Some people go through life living the motto, “What you can’t see or don’t know won’t hurt you.”  I’m not a big fan of that.  Certainly, you’d agree that seeing your doctor or dentist on a regular basis is a good thing.  Changing the oil in your car on a regular schedule is a good thing, right?

Every single siding appointment I go on, I make it a point to tell homeowners that on 40% of the homes we work on, we find some rotten or insect-infested sheathing (the wood your siding is nailed to).  And on a small percentage of those homes, we find rotten wood under the sheathing.  It’s not a scare tactic….it’s the truth.

We are working on a house right now that had absolutely no evidence of rotten wood under the siding.  There was no reason to believe that there was an issue.  However, when the siding came off, there it was!  And under the rotten sheathing, we discovered even MORE rotten wood.

The culprit?  A badly placed nail in the siding to attach a garden hose holder.  You know, the kind.  You may even have one in your house.  The homeowner, who has owned the house for 15 years, says there used to be a hose holder there from the previous owner.

Well, that nail that was used to attach the holder to the house punctured the water line from the sink.  Water has been leaking from that pipe for 15 years!!

We had the homeowner fill his sink and then pull the stop.  Paul says water just sprayed all over!

After seeing this, the homeowner said that it’s the exact reason he decided on HardiePlank® siding rather than covering up the existing siding with plastic siding.

HE WANTED TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON UNDER HIS PRESSBOARD SIDING!

The outcome would be much different had he decided to go with plastic siding.  This issue would keep festering until it became an emergency, and he’d have paid dearly for the repairs.

The lesson learned is that not knowing can hurt……and not only financially!

For a free, no, hassle estimate on HardiePlank® siding for your home, give us a call at 804.405.3683.

Blue Ridge Exteriors is the ONLY VIP Preferred Remodeler in Central Virginia and specializes in the installation of fiber cement siding from James Hardie®.