Vinyl Siding: Do-it-Yourself and Save Big!

Doing home projects yourself can save time and money, and also give you a good feeling of accomplishment. A lot of home owners are simply scared off by the fact of doing large projects themselves. With the right tips and advice, you can do-it-yourself and save big.

Vinyl siding is one of those projects. It looks harder than it really is. Follow these basic steps, and you can refinish that ugly or neglected exterior on your home.

First of all, you need to know what needs to be done to the exterior for vinyl preparation. Is your home already covered with siding? Is it stucco? These are important questions you need to address. If it's siding already, a simple tear off is all you need to do. If the underlayment is tar paper, then you probably need to redo it. Your best bet is to buy Tyvec. It's a product by DuPont that has excellent waterproof qualities. It's not very expensive, around $100 a roll and depending on the size of your home, usually one or two rolls will do it.

If your home has stucco or block, then you need to fur out the walls with 1x2 furring strips. You can buy these bundled in 8, 10, or 12 foot lengths. They are pressure treated to resist rot. You attach them with an air gun, and use hard cut nails. Your local hardware, or home improvement store should be able to point you in the right direction. Simply cut the strips to length vertically, and attach with the nail gun. Don't forget safety goggles! Place them on a 16 inch layout. Make sure to attach them on the corners, but, bring it off the wall around 4 inches or so, or you'll blow out the concrete.