Vinyl siding in Phoenix vs. repainting wood siding
When the wood siding or gables start peeling again, you can scrape and repaint or cover them. How each choice holds up in the Phoenix sun, and when repainting still makes sense.
Wood siding on a desert house doesn’t fail all at once. One gable starts to peel, then the boards on the sunny side, and before long the whole house is due. At that point there are two real options: scrape and repaint the wood, or cover it. This post compares repainting with vinyl siding in Phoenix, so you can tell which one fits your house.
What repainting wood involves
A proper repaint is mostly prep. Loose paint gets scraped, rough edges sanded, bare spots primed, gaps caulked, and then two coats go on. Home-improvement advice published by KTAR, the Phoenix news station, says wood siding may need repainting after five or six years. Check the south and west walls first; they take the most sun.
There’s a second cost you can’t see. Paint can keep looking decent while the wood behind it decays, and the trouble usually starts at a cut end or a sharp board edge. By the time it shows, the repair is bigger than a paint job.
If the house was built before 1978, the old paint may contain lead. For people doing the work themselves, the EPA advises misting the surface before scraping or sanding to keep the dust down, and collecting the waste in heavy plastic sealed with tape.
What vinyl siding changes on a Phoenix house
Vinyl doesn’t carry its color in a coat of paint. The color is in an outer layer fused to the panel when it’s made, so it can’t peel or flake, and there is no repaint cycle. It isn’t immune to the sun: anything left outside long enough fades a little. Ask whether the color you like is certified under the Vinyl Siding Institute’s color-retention program, which holds fade to a set standard after years of outdoor weathering tests.
Dark colors absorb more of the sun, and dark panels are more prone to warping. Some manufacturers build reflective materials into their darker colors to keep the panels from distorting, so if you want a dark color on a west wall, bring it up at the estimate.
Vinyl also grows and shrinks as it heats and cools. That’s why it’s hung rather than pinned: each nail sits in the middle of its slot and isn’t driven tight, so the panel can slide. A wall that bakes in the afternoon and cools after dark puts that movement to work every day.
The wall underneath still matters
Vinyl siding is only as straight as the wall it’s hung on. If the old boards are bowed or soft, the new siding will show every wave. It shouldn’t go over rotting wood, so bad sections come out and get replaced first, and the estimate should say which ones.
When repainting is the better call
- The wood is sound, the paint is only faded, and you like the painted look.
- It’s one small area and you’d rather not change the look of the house.
- The house is on the City of Phoenix Historic Property Register. The city’s Historic Preservation Office reviews exterior changes to listed homes, so talk to that office before you choose a new material.
When vinyl is the better call
- The same boards peel again a few years after every paint job.
- You’d rather wash the gables than scrape them. A hose and a long-handled soft brush do it; some manufacturers don’t want a pressure washer used on their siding, so check first.
- The eaves are worn too. Siding and soffit and fascia can be done together, so every piece of exposed wood is covered at once.
If you’re in an HOA, a new siding color may need the architectural committee’s approval. Our post on HOA approval in Arizona covers what to send.
The siding page shows the wall and gable work. The green board-and-batten gable pictured above is one of those jobs, and the gallery has more. If repainting suits your house better, see painting.
Want a price for your house? Call (602) 678-3737 or ask for a free estimate.