Saturday, August 18, 2012

Upon Which I Show You How to Fix Small Holes in Your Vinyl Siding - CHEAP

Hale damage to vinyl siding
A couple years ago we had a few heavy-duty hail storms go through town.  A lot of folks got new roofs out of that thanks to hefty insurance checks.  But our roof, barely one year old, had only a couple nicks and no real damage.  (Still, even though we paid for it ourselves the prior year, we're happy to have been able to do so.)



The hail DID put a few small holes in our 40-year-old vinyl siding. The stuff gets brittle with time.  We decided to do a simple repair job that cost us all of $5.00 for materials.



Here's my supply list. Sample siding, Scotch tape to hold it temporarily in place, DAP auto/marine silicone sealant in a tube, and scissors to cut the tip of the sealant.
Supplies necessary to the fixit job!



We found free samples of siding of the same color at Lowe's.  I asked for a half dozen pieces and told them we weren't planning to buy siding...just needed some patch material.  They sent us away with their blessing. (We buy plenty of other supplies there!)



The repair was easy as could be. First I washed the dust off the siding, drying it carefully. Then I dabbed some of the silicone sealant on the back of the sample, put it into position, and taped it to hold it securely till the silicone set up.  The tape was probably not necessary but it took only a minute. The next day I removed the tape and the repair was solidly secured.

Georgia Pacific sample of vinyl siding
Perfect color match


A year later, the repair is still holding and is almost not noticeable unless one is looking for it.   Of course, if your damage is extensive, especially if it is covered by insurance, this is not your remedy.  But in our case it was perfect.


You can tell 'em you got the idea from WhiteStone!  *smile*
P.S. Disclaimer! We are not affiliated in any way with any of the products named herein...just happy customers.  (We had no leftover pieces of the original siding...if you do, simply cut to an appropriate size and apply a patch, sealing the edges well with the silicone.)
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4 comments:

Debby said...

You had me at 'cheap'. We are fixing up a house which has, ironically enough, a couple holes. We also have a Lowes. Thanks, you smart cookie, you!

Nancy's Point said...

What a great story! Don't you love it when you can fix something up "cheaply" and then the fix up actually lasts too?

Too bad we can't say the same for our bodies, right? ha. The cheap part I mean...

Jennifer Dougan said...

White Stone,

Wow, I popped over to say hello, saw your title and read down eagerly! We have some spots we should fix too. Thank you.

How are you? How is your summer going?

Jennifer Dougan
www.jenniferdougan.com

Ronald Miller said...

Great solution! It’s sad when a small hole on the siding deteriorates due to lack of immediate action. Some homeowners aren’t willing to spend money on minor repairs, overlooking the possibility of making things worse. Well, lucky for those who are facing the same problem, they have the perfect, low-cost solution with this! I do agree with that statement you made at the latter part though: if the damage is extensive, you may want to opt for a more upscale remedy. But for small damages, this just might do the trick. ;)

- Ronald Miller