Look for obvious signs like cracks, loose panels, or missing pieces, but don’t stop there. Check for water stains on interior walls, which often mean water is getting behind the siding. Feel around windows and doors for drafts that weren’t there before.
If you can see daylight through gaps in your siding, or if more than 30% of a wall section shows damage, siding panel replacement usually makes more sense than patching. We’ll give you an honest assessment – sometimes a few strategic vinyl siding crack repairs buy you several more years, and sometimes you’re just throwing money at a bigger problem.
The key is catching issues early. A small crack in vinyl siding might cost $50 to fix now, but if water gets behind it and damages the sheathing, you’re looking at hundreds in additional repairs.