Ames siding
New construction or a full re-side — installed level, properly flashed, and sealed tight, because with siding the install is what makes or breaks it.
Call (515) 420-0434Siding installation replaces the exterior skin of your house — the layer that stops wind-driven rain and snowmelt from reaching the wood framing behind it. On an Ames home that layer takes a beating: bright summer UV, sub-zero January cold, and the freeze-thaw cycle that runs almost weekly through late winter. When siding stops sealing the wall, water gets in slowly, and you usually find out from soft sheathing or interior stains long before the siding itself looks obviously bad.
You probably need new siding if you see cracked or brittle vinyl panels, seams pulling apart, paint that will not hold on wood or fiber cement, or dark streaks below windows and at corners. Woodpecker holes in cedar, rippling or buckling on a sunny wall, and soft spots you can push a screwdriver into all point the same direction. One or two damaged panels is a repair. Widespread failure, or rot you can find in more than one place, means it is time to re-side.
It is worth knowing the difference between cosmetic aging and a wall that is actually leaking. A good installer will pull a panel or two and look at the sheathing and house wrap before quoting you a whole job. That inspection is what tells you whether you are buying looks or buying protection.
The crew removes the old siding down to the sheathing, hauls it off, and inspects what is underneath. This is where they find rotted sheathing, failed house wrap, or old moisture damage around windows — problems the previous siding hid. They flag and price any rotted OSB or framing repair before covering it back up. Skipping this step is the single most common way a re-side job goes wrong.
The crew installs a continuous weather-resistive barrier over the sheathing and tapes the seams so wind-driven rain that gets past the siding drains out instead of soaking in. In Iowa's freeze-thaw climate this drainage plane matters more than the siding brand. They integrate it with window and door flashing so water sheds down and out at every opening rather than pooling at the sill.
Every window, door, corner, and wall penetration — dryer vents, hose bibs, electrical — gets proper flashing and trim. This is where most leaks actually start, not in the open field of the wall. The crew uses metal flashing at horizontal transitions and seals penetrations with the right sealant, not just a bead of caulk smeared over a gap and hoped to hold.
The crew installs your chosen material — vinyl, steel, fiber cement, or engineered wood — fastened to manufacturer spec so panels move with temperature instead of buckling. They can add insulated backer or continuous foam to improve the wall's R-value while it is open. Correct nail placement and gap spacing is what keeps siding flat through a 100-degree summer down to a sub-zero January.
They finish the eaves with soffit and fascia so the whole exterior is sealed and vented — proper soffit venting helps reduce the ice dams that plague Ames rooflines. The crew runs a magnet over the yard for nails, hauls all debris, and walks the job with you. You get the manufacturer paperwork and their workmanship warranty in writing before they leave.
The contractor walks the whole exterior, checks for soft spots and existing water damage, and measures every wall. If there is obvious rot, they tell you upfront that it may add cost once they open things up. You get a written quote that names the material, the color, the flashing details, and what is included — not a single round number with no breakdown.
We help you pick material and color, and the roofer orders it and pulls the City of Ames building permit where the job requires one. Ordering fiber cement or specialty colors can add lead time, so they schedule around delivery rather than promising a date they cannot hold. They confirm your start window and what to expect for access, noise, and landscaping protection.
The crew strips the old siding, repairs any sheathing, installs house wrap and flashing, then the new siding, trim, soffit, and fascia. A typical Ames house runs one to two weeks depending on size, weather, and repairs. They cover exposed walls at the end of each day so a surprise storm does not reach open sheathing overnight.
If the permit requires an inspection, the crew meets the city inspector. Then they walk the finished job with you, checking every corner, seam, and penetration. They clean up, magnet-sweep for fasteners, and hand over your warranty and manufacturer documents. Final payment comes after you have seen the work in person, not before.
Ames housing runs a wide range. Around campus and the older neighborhoods near downtown you find early-1900s homes with original wood siding, plus a lot of post-war ranches that got aluminum or first-generation vinyl decades ago. Those older claddings are brittle now and often hide sheathing that was never properly wrapped. Newer subdivisions on the north and south edges of town tend to have builder-grade vinyl and engineered wood reaching the end of its run. Each of these starts with a different set of surprises once you open the wall.
The climate is the real driver here. Story County swings from summer heat and humidity to deep winter cold, with a freeze-thaw cycle that works water into any gap and then expands it. Wind off open ground drives rain sideways into seams, and spring hail regularly dents aluminum and cracks aged vinyl — those storms are also why a lot of re-sides here run through insurance. Woodpeckers go after cedar and soft engineered wood. All of it argues for tight flashing, a real drainage plane, and a material rated for impact and cold.
Cost depends mostly on material and how much repair the walls need. As a rough guide, installed vinyl tends to run around $5 to $9 per square foot, engineered wood and steel higher, and fiber cement highest — often $9 to $14. For an average Ames house that is commonly a five-figure project. Hidden sheathing rot, multiple stories, and heavy trim work all add to it. Any quote that ignores what is behind the old siding is not a real number yet.
Most single-family homes in Ames take one to two weeks from tear-off to cleanup. A small ranch can go faster; a large two-story with lots of corners, or one that turns up widespread rot, takes longer. Weather is the wildcard — they do not leave walls open through a storm, so a wet spring stretches the calendar. They give you a realistic window at signing and tell you honestly when material lead times, not the crew, are the holdup.
Sometimes. If wind or hail damaged your siding, an Iowa homeowner's policy often covers repair or replacement, minus your deductible. The key is documenting storm damage before it gets covered over. The crew can walk the exterior with you, photograph the damage, and meet your adjuster. Insurance covers sudden storm damage, not siding that simply wore out over 30 years — that distinction is what claims turn on. If it is age, it is out of pocket, and we will tell you so straight.
For Iowa's swings, steel and fiber cement handle cold, impact, and UV the best, commonly lasting 40-plus and 30 to 50 years respectively. Quality vinyl is the value option at 20 to 40 years, but cheaper grades get brittle and crack in deep cold. Engineered wood like LP looks like real wood and installs fast, but its cut edges need sealing and its paint needs maintenance. The right pick depends on your budget, your appetite for upkeep, and your hail exposure.
Two separate things. The manufacturer warranty covers the product — fading, cracking, or defects — for a set number of years, often prorated, and it only holds if the siding was installed to their spec. Our workmanship warranty covers the installation itself: flashing, fastening, and water intrusion caused by how it was put on. Read both. A great product installed wrong is not covered by the maker, and that is exactly where most failures come from. Ask for both in writing.
Re-siding usually requires a building permit from the City of Ames, and the contractor pulls it as part of the job. The permit puts the work on record and can trigger an inspection, which protects you when you sell. If your home sits in a historic or overlay area near downtown, there may be extra review on materials and appearance. They check that before ordering anything, so you do not buy a color or product that will not get approved.