I know it’s plastic! It just that I didn’t want to buy any more old growth cedar and I hate painting. It was installed 10 years ago and when doing my annual wash down last week I discovered that there is now a gap of alsmot 1/2 inch on one upper run. I’ve got some scrap pieces that I saved when it was done. The guy that did it was competant (but of course he is long gone) and all of they other seams are fine with plenty of overlap but this one is on the weather side of the house and I’d like to fix it. Someone suggesting using PVC cement and just patching it with a piece but was short on particulars. Any suggestions? Peter Miller /Rain City Seattle.
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Replies
Overlap the two pieces up there right now the way you want, cut a couple of feet off the other end, then cut a new piece to fit this new hole with a factory edge for the overlap.
If this is the top course there should be Utility trim for the pieces to snap into. The pieces need to be crimped for the piece to lock into the UT.
I am not sure how vinyl siding will react with PVC cement it might eat the siding for all I know.
If you are wanting to keep it from moving, put a small bead of silicone in the bottom snap lock on the back side of the piece leave it back from the weep holes at least a few inches. Snap it into place and clean any excess silicone that has squeezed out of the weep holes.
What's wrong with me? I could ask you the exact same thing.
Peter,
You can remove any piece of vinyl siding you want with the aid of a small tool called a "zip tool". It's a small flat hook you use to reach under the siding, grab the overlap of the siding above and pull it out to disengage it.
You can then see the nails and pull them, remove the short piece and put in a longer one. If you haven't got a longer one, study the way the overlaps should work and put in two pieces - not shorter than 3 - 4 feet each. You can easily dupicate the factory overlap ends. Don't drive the nails home. Vinyl should be able to slide.
You then use the zip tool to re-engage the siding above your new piece.
You can get this tool almost anywhere you can buy vinyl siding. I don't know what it'll cost you nut I'd guess under $10. Last one I bought was $4.
Work safe.
Ron
Simplest fix is to take a short piece, cut off the top lip, silicone it over the existing pieces (only attach to one side, to allow for expansion), and then run a nail at about 45 degrees into a drip hole (or a drilled hole, if no drip hole in the right spot) at the bottom.
Beyond that it's unzip/rezip.
Are you saying that the gap is in the very top course?? The one that gets punched and snaps into a locking strip??
If it is, the chances are that it just slid over too much and needs to be pulled back and tacked in place.