What to Do When Fiber Cement Siding Starts Absorbing Water

You were told this was the low-maintenance siding. The stuff that lasts, resists rot, and never gives you trouble. So it stings a little when you notice the boards swelling at the bottoms, the edges going soft, or the paint bubbling and peeling. And the question sets in fast: was this siding not supposed to […]

What to Do When Ice Dams Damage Your Fascia and Trim

You know the scene. A February thaw rolls through, the icicles finally let go, and you step outside to look at your roof edge. The fascia looks warped or stained. The soffit is buckling in a spot or two. Your gutters are sagging away from the house, still heavy with ice. And the question hits […]

What to Do When You Find Wood Rot Before Painting

You are a couple of hours into prepping the house for paint, scraping a bit of trim, when your screwdriver suddenly sinks into the wood like it is soft cheese. What looked like a solid board is rotted underneath, and your weekend paint job just became a repair job. It is a frustrating moment, and […]

What to Do When Brick Starts Spalling After Freeze-Thaw

You are cleaning up the yard after a long Wisconsin winter when you notice a pile of reddish chips at the base of the chimney. Look closer, and the faces of several bricks have flaked away, leaving rough, crumbling patches where smooth brick used to be. The natural fear is that the wall is failing […]

 What to Do When Vinyl Siding Fades Unevenly

You pull into the driveway, look up at the house, and there it is. The south and west walls look washed out and chalky, while the shaded north side still holds close to its original color. The whole home reads patchy, even a little neglected, though nothing is actually broken. On almost every one of […]

What to Do When Aluminum Siding Turns Chalky

You brushed against the wall carrying groceries in, and your sleeve came away with a white, powdery film. The siding looks faded and tired, nothing like the color it used to be, and your first thought is that you are staring down the cost of a full re-side. Take a breath. Chalky aluminum siding almost […]

What to Do When Stucco Cracks Reappear Every Winter

You patched the cracks last summer. You mixed the compound, filled every line, feathered it smooth, and the wall looked new again. Then a Wisconsin winter came through, and by the time the snow melted, the same cracks were back in the same spots. If that sounds familiar, you are not doing anything wrong, and […]

What to Do When a Storm Damages Your Coated Exterior

The storm passes, the sky clears, and you head outside to walk the perimeter of your home. You are looking at the coated walls, the trim, the fascia, trying to sort out what is damage and what was already there, and quietly wondering whether water is getting in somewhere you cannot see. We have stood […]

What to Do When Your Deck Coating Peels and Gets Slippery

You go out to sweep the deck and another patch of finish lifts off in your hand. A few days after rain, the same boards turn slick and faintly green in the shady corner by the rail. And somewhere in the back of your mind sits the real worry: someone is going to slip out […]