About Siding

dreamgrl_850 asked:


We are building our house and think that the vinyl siding looks like it wasnt done right. There are nails in the siding at the bottom of the piece of vinyl. Its only on the first 2 rows towards the top, but not the vary top. It’svery noticeable and now some parts are starting to fall off! Does this sound right?

Warren

Shad Storhaug asked:


Choosing a measurement style is one of the most difficult decisions in the purchase of vinyl exterior shutters. The first step to replacing your vinyl shutters is with a walk or drive around your neighborhood. The first thing to look for is how the exterior shutter tops are placed in relation to the top of the window.

If the area you live in typically has lap siding (wood or vinyl) and wood or metal trim (e.g. a 1″ x 4″ or a 2″ x 4″) around the window, are the exterior window shutters flush with the top of the trim or are they aligned with the top of the actual window? If your area has a lot of stucco exteriors and no trim, look to see if the exterior vinyl shutters are mounted flush with the top of the window. In an area with a lot of brick houses, are the exterior shutters mounted even with the top of the opening or are they lined up with the top of the actual window itself? A lot of old homes (now referred to as heritage homes) have a 2″ brick-mold that is fairly flush with the siding, how are the vinyl exterior shutters mounted? Take note of how the exterior shutters are typically mounted with respect to the trim and window in your neighborhood.

So now we have covered most of the representative types of window trim, the next step is looking at the bottom of the exterior window shutters. Check to see whether your neighbors have their exterior shutters installed all the way to the bottom of the opening or if the exterior vinyl shutters are lined up with the window. If there is a sill at the bottom of the window, it is typically best to leave a 1/4″ to 1/2″ space between the bottom of the window shutter and the window sill. This gap is primarily to allow for the expansion and contraction of the vinyl material.

While most details become evident in your reconnaissance of the neighborhood, there are some finer points to note. A well fitted pair of exterior shutters that look “just right” may well be custom made for that house.

A quick aside about the value of paying for custom made shutters vs. buying the relatively inexpensive standard sized shutters. When referring to vinyl shutters, the term “custom shutters” means that the height will be a custom size and the widths are only in specific sizes (e.g. 5 3/4″, 8″, 9 1/4″, 11″, 12″, 14 1/4″, 16 1/2″, 18″, etc.). Standard sized shutters are only generally made in 2 widths (about 12″ and 15″) and only come in heights that are about every 3 or 4 inches from about 30″ to 80″. You must consider whether standard size shutters are going to work properly for you, as poorly sized shutters not only look a little shabby they can actually affect the curb appeal (and resale value) of your home. Custom made vinyl exterior shutters may cost twice as much as standard shutters but the return is often worth the investment, as exterior vinyl shutters are one of the lowest cost improvements you can make to your house. Properly fitted exterior shutters can make a big difference for a little extra money.

To determine the proper width of your vinyl exterior shutters there are many things to consider. It is generally accepted in the trade that the style of home influences the decision about the width of the shutter. For a two story home that is narrow to the street that has vertical operating windows you would want to emphasize the height of the structure. You would do this by choosing a narrower width of shutters. On the other hand, a ranch style home that runs parallel to the street would look better with wide vinyl exterior shutters to emphasize the width of the house.

You may start by dividing the width of the window by 2 – this is the maximum exterior shutter width you would want for any window. The minimum would be around 25% of the window’s width. When you also consider the style of home, you will then have a starting point to work from. In general it works best to find a single width that works for all of your windows, but you also need to consider the space between the windows.

That said there are many exceptions to this rule. For example, if you have an 8 foot wide window on the front of your house with no (or very few) windows facing the same direction, you may wish to order wide exterior vinyl shutters for the wide window, and then order narrower shutters for the other windows on the house. Another thing to consider is if you have a light, down spout, or other obstruction that is too close to the window for a wide shutter to fit. This is where ordering custom shutters can come in handy so you can get a width that works within the distance from the obstruction. Custom exterior shutters can solve many problems that “only seem to be on my house”.

A good way to tell how a particular width of exterior vinyl shutters will look without investing a lot of money is to find some corrugated cardboard boxes that are fairly sizable and cut them to the proper height and 50% of the width of the windows. Tape them temporarily to the side of your home on each side of your windows using duct tape, and then step back away from the house to see how it looks. Most people will probably think they look too wide at that point. Take the cardboard cutouts down, and with a utility knife, cut them down to where you think they should be and step back again for another look. You should be able to tell if you went too far almost immediately, and you may also notice that some windows still look a little wide, while others look a little narrow. Take note of this and then take the cardboard down to measure the width. Now you should have a pretty good idea about the width of exterior shutters you need to order.



