 |
InspectAPedia® | Question? Just ask us! |
InspectAPedia
|
Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair |
|||
|
Vinyl siding defect recognition & diagnosis: this article discusses common defects observed in vinyl exterior building siding, such as buckling, splitting, cracks, odors, and questions about the need for a vapor barrier behind vinyl siding and over building sheathing. Included are comments from several recognized building inspection and construction authorities. Our page top photo shows wrinkled vinyl siding - often caused by heat exposure such as from a BBQ Grill - but in this location the pattern and size of the damage made us suspect that there was another cause. Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman. Inspecting Vinyl Siding for Damage: Examples of Leaks & Damage to Vinyl SidingLeaks From Vinyl Siding Bottom Edges; Breaks or Cracks in Vinyl SidingMost of the vinyl siding problems we see appear to be due to poor installation details, though on occasion we see cracks and breaks that may be blamed on older, more brittle vinyl products.
In our photo at above left it looks as if there is a problem with moisture behind the siding, leaking out at two of the siding panel bottom edge vents, long enough to invite a pair of algae colonies on the wall. We suspect that that top J-channel trip at the gable end protrudes past the gable board and is not sealed. Wind-blown rain entering behind any building siding material can become a water problem. Our photo of leak stains on a foundation wall below vinyl siding (above right) suggests that either we had wind-blown rain or other exterior leaks into the building wall or there was an in-building leak or flood such as from a burst pipe. Water passing over wood and other building materials but behind the vinyl siding can easily pick up pigments that stain the foundation wall outside. If the builder failed to install a weather barrier, this sort of staining is more likely. See WATER BARRIERS, EXTERIOR. Impact Damage, Cracks, & Holes in Vinyl SidingMost of the vinyl siding problems we see appear to be due to poor installation details, though on occasion we see cracks and breaks that may be blamed on older, more brittle vinyl products.
Our photo (above left) demonstrates impact damage to vinyl siding, in this case just above the floor of an outside deck. Our second vinyl siding damage (above right, courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates) demonstrates an impact damage even to siding that made both a hole and a crack in the wall covering. With (often older-generation) more brittle vinyl wall siding products we often find impact damage and holes caused by stones kicked-up against the wall by a lawn mower or weed-wacker. Vinyl Siding Gaps & Holes Caulked; Cracks at Vinyl Window Trim
Our vinyl siding caulk photo (above left) shows a combination of improper trim installation, building leaks, caulk where it is not helping, and even the caulk was so sloppily applied that it didn't seal anything. Our photo at above right shows cracking vinyl siding above a window corner - a bad place for a leak that can lead to building water entry, window damage, and even hidden mold. Improper J-Channel in Vinyl Siding Cause Costly Building Damage
In our photo at above left it looks like really sloppy J-channel work during siding installation, leaving a leak at the window sill. Watch out: J-Channel errors can rot windows and doors: Our photo of improperly-cut J-channel trim around a window (above right) shows a more serious problem than may be immediately apparent. In Spackenkill, Poughkeepsie, NY we found an entire neighborhood of homes in which nearly all of the windows were rotted beyond repair due to this error. Wind-blown rain sent inside the J-channel trim and into the window structure was the problem caused because the installer didn't follow the manufacturer's instructions. Properly the top J-channel is trimmed to include a tab bent over the vertical J-channel to route water outside, not inside the trim. See Figure 1-25 for details. Stains on Vinyl Siding: Algae, Fungus ("Mildew"), Artillery Fungus, Smoke, Dirt, LeaksAs we complain throughout InspectAPedia.com, mildew, a proper subset of the larger family of molds or fungi, does not grow on buildings - mildew grows on living plants. But people often refer to mold growth on surfaces as "mildew" and so product manufacturers selling cleaners intended to remove mold will understandably call them "mildew removers". It's mold - if you care.
Algae on building walls: Algae is often confused with mold. In our photo at above left shows a common condition that is found on many types of building siding: green (or brown or black) algae growth. Algae is found on siding that is shaded and stays damp. While algae stains on exterior walls are principally a cosmetic concern and can be cleaned using scrubbing, mild soaps, or more aggressive TSP-substitute cleaners or detergents, there may remain a hidden problem: any building wall that stays damp and shaded may be at higher risk for hidden insect or rot damage. If there is an accessible crawl space or basement below a wall that looks like the one in our photo, that's a good place to look for signs of building leaks, rot, or insect damage. In our photo at above right we think these black specs may be a fungal growth. A pen cap is included in the photo for scale. Artillery fungus can produce black specs on a building wall, trim, or other outdoor surfaces. Similar black specs may be found on exterior siding where the attachment points of vines have adhered to the surface. Advice for Dealing with Algae or Mold on Outside WallsWhere there are apparent "growth" substances on a building exterior wall we offer the following added advice:
Loose Vinyl Siding: Blow-Offs, Fall-Offs & Nailing DefectsBelow our photographs show what happens to loose, poorly-secured vinyl siding on a home. These pictures were taken just about a year apart. We had watched the loose buckling siding on this Poughkeepsie NY home for some time. Finally after a windstorm much of the gable end siding has simply been lost completely.
