During our time working for James Hardie Canada, we were Alberta’s first point of contact for homeowners stuck in a nightmare Hardie siding renovation. Over the years, we became frustrated with almost every siding contractor in Edmonton for what we felt were poorly thought-out practices that left homeowners in the dark and increased their stress at every point of the project.
Here are the most common ways that a siding renovation project can go sideways, and what we do to make sure that we can minimize project hiccups:
1. Poor Communication
By far the most common complaint about the contracting industry as a whole (not just siding contractors) is communication. For the most part, contractors don’t do a good enough job of keeping their customers informed about the status of their projects.
This leaves people feeling lost, often before the project even starts. When you sign a contract (or maybe pay up to a 50% deposit on a siding project) but then don’t hear from your contractor for 2 or 3 months, that can cause quite a bit of stress before the project even starts. Unfortunately, this is all too common.
The communication problem typically gets worse the larger the company gets. More projects means more customers, which means more questions and chances for miscommunication to crop up. Just one simple mix-up on a Hardie siding package (like the texture of the planks) could lead to a delay of anywhere from 1 day to 6 weeks.
There’s an old saying that “when someone shows you who they are, believe them.” The quoting process gives homeowners plenty of opportunities to test out how a contractor communicates. Is the contractor on time for meetings? Do they answer the phone when you call, or call back promptly after a voicemail? Did their quote meet the scope of work you went over in your meeting, or did they miss a bunch of details?
Anyone can have a bad day or make a mistake, but if a contractor is showing you more than one of these traits before you’ve even selected them for the job, you should expect communication to be an issue throughout the process.
Think of it this way: submitting a quote should be the easy part. If a contractor doesn’t meet your expectations at this stage, they probably aren’t a fit for your project.
2. Contractor Works Mostly for Builders
Almost every siding contractor in Edmonton gets the majority of their work from home building companies working on new houses. You should know that managing a project in new construction is extremely different from a siding renovation. For example:
The homeowners are not present during most new construction projects, so contractors come and go as they please with no concern for anyone else’s schedule.
As we’ll cover below, siding details for new builds are much easier to execute and don’t require much creativity.
In new construction, houses come to the contractors designed, specified, and ready to go. New construction contractors have less experience with helping homeowners create their own unique design.
New construction contractors are used to being accountable to customers that complete somewhere between 30 and 300 siding projects per year. Their typical customer has a very good understanding of how a siding project works, and they don’t usually have too many questions.
Since most of their work comes from a few massive customers, new construction contractors have to give those customers top priority. And if there are payment issues from just one customer, the contractor can be put in a difficult financial situation.
It’s not that these contractors are bad people or run bad businesses. In fact, after many years in the industry several of these contractors are our good friends. The reason that most siding companies in Edmonton (even big contractors that have been around for decades) fail at homeowner directed renovations is that their business isn’t designed to manage them.
If you choose a contractor who mostly works for homebuilders, know that you are choosing to work with someone who won’t think of your project as a priority. They might say all the right things when you ask them directly, but when push comes to shove, their bigger customers will get the most attention.
3. Poor Installation
The quality of a siding installation will mostly be impacted by three factors: workmanship, details, and materials.
Workmanship: In any trade, there will be great installers, decent installers, and poor installers. It goes without saying that great tradespeople usually deliver great results.
Details: A siding renovation can be ruined by a few seemingly small details. In new construction, a siding contractor might work on 100 consecutive houses with the same basic details. Once a home has been lived in for 30 to 80 years, the exterior tends to… “evolve”. A vent here, a utility conduit there, fence-posts, decks, gazebos, awnings, and the list goes on. If accessories aren’t integrated properly, the whole project looks sloppy.
Materials: If the siding contractor brings the wrong materials and accessories to the installer, bad things happen. Project delays, grumpy installers, and details just not looking quite right are all likely outcomes.
Before hiring a contractor, make sure to visit at a few of their finished siding renovation projects. Not a new home, not an infill build, and not something that was overseen by a general contractor. You’ll of course want to respect the property of whoever’s home you’re at, but try and pay special attention to how they finished around lights, steps, utilities, and any other unique areas.
4. Poor Contractor Business Practices
When discussing “bad contractors”, most people will right away think of the stereotypical horror stories: contractors disappearing after taking deposits, playing bait-and-switch with materials, stretching completion out over months, and countless other examples.
We won’t waste a ton of space here telling fear-mongering stories about worst-case scenarios when hiring a contractor, but it is a real risk to keep in mind. That’s why exterior contractors as an industry rank among the top of BBB complaints every year.
The absolute best protection for consumers from contractor fraud is to do business with companies who are licensed as pre-paid contractors by the Government of Alberta. Licensed pre-paid contractors have had their contracts reviewed by Service Alberta to ensure that they comply with Alberta’s Consumer Protection Act.
They are also security bonded by the Government, and in case of fraud or negligence that bond can help offset financial losses for the customer. To put it simply, doing business with a non pre-paid contractor puts consumers at risk.
(Keep in mind that consumers who sign a contract in a company’s office or showroom may not be protected by some of the provisions in the Consumer Protection Act.)
You can search to see if your contractor is licensed here (link will open in a new window): https://www.servicealberta.ca/find-if-business-is-licenced.cfm
5. Contractor Does Renovations, But Mostly something other than siding
There are lots of great roofing contractors in Edmonton. There are lots of great window contractors in Edmonton too. Many of them also “offer” siding services.
The same way that our company doesn’t specialize in roofing or windows, most of these “and siding” companies don’t have much siding expertise. This can lead to inaccurate estimates and cost overruns, missing details and accessories, and installations that don’t meet manufacturer standards.
Over the years, many other contractors have told us that siding replacement is the most complicated of the big three exterior scopes. The same way you want to find a contractor that focuses on renovations, you want to find a contractor that focuses on siding renovations specifically.
Renovations are complicated, and even the best companies in the industry have to deal with some hiccups throughout a project. Protect yourself and your investment by choosing a contractor that is licensed, uses formal contracts, and understands and specializes in the scope of work you’re considering.
If you think Blue Jay might be a good fit for you, reach out to us. We can discuss your project in detail, and if we aren’t a fit we’ll gladly point you to a contractor better suited to your particular needs. If you’d like to see some of the work we do, check out our project page here, or learn more about siding in general via our Homeowner’s Guide to Siding.