Peter

Buckeye_56 asked:


I would prefer to make a natural pesticide but if not I will buy as long as I know it will not discolor the vinyl siding. I heard you can use coconut oil and white vinegar but I need recepie.

Maureen

gemeneye25@prodigy.net asked:


75 yars old housewith vinyl siding half-ass nailed over original wall material wit nofoam and is bukling n a lotof places as well as nails opping out after a year or two… Chicago

Barbara

D. David Dugan asked:


Vinyl Tile is still one of the best floor coverings to choose for kitchens and bathrooms. Ceramic tile is great, but the cost to have a professional install it can be prohibitive. The answer, vinyl tiles installed by you. You will save a lot of money you can use toward other home improvements you want to do.

Vinyl tile is also a great choice for other reasons. There are some beautiful choices of both style and color. There are so many different patterns and colors to choose from that you will want to take your time in choosing something that will enhance the beauty of your kitchen or bathroom.

In addition to that, vinyl tile is much better than linoleum for practical reasons. With a linoleum floor, one accident and the whole floor is ruined basically, because it is all one piece. When you buy vinyl tile, you buy extra squares. If an accident ruins one or two tiles, you replace them.

In this article I will help you learn how to install your own vinyl tile floor with confidence. I’m going to teach you the old school way of laying this beautiful floor covering. I call it old school, because I learned from tile layers that had been doing it for years before I started.

First, we need to start with the basics. I don’t know what is on the floor where you plan to put down vinyl tile, so I’m going to show you what our preparation goals are. We want a nice smooth surface to lay our vinyl tile on.

Some people will tile over existing tile. This can be okay, but it is not the preferred choice. To do this right, you need to remove whatever flooring is there now, until you are down to either a smooth cement or wooden surface.

If there are cracks and valleys or unleveled surfaces, they need to be filled and smoothed out before we can start laying your vinyl tile. On cement or wooden surfaces, you can use cement to fill in and smooth the surface. You can also install plywood over the existing floor to achieve the surface your vinyl tile needs. You caulk in all the joints after installing the plywood. You can use Durok as well.

The goal, as I said before, is to have a smooth surface before you begin to lay vinyl tile. Otherwise, your tile will crack wherever pressure is placed on the tile over existing rough areas.

Now, buying the vinyl tile you want is next. There is self-adhesive vinyl tile that is very inexpensive. However, remember you get what you pay for. The adhesive on these tiles is not of great quality and you will be replacing them often. They are usually very thin as well, so they are easily damaged.

The thicker the vinyl tile, the more expensive and durable it is. That is the rule of thumb. Choose vinyl tile that has about 1/8″ thickness or above and you will have a floor that will last a long time. So choose your style and color wisely. It will be with you awhile.

Now, the tools you will need are next. You will not need a tile cutter. That isn’t the old school method. Using a tile cutter is tedious and slow, and your edges will never be tight. You will need a good razor knife, a small butane torch, a trowel with teeth along one edge for applying the adhesive, some old rags, and some mineral spirits.

A lot of experts will tell you to always begin in the center of the room when laying any kind of tile. However with kitchens and bathrooms, this is not always or even often the best method. Starting at one wall and working toward your cabinets is much better, because most of your tiles that need to be cut will be under the edge of the cabinets and not seen.

Starting along one wall, trowel on your adhesive, making sure there are ridges by using the toothed edge of your trowel. Do not go too far away from the wall as you will be laying tile there and don’t want to have to reach while doing so.

Let the adhesive dry for about 15 minutes so it’s very sticky. Lay your first tile at the corner and continue to lay a row, making sure you keep your tiles aligned. As you get to the end of your row, do not worry about the area that is left over where a whole tile will not fit in. We will take care of that last. However, remove the adhesive from that area so it won’t dry before we get back to it.

The adhesive you applied should have gone just a little further out than the row of tile itself, so now you have a row, with a little adhesive area waiting for the next row.

Now start back at the beginning. Apply a little more than a row’s width of adhesive, let it dry, then lay another row of tile, again making sure you align the tiles with each other so your lines are straight..

Once you have done the entire floor except those areas where a whole tile would not fit in, let the floor dry until tomorrow. Do not allow anyone to walk on the floor. The adhesive takes time to dry.

Now, once the adhesive is dry, we are ready to do the cutting in portion of your vinyl tile job. You should be able to walk carefully on the tiles without moving them by now. If not, you may have used too much adhesive and will have to wait longer, until you are sure it is dry.

Now, let’s cut it in. Go to where your first row that ended with a little space left over. Apply some adhesive to that area, plus on the floor, along the wall where you are going to put in your cut pieces of vinyl tile. Let that dry, just as you did before for 15 minutes.

