I need pro advice for a bad siding job.

7/28/2018 at 10:41:18 AM

Hi Arthur,

To answer your questions;

1. Does tyvek go in the Jtrim or behind over top of the flashing?

- No, Tyvek does not go over the J-Mold, it is designed to wrap your house in a breathable, but waterproof membrane (aka Housewrap). Vinyl siding (or siding in general) as you know, is meant to esthetically cover your house. Frankly it's not designed to keep elements out you have to take steps to prevent water intrusion.

2. Do you glue vinyl siding?

- I have never heard of vinyl siding being glued it is generally screwed on on the protected/covered side of the trim. However, application methods differ and gluing may be a step that assists in the installation and someone forgot to screw in a specific section as a result of the glue holding it in place. I can't say for sure.

3. Do contractors not patch holes from the old flashing, or should they of informed me that it was going bad?

- Any good contractor will tell you things that are wrong regardless of how bad the issue may or may not be. If your flashing was deteriorating (or the caulking as I can tell from your pictures) they should have informed you and given you the opportunity to have them replaced. They were remiss if they did not. At minimum, they should have reapplied caulking to seal the holes and deteriorating caulking.

I hope you got proof of liability insurance from the contractor as now that you have water intrusion, this has become a significant issue as you well know.

Good luck with this.

- Tim

7/30/2018 at 2:30:08 PM

I too have never heard of glue being used to attach vinyl siding. You should be able to determine the manufacturer of the siding and then be able to view installation instructions on their website.

Also, when redoing siding the contractor should also be bringing the installation up to the current Building Code. More recent Codes have resulted in greatly enhanced requirements for flashings (i.e. around windows which are a common source of leakage) and leaving gaps and unfilled holes is certainly not acceptable if there it can lead to water infiltration. Tyvek overtop of the j-trim is not necessarily a bad thing if it acts to maintain a shingle effect. Tyvek is permitted to be taped at joins using tuck tape; however it is also best (and also common sense) to make sure that materials are lapped shingle fashion wherever possible and practicable.

Even though a siding replacement project is likely something that would not require a building permit you may be able to discuss your concerns with your local municipal authority for their advice regarding Code compliance and meeting current Code requirements.

A point of caution when replacing metal siding with vinyl is that there will be a reduction in fire safety (combustible versus noncombustible cladding) and there are also various additional Code articles to be considered.

Ian Derksen

Safety Codes Officer - Building