Vinyl Siding Installation and Replacement
New vinyl siding that stays flat and stays on: the wrap and flashing underneath done properly, the panels hung with room to move, and the windows and doors trimmed so they do not look like an afterthought.
JMB Builders installs vinyl siding on houses across the Twin Cities metro: old siding off, house wrap and flashing tape at every window and door, new J-channel, corner posts and trim, and panels hung loose on the nails so they move with the weather instead of buckling. Priced per project. You get a quote from your photos within one business day, then a measured site visit to confirm it before anything is ordered.
- Old siding off, new wrap and flashing under
- Panels hung to move, not nailed tight
- Photo quote first, then a measured visit
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Vinyl is the most common siding in the Twin Cities because it is affordable and it does not need paint. It is also the most commonly installed wrong. Nailed tight, it buckles in July. Cut too short, the ends pull out of the J-channel in January. Installed over old siding with no wrap, it hides the rot and traps water against the sheathing. Every one of those is a decision made on install day, and none of them costs much to get right.
Our job starts with taking the old siding off. That is the only way to see the sheathing, replace what is soft, wrap the house, and flash the windows and doors with tape so the vinyl is a rain screen over a wall that already sheds water on its own. Then the trim: corner posts, J-channel at the openings, starter strip level all the way around, and the panels nailed in the center of the slot with the head left proud so each one can slide. Nobody sees any of it when it is done. All of it is why the siding is still flat and tight in ten winters.
Vinyl is also the moment to do the windows and the trim. Pulling the old siding exposes the window flanges; if the windows are due, replacing them now saves the cost of doing the siding twice. We do that work too, and we can trim the windows in wide board trim instead of plain J-channel if you want the house to look less like vinyl.
What you supply
- Photos of every side of the house, including a close-up of the current siding and a window
- Your choice of vinyl profile and color from the samples we bring to the site visit
- Driveway or yard space for the dumpster and material
- A decision on the windows: keep them, or replace them at the same time
What JMB supplies
- Removal and disposal of the old siding, trim and any loose or rotted sheathing
- House wrap, taped at seams, with flashing tape at every window and door flange and the sill
- Starter strip, corner posts, J-channel, utility trim under windows and at the top course
- Vinyl siding in the profile and color you pick: double lap, dutch lap, board and batten or shakes
- Light blocks, vent blocks and receiver blocks for hose bibs, lights and outlets
- Soffit and fascia wrap in matching aluminum where you want the eaves done at the same time
- Photos of the wrapped house before siding and the finished house in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Wall area and how many stories; second-story walls need staging
- How many windows, doors and corners to trim; a busy elevation costs more than a plain one
- Removing one layer of old siding vs. two, and what the sheathing looks like under it
- Vinyl grade and profile: thin builder-grade vs. thicker panels, plain lap vs. shakes or board and batten
- Aluminum soffit and fascia wrap done at the same time
- New windows installed during the siding job
- Access: landscaping, decks and grade around the house
A photo of each side of the house from the yard is enough for the photo quote. The site visit is where we measure the walls and count the openings to make it firm.
How long it takes
A single-story ranch: about a week. A two-story: one to two weeks. Add a few days when windows are replaced at the same time.
How your project works
- 1
Photo quote
Send photos of every side of the house. Within one business day you have a written quote with the assumptions listed, including which walls need staging and what we expect under the old siding.
- 2
Site measure and samples
We measure every wall and count openings, look at the sheathing at a corner, and bring profile and color samples. The quote is confirmed at this visit.
- 3
Strip and wrap
Old siding and trim off, sheathing repaired, house wrap on and taped, windows and doors flashed. You get photos of this stage; it is the part that matters most.
- 4
Trim and siding
Starter strip set level, corners and J-channel installed, then the panels from the bottom up, nailed to move. Blocks for lights and hose bibs go in as we reach them.
- 5
Walkthrough
Every panel checked for lock and movement, trim sealed where it should be, yard cleaned and swept for nails. Finished photos go in your job folder.
Vinyl Siding Installation and Replacement: questions, answered
What are the cost factors for vinyl siding?
Wall area and height come first; a two-story house needs staging. Then the number of windows, doors and corners, because trim takes more time per foot than field siding. Removing old siding and repairing sheathing is next, and the vinyl grade and profile last. Soffit and fascia wrap and new windows are separate lines you can add or leave off. We list each of these on the quote.
Can vinyl siding be installed over existing siding?
It can and we will not do it. Siding over siding hides rotted sheathing, gives you no chance to wrap and flash the house, and leaves the new panels sitting on an uneven surface that telegraphs through. The old siding comes off; that is when we fix the wall. The extra cost is a dumpster and a day, and it is the difference between a rain screen and a cover-up.
Why does vinyl siding buckle or ripple?
It was nailed tight. Vinyl expands in the sun and shrinks in the cold, and the panel has to be free to slide on its nails. Nails driven hard into the slot pin it, and the panel has nowhere to go but out. The same happens when panels are cut too long into the J-channel. Hung right, vinyl stays flat in July and January.
Should I replace windows before or during siding?
During. The siding comes off, the old window comes out, the new one goes in with its flange taped to the house wrap, and the siding goes back over it. Doing windows after siding means cutting the new siding back and the flashing is never as clean. Doing them years before means the siding installer has to work around a window that was flashed to the old siding. Same job, one visit.
Do you wrap the soffit and fascia when you side the house?
If you want it. Aluminum fascia wrap and vented aluminum soffit panels go on as their own line and finish the eaves to match the new siding. Rotted fascia board gets replaced first, not wrapped over. If the existing soffit and fascia are painted wood in good shape, you can leave them and paint later.
Can the windows have wide trim instead of J-channel?
Yes. Plain J-channel around a window is the vinyl look most people want to avoid. We can trim the windows and doors in a wide vinyl or aluminum-wrapped board, or in PVC trim, with the siding running into it. It costs more per opening and it is the single biggest thing that changes how a vinyl-sided house looks.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All siding pages
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