|
|
 Aluminum Siding Inspection, Defects, Diagnosis, Repair Advice
|
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
Aluminum siding inspection, diagnosis, repair: this article discusses the identification, history, and common defects observed in aluminum exterior building siding, such as weathering, paint loss, dents, and questions about the need for a vapor barrier behind asphalt siding and over building sheathing. Included are comments from several recognized building inspection and construction authorities. Our page top photograph shows 1960's vintage (wideboard) aluminum building siding installed over peeling deteriorated wood clapboards on a pre-1900 home in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Green links show where you are. © Copyright 2013 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Author Daniel Friedman.
Aluminum Siding History, Defects, Vapor Barriers, Inspection, and Diagnosis
Readers should also see SIDING TYPES, INSTALLATION, DEFECTS.
Aluminum & steel building siding was very popular and widely installed in North America from the 1940's into the 1970's. Because of the large amounts of energy used to produce aluminum siding and increasing raw materials costs, aluminum siding declined in popularity in the U.S. in the 1970's.
|
Aluminum siding, produced from aluminum coil stock and painted in a wide variety of colors, provided a durable exterior building cladding that resisted rust and rot. Aluminum siding in its earlier forms was typically produced in a (roughly) 6" wide clapboard stock, installed with a fiberboard backer to resist denting in some cases. By the 1970's a narrow-width aluminum siding "board" stock was in popular use in both smooth surface forms and in embossed designs resembling wood.
Identifying Aluminum Building Siding
It's easy to distinguish between aluminum siding and vinyl siding products by careful visual inspection of the material edges or by observation of dents (aluminum) versus breaks or impact damage (vinyl). But to distinguish between aluminum siding and it's steel lookalike you may need a magnet (or you might see rust).
Aluminum Siding Inspection, Defects, & Maintenance Suggestions
Building siding in ground contact: risk of insect damage or rot & structural damage
Don't install any building siding down in contact with the soil or below the soil level (below left) - doing so is inviting a hidden termite or carpenter attack. On occasion we have inspected a building whose bottom course of siding was bulged outwards. Knowing that it would have been virtually impossible to install the siding in that form, a good guess is that the building sills and or lower walls have been damaged by rot or insect pests.
Our siding photo at below left shows a roof gutter downspout spilling right by the aluminum siding that has been buried below ground level. Adding water increases the risk of hidden insect or rot damage.
This often hidden condition and the need for possibly costly building repairs can be verified by interior inspection or by removing some exterior siding at the wall bottom. This is not a defect peculiar to aluminum, vinyl, or other siding products - you can make this mistake with any wall cladding.
|
Buckling Aluminum Siding at Ground Level
Our aluminum siding at left illustrates buckling aluminum siding at the wall bottom - not a defect in the material but a poor installation (buried in the ground) inviting insect and rot problems in the building struct rue. |
Comparing Aluminum Siding Wide and Narrow Widths
Our aluminum siding photo (below right) provides a closeup of 1960's vintage aluminum siding that is losing its paint coating. The right hand photo shows a nice algae growth on this shaded, aluminum-sided building wall that was covered with a narrow-gauge wood-pattern embossed aluminum siding product in the 1980's.
Paint loss on aluminum siding
Watch out: some versions of aluminum siding (especially from the 1960's) included a paint coating that weathered, chalked, and even washed off entirely, leaving a bare aluminum surface (photo below left).
The painted coating on some aluminum siding can also be "pulled" off of aluminum siding by some fungal growths (artillery fungus) and by vines (photo below right).
Cleaning or Painting Aluminum Siding
|
Our aluminum siding photo (at left) shows a closeup of a fungal growth on an embossed aluminum siding product. The mold growth on this siding is not a product defect, it is the result of site conditions - moisture and shade.
Aluminum siding (and other siding products) can be cleaned by power washing or by hand.
Watch out: don't spray your power washer "up" under any building siding product or you risk blowing water into the building walls, causing a mold or water damage problem.
Painting weathered aluminum siding
With careful surface preparation and selection of a paint recommended by its manufacturer for aluminum siding, it is possible to re-paint weathered aluminum siding - of course we then have converted a "no maintenance" material into one that will require occasional repainting. |
Steel Building Siding
Steel building siding was sold based on advantages similar to aluminum siding (see Aluminum siding) but with disadvantages of heavier weight, more difficult to install (harder to cut and trim), and vulnerable to rust. Steel siding was never as popular in North America as aluminum nor its later replacement - vinyl.
Photos and notes on steel siding are wanted - CONTACT US.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about aluminum siding
...
Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia
Questions & answers or comments about aluminum siding on buildings
Ask a Question or Enter Search Terms in the InspectApedia search box just below.
Technical Reviewers & References
Related Topics, found near the top of this page suggest articles closely related to this one.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
 The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 25th Ed., 2012, is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume. Special Offer: For a 10% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference Book purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space. InspectAPedia.com editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author.
Or choose the The Home Reference eBook for PCs, Macs, Kindle, iPad, iPhone, or Android Smart Phones. Special Offer: For a 5% discount on any number of copies of the Home Reference eBook purchased as a single order. Enter INSPECTAEHRB in the order payment page "Promo/Redemption" space.
|
- "Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
- Masonite Woodruf® Roofing or Masonite OmniWood® Siding Lawsuit Settlement Notice - PDF file
- Certainteed Weatherboard fiber cement siding and trim products - see certainteed.com/ or see certainteed.com/resources/sidingandtrimspecsheet.pdf
- "Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE>
- ...
|
