Replacing windows in your home can be a great option to reduce energy costs and to increase the resale value of your home. In older homes built before the 1950s, windows are often made of wood and single paned glass. These windows can be energy cost inefficient. Older windows do not have the ability to seal as well as new windows, and they are not made of glass capable to blocking and insulating your home correctly. These windows can literally let your hard earned money float out of your hands. However, replacing windows is rather easy. There are several advantages to window replacement, and things you should know before proceeding.

Checking for functionality is one of the first steps to take when replacing windows. The budget for your replacements will ultimately be the deciding factor for your project, but there are many variations in price and quality to examine before making your final selection. A good quality window can eliminate the need for storm windows if you live in an area with a frequency of storms, and a good window will also have features like an interior tilt to make cleaning easier. There are other ways to identify a good quality window as well.
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Summer is on its way. The snow has melted and spring cleaning has worked its magic on your garage. The time has finally come to consider a few larger, more involved home improvements. Although shiny new kitchens and freshly tiled bathrooms usually make it to the top of the honey-do list, consider the importance of an external face-lift for your home. Replacing your home’s siding and windows isn’t just a matter of improving its curb appeal. Your old siding and windows could be costing you a small fortune. Homes with energy inefficient windows have much higher energy costs in comparison to their modern counterparts. It is tempting when considering these two home improvement projects to pick just one. In reality, it may be in your best interest to go ahead and replace your windows at the same time as your siding.

Replacing a home’s siding usually goes hand in hand with replacing its windows. The most obvious reason for this pairing is that it is simply less work. Caulking and sealing projects of this size is no small task. If windows and siding are replaced simultaneously, this process need only happen once. In addition, trim and siding will often have to be adjusted to allow for new windows. As long as the existing siding and trim around the edge of the windows needs to be removed, you may as well take on a full siding replacement.
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Types of Siding for Houses

There are many types of siding for houses. Each type has advantages and disadvantages. You may have decided that your home has a rather shabby appearance, or you may be deciding what type of siding to use on your new home. Today, there are many types of siding materials available. Cost, appearance, durability and ease of maintenance are essential determining factors.
Esthetic appeal would probably be of paramount importance to most people, with ease of maintenance a close second. Choose carefully, as this is a decision you will live with for many years. If you are planning on selling, attractive siding can significantly improve the sale value.

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… you’ve asked and we’ve answered.

Short Answer: 100 Square Feet.

1 Square = 100 Sq.Ft.

Long Answer,  from our Square of Siding definition page:

Square: (house siding)

Abbreviation: SQ

A Square is a term that is used by Siding Contractors, Installers, Suppliers and Manufacturers that is short for 100 square feet of siding.

Not sure what a “Square Foot” is?
See our: definition of Square Feet.

“Square” Bullet Points:

• The terms “Square” and “Squares” are very common with Vinyl Siding professionals.
• Vinyl Siding is typically sold in 2 Square (SQ) boxes.
  • 2 SQ = 2 Square = 200 square feet.
• Vinyl Shake Siding is often sold in 1/3 Square or 1/2 Square boxes.
  • 1/3 SQ = 1/3 Square = 33.3 Square Feet
  • 1/2 SQ = 1/2 Square = 50.0 Square Feet

“Square” Examples in Communication: (continue reading…)

Siding Squares Calculator (screen shot)

We’ve created another useful siding calculator.  This one is for figuring out your Siding Squares.  See our Siding Squares Calculator at SquareFootage.org.
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Top Vinyl Siding Cities

Some of The Top Cities for Vinyl Siding may surprise you.

We ran the numbers, and plotted a map to show the cities with the highest number of vinyl siding estimate requests.  Of course ALL areas across the USA have requests for vinyl siding but if we plotted all of them on a map… you’d just have one big solid red map.  So to illustrate the most popular areas we applied a quantity & time frame threshold prior to plotting the map.

