SIDING.
Materials, hail damage, and the wall system behind the cladding.
- GUIDES
- 3
- GLOSSARY TERMS
- 15
Siding is a rain screen, not a waterproof wall. Behind it sits a weather-resistive barrier, flashing at every window and door, and the sheathing that holds the house together. The siding's job is to shed most of the water and protect those layers from sun and impact.
In Calgary the big siding questions are hail, cold-weather brittleness and colour matching after a partial repair. This shelf covers all three.
- How do vinyl, fibre cement and engineered wood compare in Calgary?
- What does hail damage to siding look like?
- Why can't they just replace the damaged side?
- What's behind my siding?
READ THEM IN THIS ORDER.
- 01Siding materials compared for Calgary homesEvery siding material trades something away. Here's how the common options compare on the things that matter in Calgary: hail, cold snaps, fire, upkeep, lifespan and relative cost.
- 02Hail damage to siding, and the matching problemHail cracks, holes, dents and spatters siding differently depending on the material. The harder question comes after: what happens when the damaged wall can't be matched to the rest of the house.
- 03What's behind your siding, and why walls really failThe siding you see is the outer layer of a system. Behind it are the sheathing, a water-resistive barrier, drainage space and flashing, and when walls rot it's almost always because water got past those layers and couldn't get out.
THE BASICS
Plain-language primers. Assume nothing.
DEEP DIVES
For when you're mid-decision, mid-claim or mid-argument.
Siding materials compared for Calgary homes
Every siding material trades something away. Here's how the common options compare on the things that matter in Calgary: hail, cold snaps, fire, upkeep, lifespan and relative cost.
Hail damage to siding, and the matching problem
Hail cracks, holes, dents and spatters siding differently depending on the material. The harder question comes after: what happens when the damaged wall can't be matched to the rest of the house.
THE SIDING GLOSSARY.
- Building envelope
- The parts of a house that separate inside from outside: roof, walls, windows, doors and foundation, along with their air, vapour and water barriers.
- Drainage plane
- The water-repellent layer behind siding, such as building paper, house wrap or a sheet membrane, built to drain away water that gets past the cladding.
- Engineered wood
- Siding made from wood strands or fibres bonded with resin and factory-finished, such as LP SmartSide. It's tougher and more flexible than rigid materials, which helps it in hail.
- Fibre cement
- Siding made from cement, sand and cellulose fibres, formed into planks or panels. It's heavier and more rigid than vinyl.
- Hail spatter
- Clean spots left where hail knocked dirt, oxidation or algae off a surface. It shows where and how hard hail hit, but isn't damage by itself.
- Head flashing
- Flashing above a window or door that slopes to the outside and extends past the opening on both sides. The siding above should never rest on it.
- House wrap
- A breathable sheet membrane installed over wall sheathing under the siding. It sheds water that gets past the siding while letting water vapour escape.
- Insulated vinyl siding
- Vinyl siding with a rigid foam backing, usually expanded polystyrene.
- Kick-out flashing
- A small angled flashing where a lower roof meets a wall, which directs roof water into the eavestrough instead of down the wall. Without one, water can run behind the siding and quietly rot the wall.
- Matching
- In an insurance claim, the question of whether undamaged siding or roofing must also be replaced so repairs match the rest of the house. The answer depends on your policy wording.
- Rainscreen
- A wall design with a small air gap between the siding and the water-resistive barrier, so water can drain and the wall can dry.
- Stone veneer
- A thin layer of natural or manufactured stone attached to a wall as cladding, often on the lower part of a house.