Siding Is Not Just a Color: What Keeps Water Out of Your Walls

Siding is the biggest visual change you can make to a house. It is also, quietly, a water management system — and the parts that do that job are the parts you will never see once the job is done.

Siding is not waterproof, and it was never meant to be

Water gets behind siding. That is expected. The wall stays dry because there is a weather-resistive barrier underneath it and flashing at every opening that sends the water back out.

When a siding job fails, it is almost never the siding. It is missing house wrap, an unflashed window head, or a butt joint left over open sheathing.

What we look for when we tear the old siding off

• Sheathing that is soft, stained, or delaminating — usually below a window
• Missing or torn house wrap, or wrap installed shingle-style upside down
• No flashing over window and door heads
• Rot at the bottom plate where a deck ledger was attached without flashing

Finding these is the point of a tear-off. Siding installed over failing sheathing just hides the problem for another ten years.

Vinyl, engineered wood, or steel?

• Vinyl is the budget-friendly, low-maintenance default. Modern insulated vinyl looks considerably better than the vinyl people picture from the 1990s.
• Engineered wood (LP SmartSide) gives you a deeper, more substantial look and takes paint. It costs more and does need repainting eventually.
• Steel is the most durable against hail, which matters in Iowa, and carries the highest material cost.

There is no universally right answer here. There is a right answer for your house, your neighborhood, and how long you plan to be there.

Pick the color at the house, not in a showroom

Color reads completely differently against your own roof, in your own light, at your own scale. We bring samples out so you can hold them against the house instead of guessing from a two-inch chip.

Get a free quote or call (515) 423-6724.