Siding replacement in Bergen County, NJ
On an older Bergen County house, the siding you see may not be the first. We look at what is underneath before we price the job, because it changes the work.
NJ HIC 13VH13268400 · Licensed and insured · Free inspection · Open 24 hoursModern Home Roofing & Chimney replaces siding on houses across Bergen County, NJ, including Paramus, Fair Lawn, Wyckoff and Elmwood Park. About 72 percent of homes in the county were built before 1980, so we check what is under the old siding before we price the job. You get a free inspection and a written estimate. NJ HIC 13VH13268400.
What is under the siding on a Bergen County house
About 72 percent of Bergen County homes were built before 1980. On a house that old, the siding you see may be the second or third layer. Under it there can be the original wood clapboard, cement shingles or bare sheathing. We look at what is underneath at the inspection, because each one changes how the job goes and what it costs.
Cement shingles were common on houses from this period, and they can contain asbestos. We do not touch them. If we see them at the inspection, we tell you and refer you to a company that tests for asbestos and removes it.
Siding takes the wind. On the ridges in Mahwah and Oakland, and on open corner lots anywhere in the county, loose panels rattle first and blow off later. Often the cause is how they were nailed. Vinyl has to hang loose enough to move with the temperature. Nailed tight, it buckles in summer heat and cracks in the cold.
So we do not price a Bergen County siding job from the street. We lift a panel and look first.
What we check before we price Bergen County siding
The walls you see are only half of it. What is behind the panels decides how the old siding comes off and what the new siding goes onto.
On older Bergen County houses, we look at
- What is under the panels, from a spot out of the way where we can lift one.
- Whether there are old cement shingles under the siding. If there are, we refer the testing out and do not touch them.
- Soft or stained sheathing, especially under the windows.
- Loose or buckled panels, which usually come from how they were nailed.
- The trim around the windows and doors.
- The inside of any wall that shows stains.
If only a few panels are damaged and the wall behind them is sound, a repair may be enough. Siding repair
How a siding replacement works in Bergen County
The wall under the old siding gets checked before anything new goes up. All seven steps are on the siding replacement page.
Free inspection
We walk all sides of the house, lift a panel in an out of the way spot to see what is under it, and photograph what we find.
Written estimate
Which walls, what goes on them and the price, on paper.
Strip and check the wall
The old panels and trim come off down to the sheathing. If the wood is soft or rotted, you get photos and a price before we replace it.
New siding and clean up
The new vinyl panels and trim go up. We haul the old siding away, run a magnet over the lawn for nails and go over the walls with you.
Do you need a permit for new siding in Bergen County?
On a one- or two-family house, no. New Jersey's construction code treats new siding on a one- or two-family house as ordinary maintenance, as long as the new siding is not polypropylene, so there is no permit and no notice to the town. Ridgewood has historic districts, where exterior work needs a historic preservation permit, though a like-for-like replacement skips the commission review. We check with your town before we start, and any permit goes on the estimate.
What you can check on us first
- Our New Jersey Home Improvement Contractor license is 13VH13268400. Look it up with the Division of Consumer Affairs.
- We carry insurance and can send you the certificate before work starts.
- The inspection is free, and the estimate comes to you in writing.
- We are open 24 hours.
If it is in Bergen County, yes. We cover all 70 municipalities, from Allendale to Wyckoff. Put your ZIP code in the estimate form and we confirm it when we call you back.
Not on a one- or two-family house. The state construction code counts it as ordinary maintenance, unless the new siding is polypropylene. A house in a Ridgewood historic district needs a historic preservation permit to change the siding material.
That is the village's decision, not ours. A new siding material changes how the house looks, so it goes to the Historic Preservation Commission first. We can give you the estimate and photos to bring to the application.
We lift a panel in an out of the way spot during the inspection and look. It tells us whether there is old wood siding, cement shingles or bare sheathing underneath, and each one changes the job.
Cement shingles on older houses can contain asbestos. We do not touch them. If we see them at the inspection, we tell you and refer you to a company that tests for asbestos and removes it.
Call us, but check with your association first. In most condos the roof and the siding belong to the association, and the board hires the contractor. Townhouses vary. Your association documents say who owns what.
Find out what is under your siding
Tell us your town and what you are seeing. We call you back shortly, inspect every wall for free, and give you photos and a written price.
Or call 732-682-9251