Siding Problems Rarely Announce Themselves
Siding tends to break in ways you don’t notice right away. A hailstorm rolls through on a Tuesday afternoon and cracks a few fiber cement boards on the back of the house, where nobody’s looking. A hard wind lifts a vinyl panel just enough that it stops sealing properly, and you don’t spot it until months later when a stain shows up on an interior wall. A sprinkler head shifts a couple of degrees off angle over the summer and starts hitting the siding directly, and by fall there’s rot inside the wall you can’t see from outside.
That’s the tricky thing about siding damage. It hides. And what looks like a small cosmetic issue on the outside is often something much more expensive going on behind the scenes.
I’m Jeff Stakes. My wife Rebecca and I run ATS Exteriors, and we’ve spent the last seven years fixing exactly these kinds of problems on homes throughout Westminster and the surrounding area, backed by more than 15 years of exterior work between us. We handle every siding type you’re likely to have on a Westminster home: James Hardie fiber cement, LP SmartSide engineered wood, vinyl, traditional wood, and stucco. We hold James Hardie Elite Preferred and LP SmartSide Preferred certifications, which basically means we’ve put in the training and hit the standards that manufacturers require before they’ll trust us with their products.
Rebecca and I look at every repair personally. Whether you need minor touch-ups or comprehensive home siding repair in Westminster, CO, cutting corners on siding work in this climate doesn’t stay hidden for long, so we don’t do it. Straightforward assessment, fair price, work that holds.
The Problems We See Most Often
Cracked boards from hail. Warped or buckled sections from a rushed original install. Small holes from woodpeckers or something the neighbor’s kid launched off the deck. Rot around windows and doors where flashing failed years ago. Faded stretches where a decade of sun has flattened the color. Panels that came loose after a windstorm. Mildew growth in shaded corners where air doesn’t move.
Different materials fail in different ways. Fiber cement cracks in spiderweb patterns or loses chunks right at the impact point. Vinyl dents on warmer days and splits when it’s cold. Wood and LP SmartSide take divots and chip along the edges. When a serious hail event moves through neighborhoods like Legacy Ridge, The Ranch, or Walnut Grove, we’re usually inspecting a dozen or more homes the following week.
Wind damage typically traces back to one of two things. Either the original installer got the fastening wrong, or sustained gusts found an edge that had already worked loose. Prevailing winds mean west-facing walls take the worst of it. Older installations across established Westminster neighborhoods are especially vulnerable once the fasteners start giving up.
Rot is the worst of the bunch because you can’t see it happening. Gutters that back up, sprinklers spraying directly on the wall, or failing window flashing all let moisture sit against the wall sheathing month after month. By the time the siding itself starts showing symptoms, the damage inside the wall usually extends well beyond what’s visible.
Storm and Wind Damage
Storm season starts in April and doesn’t really let up until early fall, and every time a big hail cell rolls through the area, we spend the next several weeks walking home exteriors. After hail, we look at every side of the house, not just the obvious spots. Insurance carriers measure damage as a percentage of each elevation, and once that threshold gets crossed, the whole side qualifies for replacement rather than piece-by-piece patching. We make sure adjuster estimates actually reflect that scope instead of understating it.
For wind events, we look past what’s obviously gone. Sometimes panels aren’t torn off, just loosened enough that the next storm will finish them. Fastener patterns tell their own story too. Vinyl nailed too tight can’t expand and contract with temperature, so it buckles. Fiber cement installed without proper clearances tends to crack right where the nails went in.
Being local matters here. We can usually get out to tarp damage, board up openings, or stabilize loose panels quickly, which keeps water out until we can schedule the actual repair.
Patch, Section, or Full Replacement
The Matching Challenge
This is the part of the job that tests our patience the most. Manufacturers update colors and quietly discontinue profiles all the time, and UV shifts the appearance of existing siding gradually over the years, even when the product code hasn’t changed. For anything installed in the last five years or so, we can usually order matching pieces by product code and get pretty close. Older siding is where we have to get creative. Sometimes we pull pieces from a less visible elevation to use on prominent walls, then install close-match material where nobody will notice. Sometimes we field paint fiber cement to bring it into the right range. And sometimes we tell you honestly that a patch will stand out from the street no matter what we do, and full elevation replacement is the better path.
Whatever the situation, we walk you through what’s actually possible before ordering material.
Annual Inspections Save Money Down the Road
Why Westminster Homeowners Call Us
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my siding damage is actually serious?
Will my homeowner's insurance cover siding repair?
Can siding be repaired during winter months?
How long does a typical repair take?
Can you match my current siding color?
Do you handle rot repair behind the siding?
Get Your Siding Looking Right Again
If you’ve got storm damage, hidden rot, or panels that just haven’t sat right since the last big wind event, Rebecca and I would be glad to come take a look. Free inspection, no pressure, straight answers about what your home actually needs. Reach out to ATS Exteriors today.
