Is It Too Cold for Home Siding Replacement in Joliet?
Is your home ready to stave off the winter cold? As the winter rolls around, the cold conditions will put your home’s sidings to the test. Upgrading or replacing old sidings can help lower your heating bills while keeping your household warm and toasty. But can you install siding in the winter? Here’s what you need to know about timing when protecting your home’s siding. The Winter Siding Dilemma: Balancing Act The inclement weather makes installing siding during winter a balancing act. The effect of the frigid temperatures on the siding material and work environment makes the process challenging. Temperature Matters Some siding materials, such as vinyl, perform poorly if installed during extreme temperatures. A 12-foot vinyl plank will contract by as much as 0.5 inches during winter and expand to its original length as the temperature rises. You must cut the panels to accommodate the growth and shrinkage, especially when fitting them around window and door casing to avoid buckling. At what temperature does vinyl warp? Vinyl siding expands when the temperature warms to 80 to 90 degrees and will buckle after encountering an obstacle, such as a window or door casing. Ideally, the best time to install vinyl siding is spring or autumn—you’ll get the best results when the temperature is 35° F or warmer. Choosing the Right Material Your choice of siding material determines your winter comfort, insulation level, and energy consumption. Popular options include vinyl, engineered wood, and fiber-cement siding. Hardboard and fiber-cement siding are more accommodating than vinyl for winter installations, as you can successfully install them in 20-degree weather or colder. Durability While wood is a popular siding choice, its durability is reliant on regular maintenance. Engineered wood performs better in inclement weather but is less durable than vinyl and fiber-cement siding. James Hardie fiber cement siding is the most durable option because it’s fireproof and has 5x the thickness of a typical vinyl siding. However, vinyl and fiber cement siding are low maintenance and weatherproof to give your home years of protection. Insulation While installing regular siding helps improve your home’s insulation capacity, insulated siding is far superior. They feature a solid-ridge foam backing to safeguard your home against heat loss. More importantly, insulated siding helps prevent thermal bridging, a form of heat loss facilitated by the wood studs in your walls. Since wood studs comprise 25% of every wall in your home, they’re responsible for about 25% of your heat loss. Insulated vinyl siding prevents heat loss, can lower your annual heating bills by $70, and offers up to 80% return on investment. Resistance The best siding will stand up to the elements and protect your home. Vinyl siding is resistant to insects, rot, and water damage and can withstand harsh weather. It’s less prone to fading, warping, and cracking. Fiber cement can withstand extreme weather conditions and is less prone to shrinking, bending, and expanding. While engineered wood easily resists rot, insects, and moisture, it can only withstand moderate weather conditions. Appearance Wall cladding comes in diverse styles and colors to help you customize your home’s appearance. Dark siding creates a beautiful contrast when your home’s external features are light-colored and vice versa. However, dark-colored sidings may have a shorter lifespan than lighter ones because they absorb a lot of heat. Unlike vinyl cladding, most sidings, including metal, wood, and fiber cement, are paintable. You can paint them any color as part of your home maintenance routine to fit the season and ensure durability. The Art of Professionalism Spring and fall are the best times to install vinyl siding in Joliet, IL, because of the favorable weather. Wintry conditions complicate the siding installation process on various fronts, including: Materials Handling Besides the hazardous working conditions, winter siding installations are challenging because cold weather may damage the panels. Vinyl becomes brittle when temperatures drop below freezing, so they can’t be nailed to your walls. Any attempt to fix a frozen wall cladding would cause it to splinter into pieces, saddling you with huge losses. Vinyl siding installers must cut the panels to the proper lengths to account for summer expansion and employ proper nailing techniques. Skilled experts leave a 1/16″ space between the nail and nailing fin for summer expansion. Improper nailing technique restricts movement and results in the siding bulging out. Safety Protocols Working in frigid weather can be life-threatening for contractors. If they don’t have proper winter gear, frostbite may set in at temperatures below 31 degrees. Unfortunately, wearing gear is usually heavy and uncomfortable. Workers may struggle to work in winter boots, jackets, gloves, and thermal wear. Ice patches also pose a risk and fall hazard as the workers lug heavy pieces around. They may also not get any work done due to weather delays. Contractors can’t do exterior work during a snowstorm or a snow-rain mix. Communication The unpredictable winter weather may pose a logistical nightmare and ruin the construction times. Heavy snowfalls may block the roads and deny contractors access to the job site. In such instances, communication during such time helps avoid confusion and inconveniences. Establishing a reliable communication strategy allows contractors to update their clients while tempering expectations. The best communication strategies cover multiple channels to improve customer experience. Flexibility Many obstacles may crop up during winter, negatively impacting project execution. Given the nature of the job, siding installers may only work on days with good weather. Contractors may often pause the work when the conditions become unbearable. Therefore, winter projects require flexible delivery times to accommodate unforeseen obstacles. Weather-Resilient Planning Weather-resilient planning is crucial to the success of any construction or renovation project. The process entails considering the weather conditions and their impact on the project’s materials, timelines, and overall success. Key factors to consider when planning a winter project include: Weather Monitoring Closely watching the weather forecasts ensures better preparation and scheduling. It’s a reliable way to avoid working in unfavorable weather that could hinder or delay the installation work. Flexible Scheduling Flexible scheduling allows contractors to plan around inclement weather and