Siding Contractor in Chamblee, GA for Rot-Free, Storm-Ready Homes

This is decay in the plywood or board sheathing and the bottom framing (sill plate) behind your siding. It usually starts where water gets past failed flashing or caulk and can't dry out. From the outside, the siding may look fine while the structure behind it softens.

Many 1950s–70s Chamblee homes were built without house wrap or proper flashing at windows and doors. Add 50 inches of yearly rain, wind-driven summer storms and shade from mature oaks, and walls stay damp for long stretches. Red clay splash-back and low siding-to-grade clearance hold moisture right against the sill plate. Clogged gutters overflow down the wall. On older ranches, we often don't find the full extent of the damage until the old siding comes off.

• Soft or spongy spots when you press on lower siding
• Paint bubbling or peeling around window sills
• Musty smell in closets on exterior walls
• Siding pulling away or bowing near the foundation
• Red clay staining on the first two courses
• Termite mud tubes near the slab or crawlspace

We see it most on rear and north walls in Huntley Hills and Sexton Woods, under window sills on split-levels in Tucker and Lilburn, and on homes on sloped lots where downhill walls sit close to the soil.

Remove the siding in the affected area, cut out and replace the rotted sheathing and framing, install house wrap and flashing, and re-side with proper ground clearance.

Hardboard, including recalled Masonite and LP-type composites, is a pressed wood-fiber product. Once water gets past the paint, especially at nail holes and bottom edges, it swells, flakes apart and loses its strength. Paint can't fix it once that starts.

Builders used a lot of hardboard across north DeKalb and Gwinnett from the 1970s through the 1990s. The material holds up poorly in long humid stretches, and the drip edges on our wet, shaded walls never fully dry. Each freeze-thaw cycle opens the swollen edges a little more. Many of these homes have been painted over and over to hide the damage, which traps more moisture.

• Bottom edges of boards puffy or 'mushroomed'
• Flaking layers or exposed fibers
• Popped nail heads with rust rings
• Waviness along long walls
• Paint failing within 2–3 years of a repaint

It's common on 1970s–80s colonials and contemporaries in Dunwoody's Georgetown, Peachtree Corners and Sandy Springs, and on later additions and rear walls of Chamblee and Doraville ranches.

Replace the hardboard wall by wall or across the whole house, usually with fiber cement or engineered wood, and repair any sheathing damage we find underneath.

Vinyl from the 1980s and 1990s loses its flexibility as UV breaks down the PVC. It chalks, fades unevenly and cracks under impact. Panels also come unlocked in high wind.

Chamblee's strong summer UV slowly degrades older vinyl, and winter lows in the 30s make it brittle enough that a hailstone, a mower-thrown rock or a falling limb can shatter it. Thunderstorm gusts get under loose panels and tear them off. Darker colors can warp when sunlight reflects onto them from a neighbor's low-E windows, which happens a lot with tight infill setbacks.

• Chalky residue on your hand
• Cracks or holes, especially on lower courses
• Panels rattling or unlocked after storms
• Wavy or melted-looking sections
• Sun-facing walls a different color than shaded ones

We see it constantly on re-sided ranches in Keswick Park, Tucker, Stone Mountain and Clarkston, and on Doraville homes next to new two-story infill that reflects sunlight onto them.

Replace the panels if a matching profile and color is still available. For widespread brittleness or discontinued colors, a full re-side is usually the better value.

This is impact and wind-uplift damage from severe thunderstorms: cracked or missing vinyl, dented aluminum, chipped fiber cement and torn trim. Even when it looks cosmetic, it can let water into the wall.

Metro Atlanta gets spring hail and summer straight-line winds every year, and north DeKalb's mature oaks and pines drop limbs onto houses during these storms. Older aluminum dents easily, and aged vinyl cracks instead of flexing. Insurance claims are hard to navigate because adjusters want documentation, and discontinued siding colors complicate partial-repair settlements.

• Round dents or chips on the windward side
• Cracked or missing panels after a storm
• Spatter marks on painted trim
• Dented gutters and downspouts
• Displaced J-channel around windows

It tends to come in clusters after spring storm lines. Neighborhoods with big tree canopy like Murphey Candler, Ashford Park and Smoke Rise see the most limb damage.

Cover openings right away. Then we document the damage with photos and measurements for your claim, match or replace the siding, and repair the wrap and flashing underneath.

This is decay in the wood boards around the roofline, windows and corners. It usually starts where paint has failed or where gutters overflow. Once it begins, it can let in water, squirrels and carpenter bees.

Gutters under oaks and pines fill fast, and overflow soaks the fascia and soffit for most of the year. Most original trim on 1950s–70s homes is untreated pine. High humidity keeps it damp, and carpenter bees and woodpeckers go after the softened wood. Subterranean termites, including Formosan pressure in the region, attack trim near the ground.

• Peeling paint on fascia boards
• Soft wood at corner boards or window casings
• Sagging or stained soffit panels
• Carpenter bee holes or woodpecker damage
• Gutters pulling away from the fascia

It shows up most under heavy canopy along the Clairmont Road corridor, on Drew Valley ranches, and on north-facing eaves in Northlake-area split-levels.

Replace rotted trim with PVC, fiber cement or primed wood. Install vented aluminum or fiber cement soffits. We can rehang or upgrade the gutters in the same visit.

Some homes built before 1980 have cement shingle siding that contains asbestos. It's stable while intact, but cracking, drilling or careless removal can release fibers, so it has to be handled correctly.

Asbestos-cement shingles were a common cladding choice during the post-war building boom that produced much of Chamblee, Doraville and Scottdale. Decades of freeze-thaw cycles and storm impacts have cracked and chipped many of them. Owners who want to re-side often don't know what they have. Since these homes are also pre-1978, lead paint on the trim is a second concern.

• Rigid, flat shingles with a dimpled or wavy texture
• Uniform 12×24-inch shingle size
• Corners chipped or broken
• Nailed through the face near the bottom edge
• Original to a 1940s–60s home

We find it on early post-war cottages near Old Town Norcross and Scottdale, and on modest original homes scattered through Chamblee and Belvedere Park.

Have the material tested first. Then plan a compliant removal and replace it with fiber cement or vinyl, with lead-safe practices for any painted trim.

This is weathering, rot and paint failure on original old-growth wood siding on early-20th-century homes. Historic district rules usually require repair with matching wood instead of replacement with modern materials.

Bungalows, Craftsman homes and Tudors in Decatur, Druid Hills and Avondale Estates have siding that's 80 to 100 years old. The old-growth wood is durable, but a century of humid summers, failing paint and canopy shade wears down the vulnerable spots. Preservation boards usually want repair in kind, which means matching exposure, profile and species.

• Cupped or split clapboards
• Paint failing down to bare wood
• Rot at the bottoms of corner boards
• Missing or broken shingles on gables
• Gaps at window casings

It's most common in the Druid Hills Historic District, Oakhurst in Decatur, and Avondale Estates' Tudor-style blocks, where a Certificate of Appropriateness is often required.

Selectively replace damaged boards with matching wood profiles, use epoxy consolidation where it makes sense, and prime and paint. We support you through the preservation review.