Your home’s siding keeps your family comfortable, provides insulation, and helps keep bad weather outside, where it rightfully should be. With cooler weather slowly but surely coming to Fairfax and Northern Virginia, it’s the perfect time of year to make sure your siding is doing its job and replace it if necessary. But how do you know if your siding needs to be replaced, or if it can survive another winter the way it is? Doing a quick inspection of your home’s exterior and keeping an eye out for these six red flags will let you know if you should get new siding:

1. Holes, Chips, and Cracks

Intact siding will actually do its job and keep you and your family comfortable all fall and winter long. Siding with damages like holes, chips, and cracks might not. Holes aren’t great to look at, but there are worse things than having a lessened curb appeal. Damaged siding gives water and cold air a chance to get in, and gives your heat a chance to get out.

2. Rot

Rot is a fungus that will eat up the wood of your home’s exterior and compromise its structural integrity. Similar to mold, rot thrives in moisture and weakens the surface it grows on. If you notice that parts of your siding appears to be deteriorating, you most likely have rot. You’re in need of a replacement.

3. Bubbles

Just like wallpaper, you might find little bubbles on your siding if it was not installed properly or faced extreme heat or moisture. Bubbles mean that air is getting in between your siding panels and this can compromise your siding’s ability to keep your home dry and warm this winter.

4. Faded Appearance

Nobody wants siding that looks faded and worn! You want to live in a house that’s beautiful from the inside out, but faded siding can subtract from your home’s exterior aesthetics. Even worse, if you’re planning to sell your home, dim siding doesn’t make for good curb appeal. You can always stain your siding, but that will eventually fade as well. Installing new, bright siding is a worthy investment to ensure a long-lasting vibrant paint job.

5. A Draft Indoors

Not all the signs of damaged siding are on your home’s exterior. If you’ve felt a draft inside your home without any windows being open, this is a sign that your siding could be failing and letting in cold air. Wherever you notice a draft indoors, check your home’s exterior in the same location and inspect your siding. Look for any of the above mentioned red flags like bubbles or holes, and replace your siding if necessary.

6. High Energy Bill

A high energy bill may go hand-in-hand with feeling a draft indoors. If your siding is damaged and is not keeping all of the elements at bay, your heating is likely escaping outside, which is just racking up a higher energy cost each month. Having a chillier home is uncomfortable enough, but forking over the cash to pay an inexplicably high heating bill every month is even worse. If you’ve noticed a higher energy bill recently, contact a professional to see if your siding is the culprit.

Trust HB Home Services to Replace Your Siding

HB Home Services offers siding replacement services in Northern Virginia. We are proud to carry LP SmartSide products, a type of siding that is durable, easy to install, and looks just like traditional wood siding all while maintaining your energy efficiency. Our siding installation experts are dedicated to providing high quality work that will look great and keep you and your family comfortable all winter long.

Does your Northern Virginia home need new siding? Call us today at (703) 764-0498 for our siding replacement services.