satisfied with the “reputable” independent contractors that we hired to install the deck and the windows. The installation of an exterior door to the deck leaked water,causing the first door to rot, and we had to have the entire door replaced. It has never been satisfactory since.
Replies
Whether it's reasonable to preserve the existing windows or not depends on a number of details. At the very least they may need to be removed and re-set with proper flashing, and it may be best to get new flanged windows, presuming you're going with vinyl or steel.
The big boxes don't do the work themselves -- they hire local contractors to do it, after skimming off their surcharge. So there's no sssurance that you're going to get quality work. How worthwhile their warranty is is hard to say -- at the very least read the fine print, and count it useless if it says they can use the arbitrator of their choice to resolve disputes, or words to that effect.