New Vinyl Siding bowing out


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Old 05-14-12, 07:48 PM
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New Vinyl Siding bowing out

I recently had new Ovation vinyl siding installed, and in a couple places the siding is bulging out. I question the skill-set of the guy who installed it, and this seems to be confirming my concerns. At this point I don't want him back - I'll take care of this myself.

I suspect what's going on is that the siding was cut too big and with the warmer/wetter weather, the house is growing and forcing the siding out. Sound like a reasonable assessment?

How do I best pull the siding out so that I can cut it a bit shorter and get it back in place?
 
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Old 05-14-12, 08:03 PM
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If it is cut too tight, it should be obvious, since you should be able to see if there is a clearance gap on each side of the siding pieces.

It could also be that the nails he used were not placed in the center of the slotted nail fins. The nails need to be centered so that the siding can expand and contract. It can also happen if something has pinned the siding down, preventing it from expanding in one or both directions. (such as long screws that hold gutter downspouts, shutters, or other accessories that have been screwed through the vinyl siding).

To remove the siding you will need a siding unlock tool. Malco Sideswiper is one, Wiss makes an identical one too. You insert the siding under the interlock at one of the ends, get ahold of the bottom lip of the siding, and then pull down and toward you to unlock the siding, sliding the tool as you unzip the siding. You will unlock the piece of siding above the one that you'd like to work on.

Siding should have roughly 1/4-3/8" gap on each side to allow for expansion and contraction. If no other penetrations will be in the siding, I like to center the piece of siding, pin it in the middle with two nails (one on the left of a slot, one on the right of a slot) so that the siding can't migrate all the way in one direction, leaving a large gap on one side. Then all the rest of the nails can be centered in the slots so that the siding can expand and contract from one central location.
 
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Old 05-15-12, 05:41 AM
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Thanks for the details - looks like the Malco tool is less than $10 so no big expense there. Is it something I should find at Home Depot?

In both locations where it's popping out there is not a nearby downspout, so it sounds like it's either a case of the siding panel cut too long or nailed off-center.
 
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Old 05-15-12, 04:42 PM
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You know I left mine at home one day and went shopping for one and had a heck of a time finding one. Lowes and Home Depot did not have it, Ace Hardware didn't have it. I ended up going to Titan (a big commercial tool supply store in Omaha) to find one. So I'd suggest you call around or just order one off ebay or amazon or something.
 
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Old 05-16-12, 04:38 AM
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Okay, thanks for the insight. I see they're readily available on-line so I'll just order one that way and not waste my time walking the aisles at Home Depot.
 
 

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