Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 8/18/2011

Question
Hello Bruce, I just came across this website and think it is great.  I have a question about vinyl siding that I haven't seen answered before.  I bought a house about 2 years ago knowing that I would want to do some renovations but the guy that owned the house before was a kind of "do it yourself" person, however he didn't do it correctly.  I have vinyl siding on my home and I don't know when it was placed but it looks like he tried to do it.  On the windows, I believe they were replaced new and the siding on the house doesn't meet the window correctly.  the siding runs into the siding frame around the window.  But, the problem is that you can see the wood of the house where the frames are larger than the window.  So the wood around the window is exposed to the weather.  I don't know if maybe the windows were too small for the frame or if the frame wasn't installed correctly.  It looks like he used some of that caulk that gets bigger when it's placed in the crack and turns orange... what do I need to do about the opening showing the wood? Is my siding maybe missing pieces that should be around the inside of the frame? Also my second small question... how do you hang objects from siding, like an outdoor clock?

Answer
Hi Erin, there is a channel usually required around window and door openings that the vinyl siding fits into to create a caulkable joint between the window and the siding.  It sounds like this is missing. If you know the actual manufacturer you should be able to look up "accessories" required and find the channel needed.  You may be able to pull the piece of siding loose from below the window and slip the channel up alongside the window where it belongs.  Some vinyl sidings merely clip into one another.  By pressing down at the bottom of the piece you may be able to pop it off and then clip it back together after the repair work is complete.   As far as hanging objects from the siding, as long as you use a long enough stainless steel screw to get into the underlying sheathing or stud and seal around the screw penetration with a silicone sealant you should be fine. Sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com