How To Prevent Winter Siding Damage

Your siding is an important aspect of your home, so you want to do whatever you can to prevent winter siding damage. Siding improves the overall appearance of your house, which increases its curb appeal and positively affects how people perceive you and your house. Siding also works to protect your home from damages, such as winter can cause. Thus, siding also increases the value of your home for whenever you plan to sell. Maintaining your siding is essential, especially during the winter months.

Winter siding damage resulting from weather and how that impacts your environment is more than just annoying – it also impacts the look and protection of your home. You want to do what you can to protect your siding from the various types of winter siding damage. 

Types Of Winter Siding Damage

To best learn how to prevent winter siding damage, it’s important to be informed as to what, exactly, winter siding damage entails. Here are some of the most common types of damages winter can cause to your siding. 

Breakage

Lots of factors can cause your siding to suffer various forms of breakage. Plummeting temperatures can cause your siding to become brittle, and ergo crack or break, which can allow moisture to infiltrate your home. Siding can dent from impact, and animals can create holes in your siding as they look for a spot to build a nest. 

Missing Or Loose Panels

Harsh winter storms can wreak havoc on your siding, loosening panels or even tearing them off your home entirely. This exposes your home to the elements, resulting in energy loss and a less comfortable interior, as well as potential moisture damage from the snow. 

Moisture Damage

Moisture from melting snow can cause your siding to warp or split, and in the case that you have wood siding, winter can result in your siding rotting. In addition to damaging the siding itself, moisture that gets through the siding to your house can cause further damages. 

Increased Energy Bills

Since siding serves to protect your home from the elements and provide a layer of insulation, if your siding becomes damaged, this can cause your energy bills to spike. This is because damaged siding causes heat loss and can result in drafts, making it so that you need to crank up the thermostat in order to keep your home at a comfortable temperature. 

Preventing Damage

Now that we know the various types of winter siding damage, we can go into how to prevent them. 

Inspect Your Siding

One of the most crucial aspects of preventing winter siding damage is inspecting your siding so that you can schedule any repairs or replacements that need to be done as soon as possible before a small problem gets the chance to turn into a big one. You’ll want to look for any loose or tilted panels, peeling pain, deformation, and areas that feel spongy to the touch.

Siding damage can be hard to detect, especially if you’re not quite sure what you’re looking for. Calling a professional to come out and inspect your siding for you will ensure that all damages are caught and that the problems can be fixed as soon as possible. 

Prevent Ice Dams

Ice dams can cause water damage to your siding, in addition to your roof and gutters. If you don’t clear away the layers of snow that build up on your roof, you can end up with all that snowmelt going down your siding, and potential damages. You’ll want to make sure that you not just clear the snow away as it starts to form an ice dam, but also that your gutters are clear, so that the snowmelt can drain properly.

Trim Your Trees

Before winter hits, you’ll want to trim your trees in order to prevent their branches from scraping and damaging your siding during winter storms. With how branches can press and thwack against siding in the wind, this can lead to dislodging of the panels and puncturing, in addition to other damages. Trimming your trees’ branches will prevent this. 

Are You Worried About Winter Siding Damage?

Here at Unlimited Siding, we know how important your siding is for your home and the many benefits it can provide. We also know all the dangers winter can present for your siding. We can help you prevent winter siding damage. If you would like to schedule a siding inspection, repair, or replacement, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Unlimited Siding today!