Editorial Standards
How we research — and what we refuse to publish
Most siding content is written to end in a sale. Ours is not, which only matters if the rules are written down and checkable. These are the rules.
What Counts
What we treat as a source
- Federal agencies first. The EPA on lead paint in houses built before 1978 and on asbestos-cement siding, the Department of Energy on walls, air sealing and the moment of re-siding, the Census Bureau on what new houses are actually clad in, NOAA on what counts as damaging wind and hail, the FTC on hiring a contractor. These have no product to sell and they publish their reasoning.
- Manufacturer installation instructions over manufacturer marketing. An installation manual states fastener spacing, clearances, flashing and expansion gaps because an installer has to follow them and a warranty depends on them. The brochure for the same product does not.
- Test reports and code listings over claimed performance. Impact, wind and fire ratings are tested and listed; a number in an advertisement is not the same thing as a number in the listing.
- Never a contractor blog as a fact. Useful for understanding what the trade tells customers. Not a source for what is true.
Deliberate Omissions
Three things we will not publish
National average prices. They vary by region, material, the shape of the house and what is found under the old siding. An average across all of that is a number with no referent, and putting a dollar sign on it does not make it a fact. We say instead what a quote is made of, what moves each line, and how to count your own squares.
Claims on behalf of independent companies. We do not state that partner companies inspect for free, arrive within a given time, or carry particular certifications. Those are their statements to make and yours to verify before work begins.
Instructions for work the law reserves. We name the boundary rather than gesturing at it. Disturbing painted surfaces on a house built before 1978 is federally regulated work for a certified firm; asbestos-cement siding is not to be cut, sanded or broken by anybody untrained. We explain why those lines exist instead of pretending they are formalities.
When We Are Wrong
Corrections
Pages carry the date they were last substantively edited, and that date is moved by a person who changed something rather than by the build system. If we correct a material error we say what changed rather than quietly editing the sentence.
If you have found something wrong, tell us through contact. Being told we are wrong by somebody who does this work for a living is the cheapest research available.
Before you call anyone
The flat-fee match — we are paid for the introduction, not for the size of your job
Most siding advice is written by the company that wants to do the work or the company that makes the product. That is not a failing of the people who read it; it is a defect in who is talking: the measurement, the estimate and the invoice come from one party, and no amount of care on your side fixes that.
We are built the other way round. We do not install, repair or sell anything, so the payment reaches us when you are connected to a licensed, insured siding contractor — the same amount whether you need one panel replaced or four walls re-clad. Nobody here has a reason to talk you into the larger number. You can check that rather than take it on trust: how we make money is written down, and this site keeps telling readers when one wall is enough. Why does not everyone work this way? Because a flat fee leaves money on the table every time the job turns out to be big.
Waiting is the one thing that actually costs money. A wall that is open to the weather does not get better and does not wait for a convenient week; the water that gets behind the siding finds the sheathing, the framing and the drywall inside. A cracked panel over a window lets the next storm in. And if it turns out to be one panel and a quarter-hour, say so when you ask. We will tell you, and that answer earns us nothing.
Not for you if: you want a price over the phone — nobody honest gives one without measuring the house; you need a guarantee of arrival within the hour — we cannot promise that for a company we do not run; the building is commercial; or you would rather do it yourself, in which case the pages on this site are written so that you can.