Vinyl siding prevents the escape of moisture from within the house
envelope and invariably leads to rotting of the previous cladding. In
a severe example just up the street from where I live, the residents
first became aware of a problem when they discovered extensive mould
on the walls of their bathroom.

Once they uncovered the original shingles and made repairs, the mould
problem went away.

In the heritage preservation business, we are always trying to stay
one step ahead of the aluminum siding or vinyl siding salesperson.
Equally disastrous is the application of one of the "never paint
again" coatings which also damage the underlying structure.

Another problem is that decorative mouldings are usually removed from
the original structure to make the application of the siding
possible.

>On Tue, 4 Jan 2000, Met History wrote:
>
> > "Vinyl siding damages the underlying house."
> >
> > Is this one of those things we just "know" (like "man cannot fly") or is
> > there real testing or sustained observational data which supports it?

Helen Edwards in Victoria, B.C. Canada
Owner, Bed Buddies Toys & Gifts
Secretary-Treasurer, Heritage Society of B.C.   Office Manager,
Hallmark Society
[log in to unmask]  URL: http://www.islandnet.com/~helen