Photograph every wall, gather the pieces, and check whether the wall behind is exposed. If bare sheathing or torn house wrap is showing and rain is coming, get it covered the same day. Then call your insurer and a siding contractor.
Get My Free Estimate →When wind tears siding off your house, the first job is protecting the wall behind it. The second is finding out why those panels let go, because siding that blows off once tends to blow off again.
Most blown-off siding is repaired panel by panel, provided rain does not reach the wall first. Buckshot repairs siding in Madison and across Dane County from our office on North Sherman Avenue, and this guide covers the first day, the insurance claim and the repair.
What to do in the first hours
- Stay safe. Wait for the wind to drop before going outside, and stay off ladders. A loose panel flapping in a gust can tear free without warning.
- Photograph everything. Take wide shots of each wall and close-ups of every gap, loose panel and piece on the ground before anything is moved. Our guide to documenting storm damage explains what adjusters look for.
- Collect the pieces. Gather blown-off panels and trim from the yard, the shrubs and the neighbors' lots. They help match the color and profile, and they show your insurer what came off.
- Check what is exposed. House wrap in good shape protects the wall for a short time. Bare sheathing, torn wrap or open framing needs cover before the next rain.
- Get the wall covered. If sheathing is exposed and rain is coming, call our 24/7 storm line at (608) 909-9109. Our crews tarp and board up storm openings, and that cost usually becomes part of the claim.
- Check inside. Look for damp drywall, stains or bubbling paint on the inside of the damaged wall, especially below windows.
Wind that strips siding often lifts shingles and loosens soffit panels in the same storm. Our guides to checking a Madison roof for wind damage and sagging soffit cover what to look for.
Why vinyl siding blows off
Vinyl siding hangs on nails along its top edge and locks into the panel below along its bottom edge. Wind moving across a wall pulls outward on the panels, and a panel lets go when its lock pops open or its nails pull loose.
Vinyl siding is tested for wind under the industry standard ASTM D3679. That rating holds only when panels are fastened the way the maker's instructions specify, so siding that blows off in an ordinary storm often points to how it was hung.
| What you see | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Whole panels gone, nail hem torn or nails pulled | Nails too far apart, or missing solid wood behind |
| Panels unzipped along the bottom edge | Panels never fully locked into the course below |
| Wavy or buckled panels beside the gap | Nails driven tight, so the panels strained against them |
| Cracked or shattered pieces | Old, brittle vinyl that broke instead of flexing |
| Corner posts, J-channel or trim missing | Loose trim that let wind get under the panels |
Our guide to signs of bad siding installation covers the nailing rules, and our siding storm damage guide shows how wind damage differs from hail.
Why the same siding keeps blowing off
Siding that comes off the same wall in storm after storm has a cause on that wall. Snapping the old panels back into place without fixing the nailing sets up the next blow-off.
Exposed walls take the most wind. Gable ends, upper stories, corners and walls facing open ground or one of Madison's lakes catch gusts first, so loose nailing shows up there first.
Panels that rattle in the wind are loose, and our guide to vinyl siding making noise explains how to find them. Vinyl also grows brittle with age and in cold weather, as our guides to how long siding lasts and vinyl siding cracking in the cold explain.
Is blown-off siding covered by insurance?
Wind is a covered cause of damage under most standard homeowners policies, so siding torn off in a storm is usually part of a claim. Some policies carry a separate wind and hail deductible set as a percentage of the home's insured value, which can exceed the repair.
Matching is the usual sticking point. If the old color or profile is discontinued, a patch on one wall can look different from the rest, and our guide on whether insurance replaces all the siding explains how that is handled.
Report wind damage promptly and keep your photos and receipts. Our siding storm damage team documents every loose and missing panel and adds it to the same claim as any roof damage, and for Madison storm claims we meet the adjuster at the house.
Siding gone after the last storm? Our siding inspection is free, with photos of every wall for your insurer. Call (608) 909-9109 to schedule it.
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How blown-off siding is repaired
- Open the wall. A siding unlocking tool releases the course above the gap, so the damaged area can be reached without breaking more panels.
- Check behind it. Torn house wrap is patched or replaced, and wet or damaged sheathing is repaired before any siding goes back.
- Re-hang loose panels. Panels that came loose but did not break are refastened into solid wood, with nails centered in the slots and spaced as the maker requires.
- Replace what broke. Cracked or lost panels are replaced with the closest match. When a color is discontinued, one common approach moves panels from a less visible wall and puts the new color there.
- Secure the trim. Corner posts, J-channel and starter strip are refastened or replaced, because loose trim is where wind gets under the panels.
- Test the neighbors. Panels on both sides of the gap are checked for loose nailing, since a wall hung loose in one spot is often loose along the whole run.
When panels are loose on every wall or the vinyl is brittle with age, repairs keep coming back. In that case a siding replacement can be the better value, and our Madison fiber cement guide compares a heavier option.
Repairs can go ahead in cold weather with extra care, because cold vinyl cracks if it is forced. Our guide to siding work in winter explains how crews handle it.
Get your siding repaired
Buckshot Exteriors is family-owned, has served homeowners since 1979, and is headquartered on North Sherman Avenue in Madison. Our own crews repair, re-hang and replace siding across Madison and Dane County, and we match existing siding where we can.
Call (608) 909-9109 to schedule a free siding repair inspection, or send us a message and we will set a time. If the wall is open and rain is coming, call the same number any time, day or night.
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