Thankful Sunday, June 28, 2020

I am thankful for old siding.

Our house is mostly brick, but has some vinyl siding as does the detached garage which serves as Ward's workshop. The siding was almost 30 years old when we moved in and was showing its age with cracks, holes, and fading colors. During the shutdown when we were spending all of our time at home, we decided that it was finally time to get it replaced.  We reasoned that we would be here to interact with the workers if needed and since all of the work would be outside, we wouldn't have to worry much about social distancing. We contacted our favorite contractor and then the fun began.

While they were removing the siding from the shop, they found extensive termite damage. So much so that entire parts of studs were eaten all the way through. It's a miracle that the shop hadn't fallen down.  Further investigation found active termites at both the shop and our house. Luckily, our house hadn't seen much damage yet. It took a lot more work than originally anticipated, but the termites were treated, the shop was rebuilt, and new siding was installed on both the shop and our house.

If we hadn't had old siding that needed replaced, we might not have found the termites until the walls actually fell down. So for the 30 year old siding that needed replaced, I am thankful.