Here’s a short list of the Top 10 Cities for Vinyl Siding that  “frankly” surprised us (with links to the pages that generated them):

• Rockville Maryland
  • population: 61,209
  • Rockville, MD 20850
• Dayton Ohio
  • population: 166,179
  • Dayton, OH 45419
• Falls Church Virginia
  • population: 11,169
  • Falls Church, VA 22042
• Richmond Kentucky
  • population: 27,152
  • Richmond, KY 40475
• Mason Ohio
  • population: 22,019
  • Mason, OH 45040
• East Longmeadow Massachusetts
  • population: 15,720
  • East Longmeadow, MA 01028
• Cincinnati Ohio
  • population: 331,285
  • Cincinnati, OH 45255
• Sterling Virginia
  • population: 169,599
  • Sterling, VA 20164
• Westerly Rhode Island
  • population: 22,787
  • Westerly, RI 02891
• Stow Massachusetts
  • population: 7,083
  • Stow, MA 01775

It just goes to show, unless you crunch the numbers, you really just never know.  Vinyl Siding has been the #1 most requested and searched for siding for many years now and as you can see it’s #1 all across the US.

the Save On Siding™ system

Helping homeowners save on Vinyl Siding has always been one of our primary purposes for being online. NOW we have honed all of our knowledge, tools & inside information into an easy to follow system of 7 specific steps.

“If YOU were an ex-siding contractor, these are the exact steps you would take to save the most on siding… plus we give you additional inside information to ensure your success… I wanted to design a step by step procedure that anyone to could follow but was advanced enough to ensure that each potential siding consumer could shop like a pro and get the best deal possible for exactly what they want.”
~ Siding4u.com Founder, Robert Bury

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Top 10 States for Siding

by Estimates Requested for August 2011

1. Virginia
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. Ohio
5. Texas
6. New York
7. Florida
8. Pennsylvania
9. Washington
10. Michigan

Two things stand out when looking at this list of States:

• Where’s New Jersey?
  • In the past New Jersey has been a front runner for siding and it didn’t even make the Top 10 for August 2011.  That’s pretty shocking.
• WOW… Florida made the Top 10?
  • Florida has consistently been a pretty sparse state for siding for several years now.  HOWEVER Hurricane Irene and the previous storms have changed all that… for the time being anyhow.

The Siding Top 10

by Estimates Requested for August 2011

1. Vinyl Siding – Materials Only
2. Vinyl Siding – Full Install
3. Fiber Cement Siding – Full Install
4. Vinyl Shake Siding – Materials Only
5. Fiber Cement Siding – Materials Only
6. Vinyl Shake Siding – Full Install
7. Soffits
8. Vinyl Siding – Small Job
9. Soffits – Materials Only
10. Cedar Siding – Materials Only

Why is this Top 10 list important?

If you are a Homeowner
… this Top 10 illustrates what is “most popular” and while WE are not typically an advocate of “going with the crowd” it illustrates an important point – if you had a staff of 46,000 people and they were all given the task of researching the Best Siding available today… what would stand out head and shoulders above the rest?
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The answer will be unique to each individual, home and situation… BUT there are some common elements that will be found with ALL Top Notch Vinyl Siding Installs…

Unique Vinyl Siding Before and After

First of all, what is a Top Notch Vinyl Siding Installation?

• The vinyl siding LOOKS like wood.
  • That’s the whole point of vinyl siding… to look like wood BUT not require the constant upkeep that wood siding requires.
• The LINES are straight and clean looking.
  • Installing vinyl siding is like exterior finish carpentry.  It’s the installers job to make the home’s exterior look good and that includes making up for “rougher areas” in the home’s exterior.
• The installation lasts for at least the length of the product warranty and/or the installation’s warranty (which ever is longer).
  • Yes this is a bit of a no-brainer but it stands to mention that if an installation looks spectacular at first then after a few years it falls apart… well that definitely is not a “top notch” installation.
• The installation process was a painless and quick procedure.
  • A vinyl siding installation is a major renovation and as “major renovations” go – it can be a stressful event.  A “top notch” vinyl siding installation team will work hand-in-hand with the homeowners to: reduce any potentially stressful situations, keep the homeowners informed about the progress of the installation and make the siding install as quick of a process as possible while maintaining a superior degree of craftsmanship and professionalism.

To get a top rate vinyl siding installation it takes at least these three elements: