The vinyl siding on the front of our daughter’s new (1970’s) home has a number of holes from the previous owner’s Christmas lights, awnings, etc. Does anyone know of a reasonably effective way to fill and color the holes to keep water and insects out yet keep the siding looking good? Thanks in advance.
Dan
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Replies
I just googled "vinyl siding repair" and got a bunch of hits. This first one looks like a decent fix.
http://www.bobshowto.com/vinyl-siding-repair.htm
The fiberglass autobody repair material called Bondo works, and can be worked quickly to give some texture to match the siding. If the holes are too large, you might need to slide in a backing material of some kind first.
It might be tricky to match the siding color unless this is white siding. Maybe you can take an old piece of siding to a paint store or big box -- start with a color slightly lighter as being less noticible than a color that is too dark.
Hmmm, come to think of it, it has been about 20 years since I worked on patching vinyl siding however, so there might be something "new" that others here can tell you about.
Dusty and Lefty
duct tape works great for a backer....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
For small holes I'd just use silicone caulk.
If you can find some matching vinyl siding, its one of the easiest sidings to patch.
I doubt that the vinyl was original from the '70s, so you may want to check some local siding and roofing supply houses to see if they have any. Or maybe the installer left some in the garage.
If they do, also buy a "zip" tool. You can use the zip tool to remove the old siding. Push it up under the lap joint of the siding, near the end of a piece. Hook onto the interlocking seam, and pull down. Work your way across to free the entire piece. Remove the nails holding it, cut the new piece to fit, and reverse the process to install the new piece.
Vinyl's flexible enough that popping a piece off and on goes pretty quickly.
If you have a supply of matching siding, and you need to fix, eg, a baseball-sized hole, one trick is to cut a width of siding a bit wider than the hole, cut off the top flange, then wedge the piece in place over the existing, securing a the top with some silicone caulk, and at the bottom with some small galv casing nails through the weep holes.
Dan,
I understand your desire to make this siding look better by covering the holes, but patching or filling the holes will neither keep water out nor prevent insects from getting behind the siding.
Assuming there is a drainage plane behind the siding (tyvek or other) you might want to repair that and any sheeting damage if needed.
My recommendation would be to swap some of the affected pieces with areas of the house that are less conspicuous (i.e. under the deck, back of the garage etc.) that way, all of the siding is at least the same vintage and has seen similar weather exposure.
If the pieces to be replaced are too unsightly, still swap the locations and replace the inconspicuous areas with new siding.
Nothing keeps insects/water out from behind vinyl siding.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
glue the laps into a solid sheet....Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Dan,
My recommendation was to replace the siding for cosmetic reasons, while trying to find the closest match in color using other pieces on the house.
I often tell HO's, "Vinyl siding leaks, that's why they put weep holes in the bottom". So I don't depend on it to keep water out of the building envelope.
IMO, patching the holes w/ caulk or bondo won't look that good and really won't change the watershedding integrity of the siding.