Siding & Gutters
The envelope that keeps water off the walls and away from the foundation. Unglamorous, and the cheapest damage to prevent.
Siding and gutters are one system, not two. Gutters that overflow soak the siding below them, and siding that fails lets water into the wall. Fixing one and ignoring the other is why the same problem comes back.
Nobody gets excited about gutters, which is exactly why they cause so much expensive damage. A blocked or undersized gutter overflows at the fascia, soaks the trim and the siding below, and dumps concentrated water at the base of the wall. Given a few seasons that becomes rotted trim, saturated sheathing and water in a basement, and every one of those costs more to fix than the gutter did.
In this climate gutters also have a winter job that catalogue specifications do not account for. Ice damming forms right at the eave, which is where the gutter is, and a gutter full of ice is both heavy and immovable. Sizing, hanger spacing and where the downspouts discharge all matter more here than they would somewhere that never freezes.
Siding is the other half of the same system. We work in vinyl, fiber cement and wood, and the honest answer about which suits your house depends on the building and how long you intend to own it. Because we roof and we do carpentry, we deal with the rot behind failed siding rather than covering it, which is the difference between fixing a problem and hiding one.
What we handle
Vinyl, fiber cement, wood clapboard and shingle. Housewrap and flashing detailed properly at openings, because that is where wall leaks start.
Formed to length on site so there are no joints across a run to leak. Sized and hung for the roof area and pitch actually feeding them.
Guards where tree cover justifies them, and downspouts discharging far enough from the building to matter. A downspout emptying at the foundation is only moving the problem.
The timber behind the gutter is usually where the damage actually is. Replaced rather than covered over with capping.
How it runs
Roof edge, fascia, gutter, siding and grade. These fail as a system and diagnosing one part in isolation misses the cause.
Product, profile and colour specified, plus any rot repair we already know about from the inspection.
Old siding off, sheathing and framing checked, rotted timber replaced. Housewrap and flashing corrected at windows and doors.
Siding hung with the correct expansion allowance, gutters pitched to drain rather than pool, downspouts run clear of the foundation.
Why us
Roof edge, gutter, fascia and siding together. Replacing siding under a gutter that still overflows guarantees a repeat visit.
Wrapping rotted fascia in aluminium capping hides it and keeps it wet. We take it off and replace the timber.
Gutter capacity and hanger spacing specified for ice load and heavy melt, not for a mild climate.
Reviews
Google reviews from a customer we did siding & gutters for.
John was terrific replacing old wooden windows with new vinyl ones. They delivered on schedule and at the agreed price. They kept everything clean, which we really appreciated. Our plants are much more comfortable this winter without those breezes!
Where we work
We take this work throughout our service area. It comes up hardest in Schenectady and Albany counties, where whole neighbourhoods of similar-age housing tend to need roof, gutter and fascia work at the same time, and doing them together is what stops you paying twice.
We cover Albany County, NY, Rensselaer County, NY, Saratoga County, NY, Schenectady County, NY, Bennington County, VT, Berkshire County, MA.
Questions
Vinyl is the least expensive and needs essentially no maintenance, but it can crack in deep cold and it will not match a period house. Fiber cement is more durable, holds paint extremely well and suits our freeze and thaw cycle, at higher material and labour cost. Wood is the right answer on a historic property and the one that needs ongoing painting. The building usually decides more than the budget does.
Look during heavy rain rather than after it. Water sheeting over the front edge, spilling at a joint, or a downspout that barely runs while the gutter is full all point to blockage, poor pitch or undersizing. Peeling paint or rot on the fascia and trim directly below a run is the giveaway even when it is dry.
Under heavy tree cover, yes, they meaningfully reduce cleaning. They are not maintenance free despite the marketing, and fine debris still gets through on most designs. On a house with little overhanging tree cover they are usually not worth the cost.
It is possible with some products and we generally advise against it, for the same reason we advise against roofing over old roofing. It hides the condition of the sheathing, adds thickness that complicates window and door detailing, and can trap moisture in the wall. If there is rot behind the old siding, covering it keeps it wet.
A typical house is one to two weeks depending on size, how much rot repair turns up once the old siding is off, and the weather. We will not leave a wall open overnight ahead of rain.
Related
Leak repair, storm damage, and full tear-offs on asphalt, metal and slate. We find the actual source, not the wet spot.
Learn more about Roof Repair & Replacement
Prep-first exterior painting on clapboard, cedar and trim, using coatings that survive a Northeast freeze and thaw cycle.
Learn more about Exterior Painting
Standing seam and corrugated metal roofs built to shed Northeast snow and last fifty years or more.
Learn more about Metal RoofingWe will look at the whole envelope, roof edge to grade, and tell you what is actually causing the problem.
Tell us about your project and we will get back to you with a written estimate.
