Envelope & Durability
Siding that protects the wall and makes the house look like itself again.
A weather barrier, exterior insulation, and flashing done right underneath — then the finish you actually want to look at.
What can we help you with?
The problem
What failing siding is letting in
Siding is the house's raincoat. When it fails, the wall behind it gets wet, and wet walls rot, mold, and stop insulating.
Peeling paint and soft spots
Wood that won't hold paint is wood that's been wet; soft trim at the corners means water has been getting behind it.
Cracked, warped, or loose panels
Vinyl that's brittle or buckled and clapboards that have pulled away are letting wind and water into the wall.
Drafty rooms on the windward side
Old siding with no housewrap under it is an air leak the width of the whole wall.
A house that looks tired
Faded, mismatched, or patched siding drags down everything else you've done to the home.
What we install
What we install
The layers behind the finish are where the durability lives. We do all of them.
Fiber-cement siding
Lap, shingle, and panel profiles that hold paint, resist fire and insects, and last.
Engineered wood
The look of real clapboard with treated, stable boards that don't split or cup.
Vinyl and insulated vinyl
Low-maintenance, budget-conscious, and, in the insulated version, a real bump to the wall's performance.
Weather-resistive barrier and rainscreen
Housewrap sealed at every seam and opening, with a drainage gap so water that gets in gets out.
Exterior insulation
Rigid foam or mineral wool over the sheathing, the one chance to insulate the wall from outside.
Trim, flashing, and details
Corners, window and door flashing, kick-out flashing at the roof lines, and trim that's finished, not just cut.
Compare
Which siding?
Three honest materials. The right one depends on the house, the neighborhood, how long you plan to stay, and how much you want to maintain.
Fiber cement
- Best for
- Homes that want the longest life and the most authentic clapboard or shingle look
- Maintenance
- Repaint every decade or so; factory finishes go longer
- Durability
- Excellent: fire, insect, and rot resistant; handles freeze-thaw
- Pairs with
- Exterior insulation; full-frame window replacement
Engineered wood
- Best for
- Traditional homes where real-wood texture matters; a lighter, easier install
- Maintenance
- Repaint on a similar cycle; factory-primed or finished
- Durability
- Very good with proper flashing and clearance to grade
- Pairs with
- Exterior insulation; new trim packages
Vinyl / insulated vinyl
- Best for
- Budget-conscious projects; low-maintenance homes; rentals
- Maintenance
- Wash it; no painting
- Durability
- Good; brittle in extreme cold and can warp in heat, so quality and install matter
- Pairs with
- Insulated vinyl adds R-value; pairs with attic insulation
In Florida the spec adds wind-rated products and fastening schedules; the finish you choose still has to pass that test first.
How it fits the house
How siding fits the rest of the envelope
Siding is the last layer of the wall, and replacing it is the only time you can see, and fix, everything behind it. With the old siding off we can add a sealed weather barrier, flash every window and door properly, insulate the wall from the outside, and tie the wall to the roof at the kick-outs. That's why we treat siding as an envelope project, not a cosmetic one.
Done in that order, a re-sided house is measurably tighter and better insulated, which lowers the load on the heating and cooling system. If a heat pump or a furnace is in your plan, we run the numbers with the new wall, not the old one.
Windows go in before the siding, so the new siding laps over the window flashing the way it should. Exterior insulation changes the window and trim depths, so those decisions get made together. We sequence all of it in one plan.
Cost
Cost, and how we bring it down
Siding is priced on the wall area, the material, the number of corners and openings, and what the sheathing looks like once the old siding is off. We measure, we tell you what we expect to find, and the number in your plan is for your house.
Exterior insulation added during a siding job qualifies for weatherization incentives in several of our states that a siding project alone would not. Where it applies, we find it and file it.
Financing is available for qualified homeowners so a project that protects the whole wall doesn't have to wait for the wall to fail.
There is no federal tax credit for siding itself; exterior insulation may be treated differently, and the rules changed in 2025. We confirm exactly what applies at the assessment, and a tax professional reviews anything tax-related before it goes in your plan.
Programs we help you apply for
Mass Save and the New England utility programs
wall insulation incentives when exterior insulation is part of the job
Homeowner's insurance
storm and wind damage claims, where the damage qualifies
Florida wind-mitigation credits
insurance credits for wind-rated exterior upgrades
Eligibility and amounts change by state and by year; we confirm what applies to your project at the assessment.
Real trucks. Real crews. Real homes.
Proof you can see.
Very professional, team work, and they clean after when the project is done. I’m so impressed that it only took 2 days to finished. Thank you Ben for replacing my new roof!
Ahmad and Team Sunshine installed 25 solar panels on our home last fall. I met Ahmad through a referral from a neighbor who had Team Sunshine install solar on his house 2 years prior. He told me how happy he was with their company and how responsive the team had been throughout the whole process. He told me two years later he was still in touch with them. I had been researching solar for a while and had just had a no show for a scheduled appointment from one company and another who wasn’t calling back…
Great company, very happy with the installation . I highly recommend this great people!!
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
Plain answers, no sales voice. If yours isn’t here, the callout below reaches a person.
Can you put new siding over the old?
We don't recommend it. Going over old siding hides rot, traps moisture, and skips the weather barrier and flashing that make the wall last. Taking the old siding off is the only way to see the sheathing and fix what's behind it.
Fiber cement or vinyl?
Fiber cement lasts longer, looks more like real clapboard, and handles New England freeze-thaw better. Vinyl costs less and needs no painting. Both are honest choices when the layers behind them are done right; we'll tell you which fits the house and the budget.
Should I insulate when I re-side?
If the walls are under-insulated, yes. Re-siding is the one time you can add exterior insulation or dense-pack the wall cavities from outside without opening the interior. It's the cheapest that work will ever be.
Do the windows need to be replaced at the same time?
Not necessarily, but if they're on the list, do them first or together. New siding should lap over new window flashing; replacing windows after new siding means cutting into it.
How long does a siding job take?
A typical home takes one to two weeks on site depending on size, material, the number of openings, and whether exterior insulation is part of the job. We give you the schedule in the plan.
What about siding in Florida?
Florida siding has to meet wind-load requirements, with rated products and fastening schedules to match, and it has to handle heat, humidity, and driving rain. Our Florida crews install to that spec.
Still have a question?
A Home Advisor picks up — no phone tree.
Two climates, one team
Where you live changes the wall, and our plan does too.
In New England and the Mid-Atlantic the wall is handling freeze-thaw, wind-driven rain, and heat loss, so the weather barrier, exterior insulation, and flashing lead the job. In Florida it's wind load, humidity, and sun, so wind-rated products, fastening schedules, and moisture management lead instead.
Where we work
Get started
Let's see what your home qualifies for.
A free assessment, in-home or virtual. No pressure — just a plan built for your house.
Modernizing Homes Since 2019 · Made with ♥ in Massachusetts