Published on: August 08, 2023
As a home or commercial building starts to age, you might feel like it needs everything all at once. Prioritizing projects can be challenging. But when it comes to siding and gutter replacement, it’s often beneficial to replace them at the same time.
Siding helps keep your home temperate – which means warm in the winter and cool in the summer. But like everything on your home, it has a finite life. And gutters help move rain off your roof and away from your foundation to keep everything in the best shape possible.
Here’s what you need to know when your gutters and siding both wear out around the same time.
Well-installed siding can last for decades. Once it hits 20 years old, it’s time to start watching closely for signs it might be time to replace the siding. In some cases, you’ll still get another 10-20 years from your siding. But in others, you’ll be glad you were watching for signs of wear.
Here’s what to watch out for.
Thankfully, siding replacement offers a solid return on investment in most instances. Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report found that siding replacement generally has a 75 percent return on investment.
Storms can damage gutters. But even if you go many years without severe storms in your area, you’ll still start to notice signs that your gutters need replacement. Generally, gutters last about 20 years. But if you’ve invested in copper gutters, you might get 50 years from this home feature.
Some damage signs to look out for include the following.
There are a few things you can do to extend the life of your gutters.
If you aren’t sure how to care for and maintain your gutters, get an annual inspection and cleaning from a local expert who can help with this crucial activity.
If you or the building’s previous owner let the gutter or siding replacement go too long, you might not have the luxury of choosing between whether to replace your gutters OR siding. Instead, you’ll want to replace both at the same time.
That’s because if you replace your siding first and leave the old gutters, you can experience siding damage again because the gutters aren’t doing their job. And if you replace gutters and wait on the siding, you’ll be left paying higher energy bills and your home will be left vulnerable to water damage, even though you’ve invested in good gutters to move the water away from the home. That’s because even with the best gutters, blowing rain will hit your siding and can get into your home if there are any gaps.
Additionally, you can get some cost savings from combining the work and getting a skilled contractor on-site to do both at the same time. That way, there is less work for your contractor because they don’t have to remove any trim or gutter pieces to access what they need to for completing the job.
The challenging part about home ownership is that 25 years tends to be the average for many exterior parts of a home. That means replacing roofing, windows, siding, and gutters around the same time. While you can stretch out the project over several years and do each one individually, you might also consider grouping the projects.
In that case, the more logical groupings are replacing roofing and gutters at the same time and replacing siding and windows together.
Of course, each case will be unique because the severity of the damage or wear to each aspect of your home will affect the project’s urgency.
But one reason to replace windows and siding together is that getting the best window seal does require removing siding and trim. Or, you can work with 2FL Windows, Siding, and Roofing for its patented Rain Jacket Flashing System. Without removing the siding, 2FL can install windows that surpass AAMA window pressure tests for hurricane-force wind-driven rain.
Gutters and roofing tend to go together because they are so interrelated. You don’t want to install a new roof with old gutters because your new roof could become damaged quickly if water pools there due to inadequate gutters.
Likewise, getting new gutters without a new roof could lead to debris in your gutters from asphalt shingles that are shedding material. Since the two exterior systems work together so intricately, it’s important to care for them at the same time.
One reason why building owners put off important maintenance is because they struggle to know who to call to complete the work. Trusted contractors are hard to come by but shouldn’t be a reason why you put off the crucial activity.
2FL Windows, Siding and Roofing is a BBB Accredited Business with an A+ rating, which means it is a reliable business you can count on to do the right thing. Schedule your free estimate now to learn more about siding, gutter, roofing, or window replacement.
As you embark on a siding and gutter replacement project, review these commonly asked questions.
Yes, replacing gutters and siding at the same time ensures your home is properly protected and ensures your investment is worthwhile since lousy gutters won’t lead to warping or damage to your new siding.
Since gutters attach to your siding, your contractor will likely remove the gutters, replace the siding and then put up the new gutters.
Most gutters are rated for a lifespan of 20 years. However, if you have copper gutters, you can get up to 50 years from them. Watch for signs of wear to ensure you replace your gutters before they cause other damage.
Further Reading:
Read the latest articles about siding.
[…] Home and building owners tend to focus more heavily on indoor improvements, which is understandable since that’s what residents and customers see primarily. But failing to heed the signs of exterior wear and tear could lead to larger problems that are far costlier than siding replacement. […]
[…] Gutter type: different types of gutters will offer different opportunities for gutter guards. Sectional gutters cost less, but they also have seams, which can mean more leaks. Seamless gutters are more expensive, but they are also more expensive and if one part fails, you have to replace large portions of the gutter. […]