Siding Replacement
Siding is the part of the wall you can see; the drainage layer behind it is the part that decides how long the wall lasts. On the Gulf Coast, re-siding is really a water-management job.
- Houston metro
- Written scope before work begins
- Licensed trade subs where required
- Free estimate
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Overview
Siding Replacement
Most homes across the Houston metro are masonry on the front elevation with siding on gables, dormers, second-floor walls, cantilevers and the rear. That makes siding work partial more often than not, and the hard question isn’t which brand of board goes up. It’s how the new cladding meets the brick, the roofline, the columns and the windows. Those transitions are where water gets in, and they explain why two bids for “the same siding” can land far apart.
Behind any siding sits a weather-resistive barrier, flashing at every penetration, and a path for water to get back out. Cladding is a rain screen, not a seal. When siding fails in this region it is usually because the barrier was lapped the wrong way, a kickout flashing was missing where a roof edge dies into a wall, or the bottom course was set close enough to soil that it stayed wet after every storm.
The real value of a re-clad shows up the day the old material comes off. Rotted sheathing, insect damage, a window that was never flashed, a wall cavity with no insulation left — none of that appears in a photo estimate. Agree up front on how open-wall discoveries get documented, priced and approved, so the job doesn’t stall for a week when the wall finally tells you what it has been doing.
The things that actually decide this job
The drainage plane is the actual product
New boards over an old, damaged barrier buys you paint, not protection. A sound re-clad means a continuous weather-resistive barrier lapped shingle-style, a sill pan and head flashing at every window, step flashing with a kickout wherever a roof meets a wall, and an unobstructed exit at the bottom of the wall. Ask any bidder to describe that sequence. The answer tells you what you’re buying.
Material is a humidity and movement question
Gulf Coast air keeps wood-based products damp longer than the same board in a dry climate. Fiber cement holds its dimensions and doesn’t feed insects, but every field-cut end needs sealing. Engineered wood gives longer boards and fewer joints if the edges stay sealed and off the ground. Vinyl moves enough with heat that it has to hang loose on its nail slots, never pinned tight.
Clearances that keep rot and termites out
Subterranean and Formosan termites are active across this region, and they travel where wood stays wet and hidden. Siding should hold roughly six inches of clearance above soil and two inches above paved surfaces, decks and roof planes. Mulch and raised beds stacked against a wall undo that overnight. Gutters and downspouts that dump at the foundation put the same splash back on the bottom course.
Trim, corners and butt joints
Sealant is maintenance, not flashing. Butt joints in a drained system want a joint flashing behind them rather than a bead of caulk holding out water on its own. Corner boards, band boards between floors, frieze at the eave and the trim around each opening set both the look and the water path. Decide those details before the order goes in; they change quantities and price.
Practical considerations
HOA and deed restrictions come before the order
There’s no conventional zoning here, so deed restrictions and HOA architectural review under Texas Property Code Ch. 209 are what actually govern appearance in many neighbourhoods. Swapping cedar for fiber cement, changing a lap width, adding board-and-batten to a gable or shifting the color can all need written approval first. Committees meet on their own schedule. Start that request early, not after the material is on a truck.
Floodplain work and the 50% rule
Re-cladding an entire structure is a meaningful share of what the structure is worth. If the address sits in a mapped floodplain, work costing 50% or more of the pre-improvement market value pushes the whole structure into floodplain compliance (Harris County Sec. 2.45 is the county version). Only the floodplain administrator for that address can give a binding determination. Get it in writing before committing to a full-envelope scope.
Older homes: test before you demolish
Cladding installed before about 1980 may contain asbestos, and paint on anything pre-1978 may contain lead. Both change how the material is removed, contained and disposed of, and both cost more when discovered mid-tear-off than when tested beforehand. A sample and a lab fee is small money against a stopped job. If either comes back positive, the removal method — not the new siding — drives the schedule.
Fixtures, penetrations and the trades involved
Every hose bib, dryer vent, exhaust hood, receptacle, light block and low-voltage penetration has to come off and go back with proper flashing. Some of those are trade work: relocating or re-mounting exterior receptacles and fixtures is a licensed electrician’s portion, and gas or plumbing penetrations belong to their trades. Count the penetrations on your elevations. They are a bigger share of the labour than the flat field is.
At a glance
| Cladding | How it behaves here | Upkeep rhythm |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber cement | Stable in humidity and won’t feed insects; cut ends must be sealed | Repaint on the coating’s schedule; renew trim joints |
| Engineered wood strand | Long boards, fewer joints; edges have to stay sealed and clear of soil | Check the bottom course and cut ends yearly |
| Vinyl | Expands and contracts hard in summer heat; must hang loose on its slots | Wash algae off shaded and north elevations |
| Cedar or pine lap | Handsome, but swells and cups without deep overhangs | The most frequent repainting of the group |
| Brick or stone veneer patch | Common on front elevations; weep holes have to stay open | Repoint failing joints and clear the weeps |
| Board-and-batten accents | Sheds water only if furring, flashing and batten spacing are right | Inspect batten fasteners and the top flashing |
Common questions
Can you patch one section, or does the whole elevation have to come off?
Patching is honest when the failure is local — a leak at one roof-to-wall intersection, an impact hole, a rotted bottom course under a downspout. It stops being honest when the barrier behind the siding is failing generally, because you’d be re-covering the problem. Two practical limits: obsolete profiles are often impossible to match, and years of sun mean a new section rarely matches the old paint. Most patch jobs end with repainting to a natural break, like a corner or a trim line.
How can I tell if the sheathing behind the siding is rotten before the job starts?
You can get close without a full tear-off. Probe suspect areas with an awl, especially below windows, at roof-wall junctions, near hose bibs and along the bottom course. Take moisture-meter readings at those spots and compare them to a dry reference wall. Look inside for stained trim or soft baseboard. Where readings are high, open a small controlled area and look. Then put a per-sheet replacement price in the contract so discoveries have an agreed number instead of a negotiation.
Can new siding go over the old siding?
Some systems allow it, and it’s usually a poor trade. A layover buries the existing weather barrier and any flashing defects instead of fixing them, hides rot you were about to find, adds thickness that throws off the reveal at windows and doors, and complicates fastening into solid framing. It can also conflict with the manufacturer’s installation instructions, which is what the warranty is written against. Removal costs more up front and is what makes the rest of the work verifiable.
Should I add insulation while the wall is open?
It’s the cheapest moment to consider it. In a cooling-dominated climate, the biggest gains usually come from air sealing at penetrations and top plates, then continuous exterior insulation that also breaks thermal bridging at the studs. Be careful about vapor: adding an interior vapor barrier in this climate can trap moisture driven inward from a sun-heated wall. The wall assembly should be able to dry in at least one direction, and that decision should be made deliberately, not by default.
Does siding work require a permit?
Permit authority follows the address, not the mailing city. Some parts of this region are unincorporated, one is a township, and many neighbourhoods add HOA review on top. Plenty of jurisdictions treat like-for-like re-cladding lightly but require permits once structural sheathing, framing repairs or opening changes are involved. The reliable move is to call the authority that actually covers the address before scheduling. If you want help identifying which office that is, call (832) 513-5639.
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