Tyvek is your friend.

The work for the siding has finally been approved by the insurance company, and the removal of the old siding is ready to begin. Most of the time, (in some cases, not most of the time) the cheque is going to be made out to the company that will be doing the work on the house.  This is to make sure that the money the insurance is giving out is actually going to go to the repair work on the house.

Then comes the day when the siding gets to be removed.  The employees at Smith’s Home Services take great care in making sure no collateral damage is incurred while removing the siding.  Sheets of plywood are used to cover areas like windows/doors that are susceptible to damage.  During the morning inspection of the property, it was noted that the foundation for the Gazebo was faulty. Metal was nailed down instead of concrete used at the base 6 feet down.  It was a windy day which meant the gazebo was not stable.  Since Smith’s Home Services also builds decks and gazebos, they knew the proper way to address the issue

It doesn’t take long for the siding to be removed from the house.  The siding technicians at Smith’s Home Services, take great care in making sure the property is tidy and all debris and old siding is organized neatly- to be thrown away later.  The planks on the roof of the house are there  to make sure that the technicians can work as safely as possible.  The planks are also installed underneath the shingles so there are no water leaks when it rains.

As old siding is removed from the house, Tyvek house wrap is installed in its place to help keep air, water/moisture out and to let vapour out.  This will also help improve insulation and reduce energy costs.  This will ensure that the HVAC doesn’t need to work as hard.  Tyvek is a man made synthetic material polyethylene, which is a plastic that is used to make a wide variety of things. This is especially important as it isn’t enough to take the old siding off and replace it with new siding.

This side of the house did not have any insulation. You can see the bare wall in the upper left corner. Sometimes there are surprises when you get beneath the surface. The team at Smith’s Home Services met with the homeowners to determine if they needed to have insulation installed prior to the new siding going on. We were able to confirm that this exterior wall was part of the attic and that there was sufficient insulation on the inside walls to keep the home energy efficient. The next stage of the project will involve installation of the new siding and the transformation of the home’s exterior.