Can Anyone here do some Vinyl Siding repair?

Jampy00

Jampy00

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Long story short.

November 2020 had all the siding replaced on my home from a Home stars top rated installer. No issues with install.
Now I notice a new large bump on one side, I suspect it is simply the siding missing a screw and warped with heat.
Of course I have been calling and texting the installer and it is getting me nowhere.

Yes I know what everyone is going to say but it don't fix my issue.

I'll deal with this guy in my upcoming review on home stars as I am detailing everything. I respect that people are busy but to not answer numerous phone calls and text messages asking for service (and not being a prick about it for months) my patience is wearing out and I want to have the issue addressed before it gets worse.

While I am pretty sure I can maybe fix it myself I am by no means an expert in vinyl siding so if anyone has experience and is will to help or do the job I'll happily pay for your time and knowledge. I'm in Georgetown.

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Missing fastener or nails too tight and/or not enough expansion room left? Looks like expansion gone wrong.
 
GreyGhost said:
Missing fastener or nails too tight and/or not enough expansion room left? Looks like expansion gone wrong.
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Agreed, so when you coming over to help? 🤪
 
It wasn't cut properly during the install. The heat has got to it, and as GG said, it has expanded.
Or. The installer used screws.
Siding needs to move, i.e. contract in the cold, expand in the heat. Therefore, NEVER screw it down. Use nails to "hang" the siding.
You need to remove / trim / replace.
 
Gary said:
It wasn't cut properly during the install. The heat has got to it, and as GG said, it has expanded.
Or. The installer used screws.
Siding needs to move, i.e. contract in the cold, expand in the heat. Therefore, NEVER screw it down. Use nails to "hang" the siding.
You need to remove / trim / replace.
Click to expand...
Highly reviewed and regarded installer. I said screws but was referring to "fasteners" in general.
As luck would have it I got a call back, so I hope to have it repaired this weekend.. of course we've all heard that line before...
 
The post install service is a PITA with these guys. You really have no recourse other than leaving a s**tty review online.

The guy that did my driveway/walkway still hasn't showed up to do a repair needed since 2013. Although he guaranteed "a million percent" he would take care of it.

Did the repair myself.

Today, I am looking to do another fairly large interlock project. Guess who didn't and won't get called.
 
JZ67 said:
The post install service is a PITA with these guys. You really have no recourse other than leaving a s**tty review online.

The guy that did my driveway/walkway still hasn't showed up to do a repair needed since 2013. Although he guaranteed "a million percent" he would take care of it.

Did the repair myself.

Today, I am looking to do another fairly large interlock project. Guess who didn't and won't get called.
Click to expand...

Some people have such disgusting work ethics.

Thanks for making this thread and the posts in it; guess I know what expect when I need to do repairs =(
 
油井緋色 said:
Some people have such disgusting work ethics.

Thanks for making this thread and the posts in it; guess I know what expect when I need to do repairs =(
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Ya the workmanship out there is so hit and miss.

buddy just showed us some drywall work at his house because the other guy was 2x….well the cheaper guy did a horrid job, took his cash and walked away.

my painter buddy loves his cheap competition ‘oh you found a cheaper guy and you want me to make it better? Cool now it’s 50% more because I have to fix that idiots mistake’
 
I don't feel this was a poorly done job, the other 99% of their work is fine. Mistakes / Errors happen even to the professionals, I get that. Where I am annoyed is with the after sales service. I don't like being ignored after I paid good money, if you are busy, fine, tell me that, schedule a date/time and contact me back. I'm pretty easy to work with until you leave me no options. But if I waste my long weekend waiting around for this guy to fix a small error, I'll be ******...
 
Gary said:
It wasn't cut properly during the install. The heat has got to it, and as GG said, it has expanded.
Or. The installer used screws.
Siding needs to move, i.e. contract in the cold, expand in the heat. Therefore, NEVER screw it down. Use nails to "hang" the siding.
You need to remove / trim / replace.
Click to expand...

I used washer head screws when I did my shed as I could adjust the slide-ability of the siding. If I hit a soft spot in the lumber and the screw went in too far, I backed it out a half turn.
Jampy00 said:
I don't feel this was a poorly done job, the other 99% of their work is fine. Mistakes / Errors happen even to the professionals, I get that. Where I am annoyed is with the after sales service. I don't like being ignored after I paid good money, if you are busy, fine, tell me that, schedule a date/time and contact me back. I'm pretty easy to work with until you leave me no options. But if I waste my long weekend waiting around for this guy to fix a small error, I'll be ******...
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I'm not an expert so my estimate may be off but if it's just one screw / nail or plank it shouldn't be more than an hour or two to fix. Add a bit for travel. If a contractor's reputation isn't worth a few hours time it isn't worth anything.

I don't know much about Home Stars and whether they take a cut of jobs or if it's a mutual admiration society.

A neighbour had some renovations done by one of the home improvement referral companies that take a cut. The guy that came started using her dining room chairs as sawhorses. When she stopped him he did't come back, complaining she was too hard to work for.
 
Jampy00 said:
I don't feel this was a poorly done job, the other 99% of their work is fine. Mistakes / Errors happen even to the professionals, I get that. Where I am annoyed is with the after sales service. I don't like being ignored after I paid good money, if you are busy, fine, tell me that, schedule a date/time and contact me back. I'm pretty easy to work with until you leave me no options. But if I waste my long weekend waiting around for this guy to fix a small error, I'll be ******...
Click to expand...

