Siding
Siding Repair in Round Rock
A handful of bad boards can be cut out and replaced. The trick is finding out why those boards failed.
Repair Is Often Enough
A few damaged boards on a sound wall is a repair.
The bottom rows, the boards under windows and the chimney box fail first.
Fix the water source or the new board will go the same way.
Siding rarely fails evenly. It fails where water sits: the bottom two rows near the ground, the boards below a window corner, the ends that butt into trim, and the wall beside a roof edge with no kick-out flashing.
Finding three bad boards in one of those places says more about the water than about the siding.
What Gets Done
- Cut out. The damaged board is cut free without breaking the one above it.
- Look behind. The wrap and sheathing are checked while the gap is open.
- Match. A new board with the same width and exposure goes in. Texture can usually be matched closely; old paint cannot, so expect the wall or section to be repainted.
- Seal. Cut ends are primed and joints caulked.
- Fix the cause. A sprinkler head aimed at the wall, soil piled against the bottom row, a missing piece of flashing.
Cracks and Movement
Round Rock straddles two kinds of ground. East of the Balcones Escarpment the soil is deep Blackland clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. West of it the soil is thin over limestone. In Williamson County that line runs roughly through Round Rock itself.
On the clay side, seasonal movement in a slab can open joints in siding and trim, and crack rigid boards near corners and windows. A siding contractor can replace the boards. If cracks keep returning in the same place, or doors start to stick, that is a question for a foundation specialist or an engineer, not a siding one.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, Williamson County; UT Bureau of Economic Geology.
Questions About Siding Repair
Can one cracked fiber cement board be replaced?
Yes. It is cut out and a new board slid in and fastened. The wall or section is then painted to blend.
Why do the bottom boards rot first?
They catch splash from the ground and sprinklers, and they sit closest to soil that holds moisture.
Will the repair show?
The board will match in shape. Paint is what makes it disappear, so plan on painting more than the one board.