Q. I wanted longer than 5 inch siding and the contractor found 8 inch with foam attached to the back of the siding and he says it saves a step by not having to put insulation. THe siding with the foam doesn't seem as thick as the big pink rolls I see but I honestly don't know a thing about insulation or siding so should I use a regular siding with reg insulation or use just the siding with the foam attachment or use both? Thanks!

A. I'm sure you are talking about vinyl siding? This works very well and is meant to be additional insulation because you should already have fiberglass insulation inside your exterior walls. As an additional help, you can use a tyvek vapor barrier between the wall and the new siding.

Q. We are buying an older house. Some of the siding is gone. I would like to replace it with similar siding. I am afraid it is too old of siding to find a replacement for the missing or worn out siding. How do I know?

A. Take a sample to the lumber yard. If you can't get a sample, you won't be able to tell.

Q. My house has cedar siding and most of it is either beginning to or already rotting. A contractor said he would install new siding (Craneboard) on top of the old siding. Wouldn't it be better to remove the old rotting siding first?

A. Putting new siding on the old is standard installation procedure. The only caveat is that the new must be well anchored to as sound substrate be it studs or sheathing.

Q. I have tar paper under the original siding already and I was told by one contractor that I could just put vinyl siding right over top but another contractor told me I needed to take the aluminum siding off and start all over again, so which is it?

A. I would take it all down and put up that Tyvek insulation all over before replacing with vinyl... You can get a ton of money for your old siding at the scrap yard.

Q. My house's board siding is getting old. I have to re-paint it every 3 years. I am thinking if it is a good idea to install a vinyl siding, but do I have to pull off the old board sidings or can I install the vinyl siding on top of board siding? Some contractors say they have to pull off the old ones first, some says it is not necessary.

A. Yes, you can install vinyl siding over old siding, unless there's mold or other factors. Be sure the old stuff is securely fastened to the studs or underlayment, and pop chalk lines so you know where the studs are, for proper nailing off of the new siding.

Q. My window air conditioner dripped outside and left rust stains down our vinyl siding - I just tried power washing it with siding cleaner and I also used a Mr. Clean Magic eraser; neither worked all the way - it may be stained in to the siding. Any ideas of how to remove it or cover it? The siding is white. Thanks for any help!

A. I used CLR on my siding that was stained from untreated well water in the sprinklers. It also worked well on the masonary skirting below the siding.

Q. Anyone here work with wood siding? My house is circa 1916 and I will need to replace sections with new siding. So rare now to see redwood siding ! Am I going to have trouble matching the pattern for such an old house? If so, anyone know of sources for old siding? In SF Bay Area if that helps.

A. You may have to go to a lumber mill that still does different types of moldings and mill works to get the sideing duplicated. There are places that do this.

Q. How does an inspector know is the entire house is okay under the aluminum siding without looking under every section of siding? We are considering the possbility of buying a home that has aluminum siding on it, and we plan to eventually take it off, but how do we know for sure that we are not just buying a problem. How likely is it that a home inspector will be able to tell if there is something wrong under the siding? Do they check around the entire house under all the siding? When siding is put on, do they remove all the old siding, or install it right on top of the old siding? Can an average "do it yourself person" tear off aluminum siding and replace it with something else? Any help would be greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!!!

A. He is checking for moisture and mildew. maybe rot of any kind. ask him. if there is a problem and you are purchasing it, the seller is responsible. they will have to fix it before you buy so you will find out anyway. talk to your realtor about an insurance that the seller buys, if anything happens for 1 year, that insurance covers it. it is about 300.00. that 300 is the sellers responsibility. make sure you have a realtor an average person can take it off and add something else later