Jeremy Owens, vice president of 3 Generations Improvements, near Sacramento, Calif., says, “As a residential-construction professional, you look at home siding whenever you’re driving, walking the neighborhood, or traveling the country. The thoughts that often swirl in your head are always the same: What kind of siding is that? Why is that siding failing? (And, if you're a siding contractor, you hope to say, 'Boy, this neighborhood needs siding!'”)
Poor Product Selections, Improper Installation
It truly is amazing how many people need siding in the U.S. The products and procedures used decades ago in home construction and remodeling, such as T1-11, aluminum, or other lap siding with improper flashing, are reasons why contractors have so much work today, Owens says.
“With over 120 years of combined experience in our company, we see that inferior products and installations are the main culprits for siding failures,” Owens says. “It still amazes me that some professionals in home construction do not look at the side walls like a roof—it is almost like they ran out of budget when putting thought into the siding.”
Owens says that the same holds true for a home that 3 Generations Improvements is currently remodeling in Larkspur, Calif. “The whole neighborhood’s siding is leaking and we are on our second home, with many more likely to come,” Owens says. “The builder did not look at the side walls like a roof and with little-to-no eaves around the house and poor roof-to-siding transitions, water run-off tested the system and ultimately won.”
Finding Peace of Mind
To solve the homeowner’s problems, Owens says that 3 Generations Improvements determined the need for a siding that would be easy to work with and easy to create the flashing around to properly shed water. “We also needed a siding that would bring the homeowners peace of mind that their new premium siding would have an industry-leading warranty, along with an exterior finish that would last,” he says.
Proper Installation for LP® SmartSide® Siding
With LP SmartSide Trim & Siding, Owens and his team were able to provide the homeowner with a siding that could be flashed properly. They used 4-inch-wide flashing slip sheets for all the butt joints, L or step flashing at rooflines, and Z-flashing over all head trim and important fascia-to-siding transitions. “By properly installing the siding," Owens says, "we will avoid water penetration.”
After building in the proper flashing, the homeowner will have a highly weather-resistant, engineered, and treated wood siding backed by a five-year 100 percent labor and replacement feature and a 50-year prorated limited warranty on the substrate. The warranty is transferrable to the next homeowner. The prefinished paint will come with a 30-year warranty from this particular siding prefinisher.
“LP SmartSide Siding enabled the homeowner and us to check all the boxes for what was needed for this re-side,” Owens says.
Owens is an LP BuildSmart Preferred Contractor at the Master level.
For more information about LP SmartSide Trim & Siding, please visit lpsmartside.com. For more information about 3 Generations Improvements, please visit 3ghomeimprovements.com.
- Job location: Home in Larkspur, Calif., near Sacramento
- Name of remodeler: 3 Generations Improvements
- LP SmartSide Trim & Siding contact: Amy Lindholm, Brand Manager, Siding Group, 615.986.5688, Amy.Lindholm@lpcorp.com, www.lpsmartside.com
Using proper flashing and installation techniques with a proven product such as LP SmartSide siding offers homeowners peace of mind