Re-siding project

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

I need to have my home stripped and resided, along with adding replacement windows. I wonder if anyone has a recommendation for a contractor to do this kind of work. I am also curious about what kind of materials folks may have used (wood, Hardiplank, vinyl, fiberglass, etc.).

First hand knowledge would be great but if you saw some nice work in your neighborhood and remember the contractor's name that would be great too.

Thanks.

Comments

[rmd.livejournal.com]

as part of some renovations a few years back, I had to have the siding taken off the front of my house and replaced. I replaced it with hardiplank, and I've been happy with it.

[goodssky.livejournal.com]

ME TOO!

[mkwatt.livejournal.com]

We used Innovative Contracting Services (ICS) last year to do the roof and hardieplank siding on our place, as well as rebuild the back porch. they were great and gave us the best estimate, we will use them for any of our future projects. Their website is http://www.innovativecontractingservices.com/index.htm

[ceo]

I don't have any contractor recommendations, but please for the love of all that is good and holy don't put up vinyl.

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

I'm not really considering vinyl but I want to know how it fits in the pricing structure.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Vinyl is the cheapest by a lot, hence most common :P However, I think it's often cheapest because you can put it over existing old siding. If you (correctly) want to strip the old crap off, the savings difference might get smaller. I'm toying with solid wood shiplap siding for our south facing wall, then likely hardieplank (or similar composite) for the rest. Cedar shingles are also a fairly cheap option, but I am wary of how it would look on my victorian house.

I had a great experience with Ten Arya of Arya Contracting (aryacontracting@gmail.com) for my roof and he also does siding. I referred friends to him for their roof and they were also happy. He talked me down from a few frills I was considering and saved me a bit of money (and they did the job insanely quickly). My favorite thing about him is he is responsive on email :)

I think he will replace/install windows, but doesn't do any framing.

[greyling.livejournal.com]

Very happy with j construction - jconstructions@hotmail.com. Not a cheap contractor, but solid, careful work, respectful & polite workers, great communication.

[i-leonardo.livejournal.com]

very happy with the hardieplank, a lot less so with squilante & co contractors.
good luck with your project.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

had a good experience (some years ago, which is why i can say for sure they did a great job :) with frank m sullivan constructing.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

We've been happy with Stealth Construction's work and the CertainTeed they installed.

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

Was Hardieplank an option for you? There are lots of discussions on the web about CT vs HP and if you had to go through this analysis how you reached a decision.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

We had Tibet Construction reshingle our triple decker with cedar shingles. Cost was significantly less than hardiplank when we priced it (about three years ago now). I really liked Tibet, they did a great job and were very quick/clean/professional.

When we have our new house redone, we will weigh the cost/benefit of hardiplank vs. cedar shingle again.

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit surprised that cedar shingles would be significantly cheaper. I'd expect the labor cost to be much higher. A good shingling job is labor intensive. Is it just that the Hardieplank is that much more expensive? I know that it comes with it's own installation challenges.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

They were very quick in getting the shingles down and the new ones up. Either way shingles had to come off, I think maybe the material was just much more expensive?

To put real numbers out there, a few years ago, it cost us (the condo association, not just me!) $60,000 for all shingles removed, tyvek put up, new shingles put up, painting of shingles and trim, plus repair of lots of window sills, deck boards, and upper fascia/molding (moulding?). I think the Hardiplank installation alone was quoted around $75,000 and that didn't include any of the repairs that needed to be done as well. (Also, this was a standard triple decker, nothing super fancy). Obviously Hardiplank didn't need to be painted, so the cost might not have gone up much more, but the condo association felt at that time they couldn't foot the difference.

[greyautumnrain.livejournal.com]

We did Newpro replacement windows a while back and have been very happy with them. They are not cheap, but we use so much less energy to heat&cool the house now. They also do siding and doors. We've been very happy with them.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

We actually are just getting started on doing exactly this at my new home. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I don't know what kind of siding we're using -- I basically let the other owner (it's a 2-unit condo) make the decisions, because she seemed to care a lot more about the details than I do.

Anyway, the company we're using is EB Window and Siding, but obviously I can't give them a recommendation yet. They were supposed to start today, but with all the rain, I'm not sure if it will actually happen. Ask me again in a couple of weeks. ;)