The problem with vinyl siding is that it covers up the problems - you can't see them and know that you need to fix them. Make sure your house is structurally sound first. Vinyl not properly applied around doors and windows lets water get in behind it, causing rot you cannot see. I hate renovating houses with vinyl siding, finding all kinds of issues that must be addressed and that break the clients' budget.

I used it on my house in 1977 when it was popular. It was the Douglas fir type. It was indestructable. When I added on in 1990, I used yellow pine. That was the biggest mistake of my life. It delaminated, wouldn't hold color, and generally fell apart. In 2000 I put stucco on the entire house and the Fir plywood was still like new. It does matter what type you use. I never sealed the vertical joints and never had a problem. The horizontal joints should have flashing to prevent water from getting behind the lower sections. I often cut narrow pieces, but because I had machinery to cut the lap joints, this was never a problem when I joined a small piece to a full sheet, or pieced in a piece. If I was butt jointing two pieces, I would definately use a paintable silicone latex caulk. I don't see it used much anywhere anymore. Most homes have manufactured stone in this area.

sherwood - thanks for sharing your experience. vith - Had an engineer from local survey company come out. To grade to today's standards, i.e., 6" clearance from siding with proper slope, it would move enough soil to trigger ordinance that requires erosion and sediment plan, etc. I have 30' along garage area that needs sloped, so it adds up quickly. Three inch clearance is sufficient? which means top of footer will be three inches below soil surface. Does that create any problems that top of footer is no longer 6-8" deep, but will now be 3" from soil surface? Thanks.

AND.....the hits keep coming............ I have not seen any further activity in the house. I keep checking...but nothing. Holding my breath but hopeful. HOWEVER...today I decided to clean out my shed. It is an all wood 8x12 structure that I built myself in the corner of my backyard. It is built upon four 6x6 posts (embedded in concrete) and is four (to six) inches above the ground (suspended). I had a large hardwood tabletop and a big piece of butcher block countertop stored in there. As I was removing items I noticed a large blemish on the tabletop. I thought I might have scarred it with a bicycle that I'd had hanging next to it. Nope....termites. I pulled the tabletop (and butcher block) away from the wall and they were prettly well chewed up. I soaked them with bug killer (because I didn't want to unleash live insects into the wild) and hauled them to the curb. Then I noticed that tremites had chewed up the plywood inner wall of the shed. Mud tubes (might as well be..mud WALLS) were erected in the corner of the shed. One single mud tube went all the way to the ceiling. It had all been hidden by that giant tabletop. There was damage in one other area as well....and I could HEAR the termites munching away. The damage is pretty harsh but IS salvageable (and does not appear to be structural). I doused all the affected areas with Termiticide. The termites also munched on other pieces of scrap project wood I'd been storing in there. I trenched around the back and side of the shed and (in the back) found a LIVE cluster of termites and mud tubes centered around some decorative stones I'd placed around the base of the shed. This area is CONSTANTLY moist (due to rain and shade). I soaked the trench in termiticide (including the backfill) and will complete the treatment for the front and other side tomorrow. I am exhausted. If anyone else has gone through this...I feel your pain. The destruction of these little buggers is unreal. I am confident I can patch my shed up...but man....what a frustrating pest to deal with. Cheers.