As the winter months approach, it’s time to actively start winterizing your home’s exteriors. If you aren’t sure where to start, we recommend considering the exterior that covers the most surface area of your home– the siding. Your siding spends its entire lifetime outside, protecting your home from the elements, so a little love will go a long way. Properly maintaining and winterizing the siding of your home will ensure that it withstands the winter months and that you maintain lower energy bills.
Prepare your siding before winter’s chills arrive to:
- Maintain its beauty
- Reduce energy waste
- Reduce energy bills
- Keep cold winter air outside
“Winterizing” your siding involves inspecting and resolving any issues in its spaces and on its surfaces. While many of our siding options are relatively maintenance-free, it’s still important to inspect your siding to make sure there aren’t any cracks or weak spots. Depending on the material of your siding, any such spots can lead to mold, mildew, pests, and energy leaks. If any problems exist, they need to be addressed (a.k.a “winterized”) right away to avoid further damage.
Winter-Ready Everlast and James Hardie Siding
Part of what makes Everlast and James Hardie the best brands and materials for siding are their low-maintenance factors and ability to perform well in the harshest climates. James Hardie siding is even made for specific local climates in what they call
Engineered for Climate®. As you visually inspect and winterize your home, do make sure your siding is in excellent shape, but if you have Everlast’s polymeric cladding or James Hardie’s fiber cement siding, you can relax knowing that your siding is highly durable, highly weather-resistant, and impervious to pests like rodents and termites.
Both Everlast and James Hardie have exceptional performance warranties that protect the value of your investment over time. Additionally, Everlast is warranted against hail damage, a warranty that your homeowner’s insurance may not cover.
Preparing Vinyl Siding for Winter
While popular, fairly durable, and relatively inexpensive, vinyl siding needs a little more care than some of our top-of-the-line siding materials, such as those from Everlast or James Hardie. As the weather changes, it’s important to note that vinyl siding expands and contracts as temperatures swing from hot to cold, so proper care and installation techniques will help ensure that vinyl lasts.
When vinyl siding is attached to your home, a small amount of space will exist between the outer surface of your home and the back of the siding. The rain and snow of winter storms could potentially get into this gap of space and cause serious water damage. It’s also possible for animals like mice, squirrels and termites to eat through it to find a way into your home. If you have vinyl siding, winterizing it involves inspecting and ridding it of such issues and intruders.
Contact CRS Exteriors
If you’re ready to upgrade to low-maintenance and winter-ready siding, give us a call. We provide and professionally install a variety of siding materials, including Everlast polymeric siding, James Hardie fiber cement siding, CertainTeed Weathered Board, and various vinyl siding brands.
We stand behind our work and products, which are also backed by the best warranties in the industry. Should a warranty or service issue ever arise, we will be there for you, so be sure to contact us with any questions or issues as you prepare your home for winter.