Best siding pros near Park Ridge, IL

You should restain or refinish your home's cedar siding every three to seven years to maintain its appearance and ensure maximum protection. The precise frequency depends on several factors, including your local climate, the siding's exposure to severe weather like direct sunlight, rain, and wind, the quality of the initial stain application, the type of stain used, and the condition of the wood.

Homeowners in harsh climates with high humidity and significant direct sunlight should plan on restaining every three years, while those in milder locations can wait up to seven years. For the longest-lasting protection in particularly harsh environments, consider using an opaque stain.

If you're looking for a lower-maintenance alternative, vinyl or aluminum siding are options to consider. Although their installation cost may be higher, they don't require as much upkeep over time, which can provide more value, especially in areas with excessive rainfall or high humidity.

Although dish soap will work to clean some of the grime off the aluminum siding, it may not kill mold and mildew as efficiently as a cleaning solution you can buy at a hardware store. If you have oily or greasy substances on the aluminum siding, rather than mold and mildew, dish soap should work extremely well.

The main differences between dutch lap versus clapboard siding have to do with their design and texture. Clapboard siding features flat, beveled planks stacked at a slight angle, offering a simple, traditional look. Dutch lap siding features a subtly concave surface along with a notch that creates a shadowed look between the boards. This eye-catching design often resembles wood grain and introduces a noticeable shadow line, making it more visually interesting compared to the simpler look of clapboard siding.

Increasing home value and return on investment (ROI) are two different things and it’s important to differentiate between the two. While a kitchen remodel will surely raise the value of the house, it may only have an ROI of around 50%. Homeowners looking to raise the value of their home for sale will have to consider how much they will recoup by the monetary investment in projects, as the ROI percentages may be lower or higher than the added value on a dollar-for-dollar basis.