Siding & Exteriors

The exterior of a house on this coast ages faster than anything inside it. Ultraviolet light is intense almost year round, the salt reaches a long way inland on the sea breeze, and driving rain finds every gap in trim and flashing. Vinyl siding that was fine in a northern climate chalks and goes brittle here, and painted wood trim on the weather side of a house is on a maintenance clock from the day it goes up.

Material choice is most of the decision. Fiber cement holds paint and shrugs off both UV and insects, which is why it is what we recommend on most exposures, though it is heavier and slower to hang and the price reflects that. Good quality vinyl still has a place on protected elevations and on a budget. Whatever goes on the wall, the part that actually keeps water out is behind it: the weather resistive barrier, the flashing at every window head and every penetration, and the way the bottom course is detailed. That is invisible work and it is where a siding job either lasts or does not.

Manatee and Sarasota counties sit in the wind borne debris region under the Florida Building Code, which sets real requirements for what goes on the outside of a house and how it is fastened. It is a different standard from the one in place further south, and it is the sort of thing an out of area contractor gets wrong. We also do a large amount of soffit, fascia and trim repair, because those are the first things to go in a storm and the easiest place for water and wildlife to get into an attic once they have gone.