I had a similar experience after I had all the windows and doors replaced.
One of the operator arms was defective - kept following up with the help desk of this company and they kept pushing the blame onto the contractor that they subcontract to to do the installations in each region.
I had met with 8 other businesses and decided to go with them despite the fact they were a little more expensive than some of the others - simply because they did both the manufacturing and distribution/installation - there was no middle man.

Long story short - after 3 months of waiting (and constant reminders) I had it - sent a polite email reminding them that I believe it is best allow a business sufficient opportunity to do right by the customer before I leave 'honest' feedback online.
By some strange miracle they suddenly had replacement parts available and had the same contractor come by the following week to replace it...just like that!

If that business you are dealing with is BBB accredited I'd try and twist their arm there as well..
 
As I understand that business is tough and at times can be overwhelming, I'm giving them another chance to make good on their word to address this issue. I agree it should be an easy fix for someone "in the know". So hopefully they come through. If not I'll do what I feel is necessary to rectify this situation.
nobbie48 said:
I don't know much about Home Stars and whether they take a cut of jobs or if it's a mutual admiration society.
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Home Stars is just a review site for contractors, as far as I know no money exchanges hands.
 
GreyGhost said:
IIRC there was some fishy business where the more you pay, the more reviews you can make disappear. They spun it as paying for oversight of your reviews to ensure they were fair.
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While I am sure this happens, no one really has any way of knowing, so what else do we have to go on?
How much more research is now required to do prior to hiring for the job?

Like I said, good guys did the job on budget and on time. I had no complaints.
It is just this recent experience that has me concerned, and this is a circumstance I am sure most of us can relate to now-a-days...
 
FWIW I was doing a job locally a number of years ago and someone came up to me asking about my work. He was looking at other options.

He had been in the siding business for years and then started losing jobs. When he saw a job he quoted on being done by someone else he talked to the installer and found out how little the guy was charging.

When he questioned the installer on his low price the answer (In broken English) was "If I make a thousand dollars a week I can afford my own apartment with heat, running water and my own bathroom. Compared to where I come from, I'm living like a king."

There are lots of trades that don't require a ton of money for startup and don't require trade papers.

However the consumer has to understand the devil is in the details. I think Jampy00 just has a minor adjustment problem but an incorrectly installed flashing could channel water into a structure and you kiss the savings goodbye a hundred times over a few years later.
 
nobbie48 said:
FWIW I was doing a job locally a number of years ago and someone came up to me asking about my work. He was looking at other options.

He had been in the siding business for years and then started losing jobs. When he saw a job he quoted on being done by someone else he talked to the installer and found out how little the guy was charging.

When he questioned the installer on his low price the answer (In broken English) was "If I make a thousand dollars a week I can afford my own apartment with heat, running water and my own bathroom. Compared to where I come from, I'm living like a king."

There are lots of trades that don't require a ton of money for startup and don't require trade papers.

However the consumer has to understand the devil is in the details. I think Jampy00 just has a minor adjustment problem but an incorrectly installed flashing could channel water into a structure and you kiss the savings goodbye a hundred times over a few years later.
Click to expand...
I have used theoretically "premium" people before. Long history in the trade, well known name, pay extra for that and still get crap work and very little after sales support to fix their screw ups. The last house got a top of the line furnace installed by the best company I could find and they left it propped on isolation pads with the bottom 1" of the return open so it was drawing off the basement floor. They didnt feel like redoing ductwork to make it right. As with gatekeepers experience, the sales guy at the beginning talks about how he has been in the industry for 40 years and personally checks every job before the techs leave to ensure quality. Techs were there three times, I never saw sales guy after the contract was signed and the situation I described is how it was left after the 3rd visit (different techs every time).
 
nobbie48 said:
I think Jampy00 just has a minor adjustment problem but an incorrectly installed flashing could channel water into a structure and you kiss the savings goodbye a hundred times over a few years later.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I'm not a complete idiot and could possibly do many more tasks in and around my home, like many people I don't have the sufficient time to learn a new skill to do one job (no matter the job size) So I (like many people) rely on "professionals" for jobs we are unwilling or unable to take on. I reviewed at least 10 companies for this siding job, I had a budget and a time frame and this company met me on both. I should point out this was in November and my house was damaged from heavy winds, but not to an extent I wanted to get insurance involved after my initial phone conversation with them on what had happened. So these guys were in the middle of the price ranges but was able to meet my timeframe and they did everything that was requested of them. I have no complaints on the job (only wish I had more money and time). Luckily this small issue is on a part of the house that sees very little weather and is very sheltered, so I am not worried about more extreme damages, yet problems seldom go away when left on there own, so this is why I made my call back to them to come out and repair.. And I wanted to see if I may have other options if these guys drop the ball...
 
GreyGhost said:
I have used theoretically "premium" people before. Long history in the trade, well known name, pay extra for that and still get crap work and very little after sales support to fix their screw ups. The last house got a top of the line furnace installed by the best company I could find and they left it propped on isolation pads with the bottom 1" of the return open so it was drawing off the basement floor. They didnt feel like redoing ductwork to make it right. As with gatekeepers experience, the sales guy at the beginning talks about how he has been in the industry for 40 years and personally checks every job before the techs leave to ensure quality. Techs were there three times, I never saw sales guy after the contract was signed and the situation I described is how it was left after the 3rd visit (different techs every time).
Click to expand...
I've already typed way to much, but I can relate to this for many projects I have requested in the past.
 
GreyGhost said:
IIRC there was some fishy business where the more you pay, the more reviews you can make disappear. They spun it as paying for oversight of your reviews to ensure they were fair.
Click to expand...

I guess the only way to trust reviews is from random blogs that have no obvious monetary incentive.
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