energy saver, Sounds like they know their stuff. I've used those products before and they are really impressive. the porchguy Here is a link that might be useful: My Album

Because the joints are not sealed, vinyl siding has a very high permeability rating over 40 perms (similar to the wood siding) so it is unlikely to trap moisture long enough to damage the old siding (I assume it is painted). Another issue is whether to put house wrap behind it which might further slow the drying of the wall to the outside. But we don't know the climate or the kind or amount of insulation so I won't try to guess. If appropriate for the wall design, you could use a highly permeable house wrap like Tyvek behind the vinyl siding but only if the old siding is painted. For the vinyl siding to be level it should be installed on a level surface. That can be achieved with reversed shingle or clapboard shims or vertical strapping but the floating vinyl may be more susceptible to damage, but I don't have first hand experience with that. It might be better to remove the old siding. You should also carefully consider how to detail the openings, facias and corner boards.

Well, looking at what I can see, it looks like the siding stops right at the top of the cement part of the foundation all around the house. . In the front of the house there is about 4 inches between the siding and the ground, so I think that is ok given the existing slope of the ground. On the driveway side the block of the foundation is at the same height of the cement and the siding ends right where the block ends, there is no way to put space between the cement of the driveway and the top.of the foundation block. The other side of the house, where the contractor put the siding below grade, it looks like the cement part of the foundation is currently below grade. So not sure what we need to do. I'm not sure we can re -grade that side to slope away from the house. The building inspector is going to look at the siding when he comes out to approve the permits for the windows, so we'll see what he has to say about what has been done and hopefully tell us what we need to do. I appreciate all the input from everyone here because it helped me understand what I need to look for.

"Has the cost of vinyl siding gone up considerably with supply chain/chemical shortages? Very much so. Petroleum product, delivered by truck and typical manufacturing prices increases. Plus labor has gone up considerably as well.