Now, take a full vinyl tile, matching it up with your tiles already on the floor at the bottom, lean it at an angle to the wall. Let me explain so you are sure to understand. You place the tile against the edge of the last tile in the row as if you were about to lay it down, but just let it lean against the wall at whatever angle it has to.

Now, you will need your razor knife and your small butane torch. Be careful with the little torch that you don’t burn anything, please. If you are not comfortable with handling a small torch, this method is not for you.

Place the fingers of one hand on the top of the tile along the wall with very slight downward pressure. Wave the flame of the torch back and forth across the center of the tile about where you would like it to bend. Don’t let the flame linger on the tile to melt it. Keep a distance so it only gets heated up.

As it gets hot, the pressure from your fingers will begin to push the vinyl tile downward, bending it into place. As soon as the tile is bent to the point where it is flat against the floor and the rest against the wall, set down your torch, pointing it carefully away from anything or anyone, and take your razor knife and cut along the bend right at the wall. It will cut like butter.

Now that tile fits perfectly to the contour of the wall. It also, because of the light pressure you applied as you pressed it down, has tightened up that entire row, so the vinyl tiles will not separate later. This is a floor that will last a long time and answers the problem of the tiles separating later.

Continue that same process for each row and everywhere the tiles need to be cut in. Then clean up. You are now an old school master at laying vinyl tile!

One last warning, as I said before, if you are not comfortable using flame, you should go ahead and use a tile cutter. It may not be as tight, but you can still do a good job with it without endangering yourself. This article was intended to pass on an old school method I learned and have used to lay many beautiful tile floors that lasted for years. I hope that by passing it onto you, the old way will not be lost.



Marjorie

Sheldon L asked:


We just bought this totally remodeled house six months ago and now the sheet rock on the walls has cracked at pretty much every corner of every doorway and window because of settling. Can that be fixed permanently or just patched every so often? Also, the house has new vinyl siding and we have one strip that keeps popping loose on the bottom. We have put it back in place multiple times but it keeps coming undone. Any ideas?
Actually, these conditions are caused by settling in the ground. The foundation is new and has just been checked. So, any suggestions on the original question?

Elsie

suzzanewilliam asked:


Personalized vinyl car graphics are pretty hard to beat if you’re in the market to advertise your business or even pimp your ride. Because you get to supply your own graphics to customize your own design as you wish, you can fully express your personal style and stic it out there for the entire world to see.

Mobile advertising can be very effective. Advertising stickers for cars get a lot of attention – and not just at the red lights and parking spots.

Create a car window sticker, vinyl car graphics, or any decorative stickers for cars in the blink of an eye that you can remove, reposition and re-stic again.

Change up your design at anytime by simply peeling off and repositioning where you desire.

Create a custom vinyl office sign, promotional vinyl stickers, and any vinyl sign art related to your business, stic them up, take them down, and reuse them again and again, thus saving time and money. whether you have one trade show or conference lined up this year or fifty, sticviews.com is your solution for affordable business signage. from banners to posters, you can easily create promotional vinyl stickers for your trade show and conference display needs.

When you use a vinyl wall decal, or several of them, it’s much like using vinyl wall paper. It’s also much easier, less messy, and less expensive than traditional wall papering. You can quickly and easily give an entire room a complete makeover for very little cost and without fighting with challenging wall paper paste. Plus, SticViews are easy to remove and don’t ruin your walls like most decorative borders, wall paper, or other graphics.

When using quality, durable vinyl decals and stickers made by you on sticviews.com, you will also have ease of use as all of our quality products are simple to apply and simple to remove. Because of the easy application and removal, you can redecorate any room as many times as you want and keep each room in your house or business fresh, unique, and with the latest designs.

Vinyl decal applications, such as a vinyl wall decal, can be used to:

Decorate a baby’s room, a child’s room, a child’s bathroom, preschool, or elementary school with bright, vibrant, educational vinyl decals and stickers

Decorate a dining room, kitchen, breakfast area, restaurant, fast food establishment, or grocery store with food and drink related vinyl wall paper

Decorate a bathroom, shower room, locker room, spa, or gym with vinyl window photos and vinyl decals and stickers that express cleanliness and health and keep privacy in tact

Decorate your living room, den, lounge, waiting room, or meeting room with stylish, upscale, easy to apply and change out vinyl wall paper or other custom made decals .



Jay

dennis m asked:


I need to replace two patio doors that are rotting. I have vinyl siding on the house. Do I have to remove the siding to replace the door and to get at the existing doors nail fin? Can I cut the siding and replace the J channel with a wider one? I’m skilled in wood working and carpentering, but I need some direction. Thanks

Jonathan

April Kerr asked:


Gardens to many people are a means of escape from the hustle and bustle of modern living. However this doesn’t mean that you only have to use traditional materials in your garden. Sometimes using modern materials are a great way to save you time and energy. One such material that is becoming popular in the garden is vinyl.

