Hi All,

I live in Austin TX. Our siding needs some work. I was going to tackle it
myself but I just talked to someone that told me it's not that expensive to
have it done by professionals.

Can anyone recommend a *good* company in my area? One with references.

My house is one story, one side masonry, 3 sides siding (reverse baton
board). I'd like to have flashing installed near the bottom so the
foundation does not "wick" into the siding. I want the back of the siding
primed to help prevent the wicking problem too.

Also, is installing gutters as easy as it looks or should I get a
professional for that too? I'm fairly handy around the house but these are
two areas that I have no expertise in.

Any suggestions welcome. The siding is in good shape except for about 3" to
5" on the bottom is starting to rot in some areas where the rain splahes
onto the foundation. It seems wasteful to replace all the siding to fix such
small areas. How is this usually handled?

Thanks in advance.

Jim

I Forgot.

I'd also like to know if I do need to replace the siding altogether, is
adding some sort of sound insulation possible?

Also, is this a good time to replace windows (when the siding is removed)?

Thanks again

Jim

jthread wrote:

Also, is installing gutters as easy as it looks or should I get a
professional for that too? I'm fairly handy around the house but
these are two areas that I have no expertise in.


The nice thing about professional gutters is that they are seamless. That
is, the metal is flat, on a big roll in the truck, and it is formed as the
exact length is cut off. With the appropriate hangers and such, the
installation is quick and sturdy.

You can expect to pay, oh, I'm guessing, about $4/ft for guttering,
downspouts included. If your house is 40'x40', (1600 sq ft), you should
budget, um, $650 for the project.

To do it yourself, there's a LOT of up-and-down the ladder and connecting of
standard length pieces. The basic material costs, from $1.25 to $2.00 per
foot. For 160', that's $320. Add downspouts, connectors, caulking, screws,
brackets, blah-blah-blah, call it another $75. So a couple of weekends,
uncountably many ups-and-downs the ladder, and excursions to the box store,
sunburn, etc., you'll save up to $250 or so.

Me, I'd have the gutter company do it.