Siding Replacement: What to Expect on the Day — Noise, Nails, Dumpster
You signed the quote, the material is ordered, and now you want to know what the week is actually going to be like at your house.
Siding replacement day starts with a dumpster in the driveway and a crew stripping one wall, and it ends with that wall wrapped and the yard swept with a magnet. JMB Builders tells Twin Cities homeowners what to expect: the noise, the vibration that knocks pictures off exterior walls, where to park, what happens to the power and vents, and what the house looks like each night. Licensed MN contractor BC809005. Free in-home estimate before any of it.
- Dumpster arrives first, crew follows
- Take pictures off exterior walls inside
- Wall wrapped before the crew leaves each day
- Magnet sweep for nails before the dumpster goes
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
The dumpster shows up a day before or the morning of, on the driveway or where you told us, with plywood under the wheels if the driveway is new. The material is dropped on a pallet near the first wall. The crew arrives at a normal working hour, walks the house with you once, and starts stripping on the wall we agreed on. The first hour is loud: the old siding is pried off, the nails come with it, and the house shakes a little. Pictures, mirrors and shelves on exterior walls inside should already be down.
Once a wall is bare we look at the sheathing together if you are home, or send photos if you are not. Anything soft gets cut out and replaced; anything beyond what the quote assumed gets a call before we do it. Then the wrap and flashing go on, which is quiet work, and the siding follows. By the end of the day the wall is wrapped and taped at minimum. You are never looking at bare sheathing overnight.
Power stays on. Water stays on. The meter box comes off the wall and goes back onto a block on the new siding; if it needs more than a re-mount a licensed electrician does it. The gas meter is not touched; we side around it to the clearance the gas utility requires. The dryer vent, bath fan hoods, hose bibs, outdoor lights and the cable or dish lines come off and go back on with blocks behind them. The AC can run; the condenser gets a cover while the wall behind it is worked. At the end of the job the lawn and driveway get a magnet sweep, the dumpster leaves, and the finished photos go in your job folder.
What you supply
- A clear driveway spot for the dumpster and a pallet, and cars moved away from the wall being worked
- Pictures, mirrors and shelves down from exterior walls inside; anything fragile on windowsills put away
- Pets inside while the yard has nails on the ground, and kids clear of the staging
- Hose bibs turned on for us, and a word about sprinkler heads or buried lines near the house
- A phone number we can reach during the day for sheathing calls
What JMB supplies
- The dumpster, delivered and removed, with protection under it on a new driveway
- A walk around the house with you before the first wall comes off
- Plywood or tarps over shrubs, the AC condenser, decks and anything under the wall
- Photos of each bare wall and a call before any repair beyond the quote
- Every stripped wall wrapped and taped before the crew leaves for the day
- Re-mounting of lights, vents, hose bibs, the meter box and cable lines on new blocks
- A magnet sweep of the lawn, beds and driveway for nails and staples at the end
- Finished photos in your job folder and a walk-through with you on the last day
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- The dumpster and the number of pulls, set by how many layers of old siding come off
- Protection needed for landscaping, decks, a new driveway or a close neighbor's house
- Sheathing repair beyond the allowance, always called in before it is done
- Days the weather closes, which change the schedule but not the price
This page is about the week itself. The quote is set from your photos and the free in-home estimate before any of this starts.
How long it takes
A one-story house is about a week; a two-story one to two weeks. Each day: one wall or part of one, stripped in the morning and wrapped or sided by evening.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
You are home
You see the bare wall and the sheathing with us, approve anything beyond the quote on the spot, and watch the wrap and flashing go on. Most people work from home for the first day and then stop paying attention.
You are away
We text photos of each wall as it is opened and before it is covered, and call about anything beyond the quote before we touch it. Leave the hose bibs on and the gate unlocked, and the week runs the same.
Rain or wind day
We open less wall or none. A stripped wall is already wrapped, so rain does nothing to it. High wind stops staging work on tall walls. The schedule slides a day; the price does not move.
Sheathing surprise
Soft OSB, a rotted rim joist or an unflashed window shows up when the wall is bare. You get photos, a description and the cost before we fix it. The wall is covered in wrap until you say go.
Siding Replacement: What to Expect on the Day — Noise, Nails, Dumpster: questions, answered
Do I need to be home during siding replacement?
No. Most people are home the first morning for the walk-around and then go about their week. We send photos of every wall as it is opened and before it is covered, and we call before doing anything beyond the quote. Leave the hose bibs on and tell us about anything buried near the house. You do want to be there for the walk-through on the last day.
How loud and how much vibration is siding replacement?
Tear-off is the loud part: prying, hammering and nails pulling, with enough vibration that pictures and mirrors on exterior walls can fall. Take them down the night before. The saw runs most of the day during installation. It is daytime work at normal hours, and the neighbors on the side being worked will hear it. The wrap and flashing stage is quiet.
Does the power or water get shut off when siding is replaced?
No. The electrical meter box is unscrewed from the wall and re-set on a block on the new siding; if the service needs more than a re-mount, a licensed electrician does that part. Water stays on; the hose bibs come off and go back on with blocks. The gas meter is never touched by the crew. The AC can run, with the condenser covered while that wall is worked.
What should I do with pets and kids during the siding job?
Keep pets inside while the yard has nails on it, which is most of the job until the sweep. Dogs and staging poles are a bad mix. Kids stay clear of the working wall and the dumpster. We sweep the lawn and driveway with a magnet at the end and again if we pull the dumpster mid-job, but during the week assume there are nails in the grass on the side being worked.
Will the house be open to the weather overnight?
No. Whatever is stripped during the day is wrapped and taped before the crew leaves, with the window flashing on. Often it is sided too. If the forecast is bad we open less wall. House wrap sheds rain on its own; the house is better protected wrapped than it was under the old siding.
What happens to the lights, vents and hose bibs on the walls?
They all come off and go back on. Each one gets a mounting block set into the new siding so the fixture sits on a flat surface and is sealed to it instead of being screwed through a panel. Dryer and bath fan vents get new hoods if the old ones are brittle. The cable or dish line is re-run on the surface where it was. Anything that needs wiring work is done by a licensed electrician.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-333-4066.
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Read morePage reviewed October 2, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All siding pages
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