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Aluminum siding

repairman | Posted in General Discussion on October 11, 2006 05:34am

I have accepted a job to replace some of the mud slills, rim joices and floor joices of a house with termite damage. The house was built in the early fifty’s and is clad with aluminum siding and I need to remove the bottom two to three courses for repairs and passing of materials under the house. What is the best way to remove this siding with out damage so as to reuse the siding when the job is done. The damage is located on the front of the house, so I would like the siding to match in color.

Repairman

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  1. DanH | Oct 11, 2006 05:50pm | #1

    Of course you know that AL siding dents if you even look at it funny, and with any siding you usually are better off removing from the top down.

    But if you can start from the very bottom you can usually get a prybar under the bottom lip and pry out to loosen the starter channel, the bow the bottom siding piece out enough to pry it loose at the top. Once the top is loose, push the piece up to disconnect from the row above and repeat. When reinstalling, fasten pieces at the bottom by driving small galv casing nails through about every other drain hole on the bottom lip. Or if you have more than a couple of courses, install bottom-up and then fake the joint with the existing siding using the casing nail trick.

    Another approach (best if you have a replacement piece) is to use a sharp knife to cut through the AL just under the lip of the piece above. On reinstalling, if you have a new piece cut it's nailing flange off so it will slide up behind the existing piece, then fasten at the bottom. If reinstalling the original piece, caulk the top joint.

    If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
  2. User avater
    RichBeckman | Oct 11, 2006 06:00pm | #2

    Good luck. Is the customer expecting it to look just like it did??

    I wouldn't take the job without the customers understanding that the siding could well look a bit abused when the job is finished.

    Rich Beckman

    Another day, another tool.

    1. DanH | Oct 11, 2006 06:34pm | #3

      And don't forget that you can paint AL siding with reasonably satisfactory results.
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison

  3. blue_eyed_devil | Oct 11, 2006 06:40pm | #4

    I wouldn't expect the aluminium siding to survive your intended technique. I'd start at the top and strip the entire wall if I truly wanted to re-use the sidings and make it look good.

    Some things are impossible.

    blue

    Our Skytrak is for sale. It has 500 hrs on it. We want  50k (you pay the freight) and we'll finance it. Drop me an email; it's a good buy.

  4. User avater
    JDRHI | Oct 11, 2006 08:21pm | #5

    Depending upon the condition of the siding...taking it off might only be half as difficult as putting it back on. The final course anyhow.

    I'd start by removing the course thats five feet up....this way, you'll have plenty of room to work on the sills and stud connections and will allow you to replace sheathing with a full four foot run of plywood.

    Use a vinyl siding tool to unlock the bottom of the course that lands at five foot. Carefully.....the Al. won't have the flexibility of vinyl. Once thats free start pulling nails and remove the lower courses top down.

    Once repairs are made, try your best to replace siding, bottom up, so that top flange aligns nicely with the bottom course you left on.

    If you're very careful, it can be done nicely.

    I would however let the homeownr know that getting everything exactly as was is not guarenteed, and that matching the old will likely be impossible should you run into trouble removing or replacing.

    Good luck.

    J. D. Reynolds

    Home Improvements

  5. User avater
    hammer1 | Oct 12, 2006 01:12am | #6

    Built a big house back in the early 70's with aluminum siding. About two weeks after they moved in I got a call. The kids had spent the day bouncing baseballs off the house. It's just like working with vinyl and unzips the same way. A bit stiffer and will make you swear like a pirate. Watch your fingers and don't rush it. Pick a warm day and be exact when replacing, it doesn't stretch. A jar of Vaseline comes in handy.

    Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

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