Run a siding repair business for a season and you'll notice the same jobs keep coming back. Knowing them means faster quotes, the right parts on the truck, and fewer second trips. Here are the ten you'll see most.
- Wind-blown or unlocked panels. High winds pop panels loose, especially on gables and the windward side. Often the panels are fine and just need to be relocked and refastened; sometimes they're cracked or gone.
- Grill melt. A grill parked too close to the house warps and melts the siding. One of the most common calls every summer. Usually a few panels, sometimes corner posts.
- Mower and trimmer damage. String trimmers and lawn mowers chip and crack the bottom courses near the ground.
- Impact cracks. Baseballs, hail, branches, snowblower rocks. Vinyl gets brittle in the cold and cracks more easily.
- Storm damage. Hail and wind can hit an entire side. Some of these become insurance claims.
- Soffit and fascia. Loose or missing soffit panels, bent aluminum fascia, critters getting into the attic.
- J-channel and trim around windows and doors. Loose or bent trim, and water getting behind it.
- Corner posts. Cracked or knocked loose, often from impacts or mower damage.
- Animal damage. Woodpeckers and squirrels on wood trim, critters chewing through soffit.
- Discontinued siding. The panels are damaged and the color or profile isn't made anymore. This is where a good repair guy earns his reputation: sourcing a match, or borrowing panels from a hidden wall and using new siding there.
What to carry for these
Most of these can be fixed on the first visit if you carry a small stock: common colors in the most popular profiles, J-channel, starter strip, utility trim, soffit, aluminum coil for wrapping, and the right fasteners. Photos from the customer before you go help you load the truck.
Price them by the job
Every one of these has a typical time and material cost. Build a price sheet so you can quote fast and consistently. See how to get your first 10 customers.
Inside Siding Pro Academy, we break down how to price each of these and which ones pay best for the time.
Photo: from a real Siding Pro Academy repair job.
