Vinyl Siding Repair?

[Ben]

Any of you ever have to repair your vinyl siding? This is the first house I've had with it. Since I've moved in, I've noticed a few panels looser than others, which I guess is just me having to reseat the bottoms.

However, my laziness in not doing that earlier has resulted in some damage from an out of the ordinary windstorm (up to 50mph) that blew through the other day. I now have a couple of cracked panels. The cracks/splits are only a few inches, so  I figure doing a repair is good enough. Youtube videos show everything from Bondo to duct tape to just replacing the whole panel.

I'm wondering what the best field expedient method is. Recommendations?

[bedlamite]

Replacing the panel with new/same type is the best, and pretty easy. It's nailed in place at the top, and the bottom of the siding panel snaps on to the one below it.

[MillCreek]

My previous house had vinyl siding, and I loved it: I would pressure wash it every couple of years and it always looked great.  There is a potential sticky wicket in replacing panels: are the same panels still made in the same color, and are the other panels sun/weather faded such that a new panel will stand out like a sore thumb?   Fortunately, when I moved in, the siding contractor had left a pile of left-over material that I saved for future repairs.  When I had a couple of small cracks, I just taped over them using a small piece of clear duct tape cut to fit.  The repair was invisible from more than a foot away or so.

[BobR]

I had a couple of small, <3" or so, holes i. My vinyl siding from the weedeater and one from a ladder. I ordered some Flex Paste and slapped it on the holes. It seemed to work just fine. When I left it was working just fine.

bob

[French G.]

In a pretty extreme weather environment I say ignore the defects or fix with gorilla tape while you save for Hardy plank. Vinyl seems to be the cheap way people cover up serious house issues they should have dealt with.

[Ben]

My previous house had vinyl siding, and I loved it: I would pressure wash it every couple of years and it always looked great.  There is a potential sticky wicket in replacing panels: are the same panels still made in the same color, and are the other panels sun/weather faded such that a new panel will stand out like a sore thumb?   

Yeah, one of the other things the wind did was blow off a cheap vinyl decorative shutter (from of course the only 2nd story window in the place) and the color shade difference is significant.

I was just at Home Depot and they don't stock the siding in either pieces or even full boxes. I would have to order a whole box and I have no way of knowing compatibility with the current siding. I think for now I'm going with first, some vinyl patch in a caulking tube I found that seems close in color. If that doesn't work, either some tape or a patch kit  I saw on Amazon.  It seems more importantly, I need to check all the siding I can reach to make sure the bottom is correctly inside the lip retainer thingy - that seems to be what caused the problem in the two cracked panels - the wind got underneath them and lifted them enough to cause a tear.

I wouldn't be opposed to switching things over to hardi-plank, but it seems more efficient/economical to do it when there has been significant damage to the vinyl. My main concern otherwise is making sure everything is secure to keep Winter weather and moisture out. It's not like I have HOA neighbors to worry about regarding the appearance of patches, so I can patch a lot more if I have to. :)

[Kingcreek]

 a siding tool is essential to remove any panels. Nothing too complicated about vinyl siding.

[Ben]

a siding tool is essential to remove any panels. Nothing too complicated about vinyl siding.

Yeah, I just ordered one on Amazon because HD didn't stock any. One of the youtube videos showed them to be very handy for reseating the bottom of the panel as well.

[Hawkmoon]

Replacing the panel with new/same type is the best, and pretty easy. It's nailed in place at the top, and the bottom of the siding panel snaps on to the one below it.

^^^ This. IMHO, replacing cracked panels is the only acceptable repair.

[bedlamite]

If there is a shade difference with new panels and you don't have any matching, find an inconspicuous spot on the house, put the new one there, and use the panel from that spot for the repair.

[Kingcreek]

If there is a shade difference with new panels and you don't have any matching, find an inconspicuous spot on the house, put the new one there, and use the panel from that spot for the repair.

I’ve done this. It doesn’t take the repair panel will fade to match.

[Ben]

Is there some reference available for finding correctly sized panels? I have no idea what I have now, and don't want to be ordering a case of the wrong ones if I go that route. Or maybe there are stores other than big boxes that would carry individual panels specifically for repairs?

[bedlamite]

Cut a 2-3" wide piece and bring it with you.

[Kingcreek]

Is there some reference available for finding correctly sized panels? I have no idea what I have now, and don't want to be ordering a case of the wrong ones if I go that route. Or maybe there are stores other than big boxes that would carry individual panels specifically for repairs?

If you can identify the brand and color, there are probably only a couple sizes and styles. It will be like a double 4" or something. Just measure the height of each bevel. There are a couple different styles.

[cordex]

When I had my roof redone the guys offered to fix some siding issues at the same time.  They said they could get a good match, and I asked them to shuffle the panels so that the new panels were in an out of the way spot and original panels could be shifted to the more visible locations.

The new stuff is not an exact match and stands out, and the old stuff was too fragile to pull off and move.

If you can't find an exact match it won't look good.

[T.O.M.]

Our house has vinyl.  Loved it when we moved in because it was maintenance free.  20 years later, and I hate it.  Company that made this no longer makes "stirling" color, which is really a very light grey, but doesn't match any other light grey.  It's starting to get a little brittle, which means I've got a bit more Flex Seal Tape on than I like.  Oh, and when the idiot built this house, he cut every corner possible.  The trim that looked like vinyl?  MDF painted on one side only.  I know this because water damage made one of the pieces fall apart and I could see he only painted the front.  Evaluating finances for new siding, trim, and windows.