The main reason that you should buy a vinyl fence instead of a wooden one is simply the fact that it’s so durable and stays looking perfect for much longer than wood. If you find that your vinyl fence has become dirty then you should just give it a wash over with some water and soap. It’s not difficult at all and a whole load quicker and easier than trying to paint a wooden fence. Often wood fences suffer from insects but vinyl is immune to this problem.

However you will perhaps notice some mildew developing on your vinyl fence but this only happens if your vinyl fence is dirty. The dirt is an organic substance that allows mildew to grow. Get rid of the dirt and you also get rid of the mildew. If you want to prevent the growth of mildew even further than you can dilute some bleach and spray it onto the vinyl.

You will need to decide for yourself how good an alternative vinyl is compared to wood because everyone will have a different opinion on this matter. In general you will have to look pretty close to tell the difference between vinyl and wood and most people don’t look at fences that carefully. If you don’t like the idea of painting wood then you will be delighted to know that vinyl already comes in different colors and you only need to paint it at a later date if you decide you want to change the color for your own reasons. Although dark colors can have a tendency to fade over time so this is something that should be noted.

In years to come and you decide you want to change the color of your fence then you should give it a good clean and then use an appropriate type of paint. You will see on the tin whether it’s suitable for vinyl or not and you should also make sure that you can use it outside otherwise it might not be as durable as you would expect.

Vinyl fences are amongst the easiest to install just because they are sold with molded tabs built in. This means you don’t need to know anything about nailing and screwing in order to install you vinyl garden fence.

You will see that picket fences are everywhere you look and there is certainly nothing wrong with this. If you decide that you also like picket fences then having one made from vinyl is very easy to achieve as they are already made to the usual dimensions you find in picket fences.

Overall vinyl fencing materials are well worth having a look at if you want a fence that looks great and will continue doing so for many years to come. Life is too short to be constantly having to attend to all the variety of home and garden maintenance jobs that need to be done. A vinyl fence will really make your life much easier.



Ramon

Shane Hester asked:


You’ve got a bit of an energy problem in your house. The heat is leaking outside into the freezing air, and your gas bill is going through the roof. One of the first ways that you can fix this issue is by replacing the windows. If you’re looking for replacement windows, vinyl windows are among the best options available. They are versatile, inexpensive and durable.

Vinyl windows come in a wide variety of styles. Whatever shape and size you need, it’s likely that you’ll easily find a vinyl window to suit you. From casement and single-hung windows to garden and bay windows, there is a style to fit any taste. You can buy them glazed or unglazed, as well. Architectural shaping is one of the strengths of vinyl windows because the material can be shaped and retain its insulating properties.

Double-hung windows are a popular option when choosing vinyl. Both sashes can be adjusted and tilted for easy cleaning. Single-hung windows are similar, but only have one working sash. Glider windows have sashes that open from side to side, instead of tilting. If you don’t want working sashes, then fixed windows are your best option.

Casement windows are windows that crank open to the outside, allowing for clear ventilation and easy cleaning. They are a popular option because of their wide viewing area and ease of operation. Awning windows are similar, except that they crank upward instead of sideways. There are many more styles, including bow, bay, eyebrow and gothic. Whatever style you’re looking for, you’ll be able to find a window to fit it.

Vinyl windows are among the most energy-efficient window types available. With better technology and construction, they have moved beyond their former reputation as poorly fitting and leaky. Over the past few decades, vinyl windows have become the standard in replacement windows.

Vinyl windows are extraordinarily durable and can withstand extreme temperature changes. They are virtually maintenance-free and are easily installed. In fact, many vinyl windows can be installed over existing aluminum windows. This makes the need for stucco patching obsolete. Vinyl is also resistant to corrosion, making it an ideal choice for homes in humid climates. Although they can’t be painted, vinyl windows are made in a wide variety of colors to fit any home need.

Scratches are virtually invisible on vinyl because the color goes all the way through the material. If you need a material that stands up to the elements, vinyl is the choice for you. The only downside to vinyl windows is that they often look like plastic. They don’t have the deep, unique grain that wood has. They can be tailored to resemble painted wood, but upon closer inspection they resemble plastic windows.

Whether you need to replace those drafty, old wooden windows or you just want to get something nicer than aluminum, check out vinyl windows. They have many advantages over traditional materials, both practically and aesthetically. They’re easy on your wallet and can be installed in an afternoon. Go with vinyl and start planning what to do with all the money you save.



Lucy