Vinyl siding is extremely loud in wind

Hello all,

Just bought this house. When the wind picks up the vinyl siding sounds like the house I going to get torn apart. It is so loud, at first I thought we had critters in the attic, but one day I saw the exhaust vents flapping and I fixed those. I am waking up every night its windy and cant sleep. I am missing work because of this its so bad. The siding seems tight to the house but not overly tight. The pieces of wood that cover the siding leading up to the peak of the house do seem loose and far from the siding. What can I do? Can I caulk underneath parts of the siding? like caulk a couple of feet and leave a gap so moisture can leave? Has anyone struggled with this? What is the solution?

Thanks!

Jordan

 

Welcome to the forums.

Is this an occasional occurrence ? In other words....is it windy every day ?

Vinyl siding is not nailed to the house..... it hangs on the house so it does appear loose. That installation method is used because the siding needs to slide due to expansion and contraction from the change in temperature.

I know I have a similar issue with my siding but I only get an occasional heavy wind and just ignore it.

I don't know if there is a solution. The pros will stop by and offer their opinion.

 

Can you explain this a little more? Not sure to what you're referring.

 

Im not sure what they are called, but the vinyl is horizontal and the piece of wood are diagonal and are right underneath the wood. It covers the edge of the vinyl. Imagine a triangle and the vinyl running horizontally, the edges of the triangle are the pieces of wood and cover the vinyl, those seem loose but im not sure. I can see the vinyl edges underneath those. Hopefully that makes sense. Its windy two or three times a week. Maybe the wind is stronger because of el nino, but im exhausted at this point. I live on a golf course with little trees so that doesn't help.

 

Diagonal wood planks for sheeting is a sign of a well built older house. Am I to understand there is no house wrap or tar paper between the siding and the sheeting

 

yes I believe there isn't anything between the siding and the sheeting. One piece fell off and I could see the vertical wood and the insulation.

 

I'm somewhat at a loss. I can't quite picture what you have there. Could you take a few pictures and post them here for us ? http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html

 

I will do that when I get home thanks everyone!

 

Your post would lead us to think that ALL your vinyl siding is loose and rattling. If that's the case, please tell us. But if I understand the problem correctly, you have some CLADDING on your gable ends that is loose and is rattling. If that's the case, it is aluminum trim coil and you should nail it down using color matched trim nails.

 

yes all of the vinyl siding is loose and rattling as it would seem on one side of the house where the wind hits it. The cladding isn't loos and rattling (at least I don't think it is) It just not flush with siding. There is a gap between the siding and the gable ends which makes me think that should not be there. I am not sure the gable ends are aluminum they seem more like Hardee board or just pure wood I will do more research when I get home tonight. The sound is more like rattling and seems more like many pieces are rattling other than just two big pieces banging. Hopefully this clarifies.

 

I'll wait for the pictures with the rest of the guys.

 

Here in the East coast, rigid foam insulation sheets (1/4" to 3/8") are attached to the sheathing prior to installing vinyl or aluminum siding. Besides increasing the R value in the wall, the rigid foam provides a depth stop when nailing the siding to the sheathing. This minimizes the gap between the siding, the rigid foam insulation and the sheathing yet allows the siding to expand and contract with changes in temperature. If your siding is nailed directly to the sheathing, it may be the gap between the siding and sheathing is allowing the siding to move in and out during high winds. The fix would be to remove the siding, add rigid foam insulation and reattach the siding, You may also have to remove and reattach the J channel trim at windows, doors, etc.
Vinyl J channel is usually attached to the sheathing up against the ridge boards to cover the end cuts on the siding on gable ends. . The ridge boards and the exposed J channel are then covered with flat stock (may have 90 degree bend).

 

ok update. I tried to take pics last night, but my phone just died every time. I had a virus or something so I reformatted. I did go out there when it was windy with a flashlight. The gable ends aren't loose like I was thinking, there is just a gap from the siding that makes it look loose, but since the siding is angled the gable ends are flush with the bottom end of the siding. The bottom of the siding seems like its glue or something, it seems very tight to the other siding piece, I read online that you should have some play. The only play is that this siding on the exposed part it is two pieces wide. If you grab the middle piece then pull on it, it is very loose and you can pull it and it will make that same noise I am hearing. It seems like wind is shaking those pieces and causing the noise. What can I do with that wide siding to fix the issue? Thanks for your help!

 

We really need pictures. It is hard to imagine what you are describing. Maybe you can borrow a camera.

 

Only thing I can think of is it was installed in the wrong direction from the prevailing winds.
I've installed miles of vinyl siding and never once had a complaint about it making noise.
Most where done on or near open water where it's common to see 50 MPH + winds.
The most common direction it's ran is so you do not see the seams when coming up the driveway or walking to the front door.
We have to stop and figure out where the prevailing winds will be coming from so the wind does not get under the siding.
The bottom of the siding is not glued, it's locked into a stater strip to hold it against the side of the house.
The siding should be able to slide a small amount from left to right or it's going to buckle.
Does not matter if you can pull the siding out where the seam is, the two pieces are not connected together, there just over lapped.