Siding Repair and Hail Damage Restoration in Calgary

How These Systems Differ

Hail damage siding replacement covers walls hit by storms. Hail driven by wind strikes walls at an angle, and building scientists at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger note that softer, more brittle materials such as vinyl resist horizontally travelling hail less well than systems like stone, masonry or stucco. There is currently no industry-accepted hail resistance rating for wall coverings; UL 2218 and FM 4473 are roofing tests. After a storm the job is to document the damage, replace what is cracked, holed or split, and decide whether to put the same siding back or choose something that will handle the next storm better. Vinyl profiles and colours get discontinued, and weathered panels fade, so new panels may not match exactly.

Hardie board repair is a different trade skill. Fibre cement resists hail far better than vinyl, but very large hail, impacts and water can still crack, chip or damage planks and trim. James Hardie publishes a repair procedure, so replacing individual boards is a recognized method rather than a workaround. Small nicks in a ColorPlus finish are touched up sparingly with James Hardie’s touch-up applicator; larger areas are replaced. A new ColorPlus board may look slightly different beside a weathered wall, and sometimes repainting the elevation gives the better result.

Sheathing rot repair is the work behind the siding. Sheathing rot is almost always a water problem: a missing kickout flashing, a failed window flashing, a stone base buried in landscaping. The fix is to open the wall, cut out soft OSB or plywood, replace it, and correct the detail that let water in, not just the board. Commercial and multi-family siding brings the same repairs to condos, townhouse complexes and small commercial buildings, where phasing, resident notices and the corporation’s reserve fund study shape the scope, and James Hardie cladding on buildings over 12 m high, or outside Part 9, needs a cladding design from a professional engineer.