Don't you absolutely HATE paying a lot of money for something you thought was quality, only to find out you didn't get what you paid for? This page helps you have the ability to understand all those hidden differences in what you're getting from your siding contractor and may help you keep from being misled or getting something other than what you had hoped for.
Fiber Cement/Hardi-Plank Differences
The following are quotes from similar competitor's websites:
"In most cases there is no need to replace the corner boards, most corner boards can be reused to reduce the cost to the homeowner, and decrease waste. If any boards are damaged by [Company] we will replace them. If boards are damaged prior to the project they will need to be replaced for an additional cost, and [Company] will install all new corner boards at the homeowners request for an extra cost."
"Replace housewrap as necessary."
"Install new flashing and vapor barrier where necessary while checking for dry rot."
True, it is cheaper for the company NOT to provide you with new corner boards. However, probably the main protection to assure your home will not be damaged in the event of water getting behind the siding is the housewrap which is correctly put on the walls before the siding is installed. Also, manufacturer recommendations usually state (and it is simply a better building practice) that the housewrap must be installed around the corners of the home. It is NOT possible to install the housewrap around (overlap) the corners of your house if you have cornerposts installed.
Secondly, on a remodel in which the old siding is coming off, it is ALWAYS necessary to replace the housewrap because when you remove the old siding, it leaves all sorts of nail holes in the housewrap which voids any warranty you have, not to mention the protection of keeping water away from the home.
What you should ask which most contractors don't even talk about is, "How will you install the new housewrap or vapor barrier on my home and will you guarantee it will meet manufacturer guidelines for installation?" When you ask this question, many contractors won't know how to answer. The correct answer is, "Yes. We will meet the guidelines. We will install the housewrap over the walls with new fasteners and will overlap all corners and places where the housewrap meets appropriately. We will then tape the seams of the housewrap with a high quality construction tape to meet the guidelines of the manufactuer and to keep water from possibly going around open seams. We will also tape the housewrap around the windows and doors to keep water from getting around those open areas, which is probably the worst place most water can enter the walls."
Another quote:
"[Company] provides a three workmanship warranty. All product warranties are cover by the manufactures."
Understand there are 2 different warranties you need to be concerned about: 1) the manufacturer warranty and 2) the labor warranty. Also recognize that all warranties are LIMITED! This means your warranty will only cover certain things for certain amounts of time. Many companies say they provide a labor warranty, but what does the warranty cover? Is the labor warranty written down in writing so you can see what they will cover and what they will not cover? You should ask for both the manufacturer labor warranty and the labor warranty IN WRITING! Unfortunately, in this day and age, "I'll take care of you . . ." usually doesn't get you very far when a real world problem happens.
WARNING: EFFORVESCENCE HAS BECOME A BIGGER PROBLEM WITH FIBER CEMENT FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS AND YOUR SIDING MANUFACTURER AND YOUR INSTALLER MAY NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROBLEM! James Hardie generally has a policy that efforvescence is not due to a manufacturing defect, but is caused by installation of the product when it is "excessively wet" and therefore, is not covered by their company. The installers will ususally not take responsibility for this as many times the product is delivered from the lumber company and the installer has no way of knowing exactly how "wet" the product is. We do know from personal experience that CertainTeed WeatherBoards will step up to the plate when this situation occurs and will provide a solution and usually the labor necessary to remove the efforvescence from the siding. After all, you paid for your new siding to look good, right?
You should ask if the laps on the project will be staggered or if the siding will only follow a stair-step pattern. This doesn't have really any effect on the installation integrity of the wall, but it can look absolutely terrible in some instances, especially if you have a very large wall on your home. We've met people who were extremely unhappy about the way their siding looked when their job was completed. They didn't know to ask before the job started, but couldn't really do anything about it once the job was complete because the installation met manufacturers recommended installation procedure. It just didn't look good.
You should ask about your privacy and whether or not your name will be put on a list of customers for everyone to see. People are often impressed when they get four to six pages of names of home owners, their addresses, and sometimes phone numbers and think, "Wow, these guys are great! Look at all their references!" You need to ask yourself, are these all the jobs this company has ever done, or are these people who have expressly consented to having their names used in this fashion for marketing purposes? Progressive Exteriors, Inc. has a questionairre which is sent out to every single person who has work done from our company. You can't believe the number of people who love our company and are happy with the job they receive, but simply DO NOT want their name to be used in this fashion. We've adopeted a strict privacy policy in which we reveal NO personal information about a person or family without their express consent. This is why we don't send out pages of references with our quotes. People are extremely concerned about their personal information being sent out and we honor their concerns. Progressive Exteriors, Inc. has been in business since 1978 and we've done thousands of jobs. We'll be happy to provide you with references of real people you can speak with who've had work done by our company . . . people who have expressly consented to having their names used for this purpose.
For other differences and questions you should ask, click here!
Call us today at 1-800-252-8663 to request a no-charge, no-obligation quote from a member of Progressive Exteriors team! You'll be glad you did!