Below are additional examples of poorly-attached siding (below left) and siding that was literally pulled off of the building when an adjoining stucture itself collapsed. The consequences of the failure at right were more serious than met the eye: this wide opening into the building wall allowed rain to soak the wall interior, leading to costly mold, rot, and insect damage to the structure.
In our photo at above left demonstrates a loose siding panel that is inviting more serious wind damage. Our second photo (above right) demonstrates a combination of poor siding installation, improper lower-roof flashing, a home that sat for months unattended while wind, rain, and snow penetrated the structure. These are almost certainly construction and installation defects, not product defects. Damaged Rippled Vinyl Siding, Buckled Siding, Bent, or Sagging Vinyl SidingBuckled Vinyl Siding due to Thermal Expansion & Improper Nailing
On a wall section long enough to have spliced sections of vinyl wall siding in a given siding course, if we see vinyl wall siding that is buckled, we also check to see if the siding moves freely left and right on the wall. It's easy to either use the butt of your hand to try to slide a siding panel left or right - it should move about 1/2" or so. If the siding feels tight we may check further by grasping the end or edge of a siding section to see if we can pull or push it. When locking the vinyl siding panels into position, do not force them up or pull them down to adjust the alignment. Too tight panels can tear and too-loose panels can unlock and come loose. One exception is at the band joint between the first and second floor where panels may come unlocked due to shrinkage of the framing. To compensate for this, some contractors pull the panels a little tight over the band joist area. Detailed specifications for hanging vinyl siding to avoid buckling and blow-offs are found in our article VINYL SIDING INSTALLATION - see:
Vinyl siding that buckles due to improper nailing (photo shown above) is is not normally extremely wrinkled, and will be more wavy across longer horizontal runs of surface. And of course, more severe buckling vinyl siding will be found on a building sides more exposed to sunlight. Buckled or Sagged or Rippled Vinyl Siding due to Heat Damage - Barbecue Grille or or Nearby FireAs we mention also at VINYL SIDING INSTALLATION, heat damaged siding (shown in our photos below) is not a vinyl siding product defect and needs to be distinguished from siding that has buckled from heat from the sun combined with improper nailing. Heat damaged siding looks like the examples we show in our photographs below.
Vinyl Siding Deformation Caused by Other Hazards: heat leaks, chemical spills, reflected sunlight & heat from nearby surfaces, or unknownOriginally we thought the product at right was defective, or that it may have been damaged by a solvent. But it is difficult to imagine that defective siding would have been cut and installed with the rippled effects in such a regular pattern.
Further Investigation of Rippled or Deformed Vinyl Siding Points to Reflected Heat vs Actual Fire DamageAs a contrasting example to vinyl siding damaged by reflected or transmitted heat alone, our photograph at left illustrates vinyl siding that was damaged in a Poughkeepsie NY house fire. To understand with confidence why the siding at above right shows that rippled, bending effect, we recommended investigation
See How to Repair Loose Vinyl Siding or Remove and Reinstall Part of a Vinyl-Clad Wall for suggestions and special vinyl siding tools that are used to remove and replace vinyl siding in the middle of a wall. Fire-Damaged Vinyl Siding Photos
The photograps above illustrate the more extreme vinyl siding damage observed as characteristic of a building fire.Vinyl Siding Buckled, Torn Due to Building Movement
At above left we illustrate a sure clue of hidden rot or insect damage: crushing buckled vinyl siding at or close to ground level. Further investigation in this New York home disclosed a wood floor built actually on and below grade level and very extensive termite damage to the building's wood sills and floor structure. Though there was no access below the floor without demolition, this visual clue launched an appropriate investigation and avoided a costly surprise. At above right this building in Northern Main has settled and sagged enough to actually bend and tear the vinyl siding. Don't Bury Siding at Wall Bottoms - Insect RiskAs our buckled vinyl siding at ground photo (above left) and Carson Dunlop's photograph vinyl siding photo shows (below left), bringing vinyl siding down to ground contact or even below ground may please the architect or home owner's sense of aesthetics, but it is an engraved invitation to wood destroying insects to attack the structure. We like to see 6-8" of clear foundation wall between the bottom of wall siding and the top of the ground surface. Adding mulch as was done here, increases the invitation to termites.
Watch out: for heating equipment installers who may run a metal vent through a vinyl-clad wall. Vent materials that get hot may risk a fire, or at least risk damaging the siding. (Photo courtesy Carson Dunlop Associates.) Vinyl Siding / Plastic Odors, Emissions, Health InformationWatch out: Information about vinyl products (not just siding) that may produce odors or have other environmental concerns can be found at VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO Siding Hook Useful to Remove and Reinstall Part of a Vinyl-Clad Wall for Inspection or RepairIt's not unusual to need to re-hook loose vinyl siding such as shown in our vinyl siding damage photo above, or to remove impact-damaged, heat damaged, or badly stained vinyl siding from a structure.
... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Vinyl Siding on Buildings, Installation, Defects, Diagnosis & RepairQuestion: Chalking surface of older vinyl siding - is this normalI am wondering why when I rub my fingers across our siding I come away with my fingers being white. Is this a normal vinyl siding thing or does it mean it has been previously painted or what? I want to clean the siding but would like to know what the white stuff is first. - Anon 8/18/2011 Reply:Anon, Watch out: any older oxidized plastic may have increased in brittleness and be more vulnerable to mechanical damage. Question: are there structural issues with wrinkled vinyl siding?No where does it tell me if there are structural issues with wrinkled siding. Mine is in a place where it doesn't matter if it's wrinkled, but I don't wish to have the structure integrity compromised. - Carol Heitlinger 6/9/2012 Reply:Quite So, Carol. We don't expect to blame "wrinkled siding" such as the heat-damaged siding above, or buckled siding described in the article above as a structural integrity problem. Since building siding is a skin that is "hung" on the structure, usually wrinkles in the siding are usually due to heat such as from a BBQ grille placed too close to vinyl siding, or more often wavy siding is due to improper fastening of the siding to the building (nailing too tightly) combined with the effects of heat from sun exposure - not a structural defect. Question: I found carpenter ants behind my siding - how do I fix the problemafter i took down insulation i found a lot of carpenter ants ,killed them . investigated more around the house noticed in the garage that there were more took down sheet rock water damaged. j channel cut and holes with wood showing .how do i fix this? - Dale 7/21/12 Reply:Dale you're going to need to follow the water backwards until you've found the leak or water entry point; fix that, and restore the siding; You'll need the "siding hook" siding replacement tool we describe if you're working from the bottom of the wall up. Question: diagnosing why there is rippled odd looking vinyl siding - traced to reflected sun-heatThe picture with the dryer vent below the window (see Buckled, Rippled, Deformed Vinyl Siding Caused by Other Hazards: heat leaks, chemical spills, unknown above) was caused by the reflection of the sun off the window. I would put $$$ on it. - Jim Hilt 9/11/2011 There's a good chance the rippled effect on the siding was caused my improper dryer vent installation and hot dryer air is leaking behind the siding. - Anonymous 9/15/2012 Reply:Thanks for the guesses, Jim and Anonymous. Jim: But in this case, while I thought you might have something there, after a more careful check, I don't think so. Look at that photo again carefully - you'll see that the rippled vinyl siding extends way below the opposing window - not in the path of reflected heat from the window glass. Anonymous: We have expanded our discussion of the rippled vinyl siding effect to explain the difference between obvious heat damage from a barbecue grill and the odd rippling in our photo above. The vent you saw is not for a hot air dryer, it's an air intake for a fireplace insert built into that chimney chase. But your guess is a good one in that there may be a more dangerous hot gas leak from the fireplace. For that reason we recommended invasive inspection to check the chimney chase interior as well as the condition of the fireplace For additional photographs and discussion of all types of sagged, torn, cut, broken, rippled, or otherwise damaged vinyl siding, take a look at these subtopics found in the article above:
Reader Follow up / Comment: Vinyl Siding Rippling Caused by Sunlight & Heat Reflected from Nearby WindowsThe picture with the dryer vent below the window was caused by the reflection of the sun off the window. I would put $$$ on it. - Jim Hilt 9/11/2011
On the contrary! As the sun rises in the sky, the reflected light and heat move downward on the wall. That softening pattern is exactly where it should be. When the window and adjacent wall are so close together (and always facing south and west), no breeze carries the hot air away. Between the direct sun and the reflected sun, you get high temperatures on the surface, but it's rare to see damage from it, because usually airflow cools the surface off. When you put them too close together like this (and again, oriented to the sun just-so), the pocket of dead air allows temps to get even higher and you see the damage shown. - Mike in Michigan 11/28/2012 Reply:Thanks so much, Mike! We are so grateful for your very interesting explanation of our "mystery" rippled vinyl siding. Your analysis looks very reasonable & sound to me. Though I needed to see the careful reasoning in your comment, now I'm convinced. Indeed this side of this home faces roughly South and the side of the facing chimney chase was indeed, in some weather, a hot, dead-air space. We will look for other examples of the case you describe and would welcome photos of this vinyl siding damage type from other readers. (Use the CONTACT US link found at page top or bottom to send us email & photos) We appreciate your taking the time to comment: working together we are smarter than anyone. - Daniel Ask a Question or Search InspectApediaQuestions & answers or comments about Vinyl Siding on Buildings, Installation, Inspection Methods, Defects, Diagnosis & Repair. Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below. Technical Reviewers & ReferencesRelated Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd.,
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes
