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Questions
What is composite wood siding?
Do I have a problem with my siding?
Why must I deal with this problem now?
How does the Class Action reimbursement process work?
What services does Siding Claims Center provide?
How much do you charge for your services?
What if my siding is not involved in a Class-Action?
What is OSB siding? (Oriented Strand Board)
Why does composite wood siding fail?
If you own a home that was built between 1990 and 1997, and have damaged siding, you may qualify. If you previously owned a home during this time period and spent money to replace the siding, you may qualify for reimbursement.
What is composite wood siding?
Most people refer to this siding as fake wood or composite wood. The siding is man-made, utilizing various combinations of wood chips and glue, manufactured to resemble real wood. Some wood chips are large while some are very fine grained, overlaid with very thin laminate to give a "real wood" look on the surface. These products come in lap and panel siding. Lap siding runs horizontally, and each board laps over the other. Panel siding is a 4x8 or 4x9 sheet of paneling.
Click on the links below to view a photo of the two major styles of composite wood siding. Lap Siding Panel Siding
Do I have a problem with my siding?
If you are not having problems now, there is a high probability damage will appear in the near future. The question is not if your composite wood siding will go bad, the question is when. Qualifying damage may not be visible to the untrained eye.
Most homeowners don't think they have a problem because they haven't taken the time to carefully examine their siding properly. In our experience, if a home is more than 5 years old, and the siding is made by one of the companies involved in the class-action, you have a problem. These siding products tend to buckle and deteriorate prematurely, and delaminate, swell and harbor fungus.
Click on the links below to view photos of the different types of damage. Remember some of these photos are shown in very advanced stages of deterioration. Your siding does not have to look as bad as the photo examples in order to qualify for compensation. The damage must only meet the minimum threshold set by court approved protocols.
Take the time to go through the following checklist:
Compare weather-exposed pieces of siding to unexposed, undamaged pieces of siding, for example, choose a board that is under an overhang.
Look at the drip edge (the bottom edge of the siding). Is the drip edge swelling or cracking? View an example
Look for swelling and peeling at the joints where boards are joined together. View an example
Does the siding swell around the nail heads to the extent that the nails look sunk in? View an example
Are any pieces of the siding deteriorating? Pay close attention to boards that are closest to the ground. View an example
Do the boards buckle and appear to be warped? View an example
Is there fungal growth on the drip edge of the siding? View an example
Is your paint peeling and flaking and is it difficult to get paint to stick to your siding? View an example
Note: Boards close to the ground and boards installed on chimneys are the first to become damaged. Look there first.
Why must I deal with this problem now?
It could cause subsequent damage to other products on your home such as wall and roof sheathing, and other interior products.
You must file a claim within the filing deadlines. Some class actions have more than one deadline pertaining to each of their products.
You could have a problem selling your home in the future. Most new homebuyers are becoming increasingly sophisticated when it comes to purchase decisions. They do their own research and will discover that this product exists on your home.
You will need this money to help defray the cost of repairing or replacing your problem siding.
Disclosure is becoming a serious issue with the sale of homes. You may be held legally accountable for not disclosing this problem to a potential buyer.
How does the Class Action reimbursement process work?
Each settlement has a different set of requirements. Most settlements require, but are not limited to the following:
Submittal of samples of product from each structure to prove the product exists on the property.
Documentation to prove ownership of the subject property.
Claim forms must be filled out for each structure.
Once the sample of your siding and paperwork is approved by the claims administrator, a court appointed inspector will inspect your siding and determine how much damage you have.
You will then be paid a depreciated amount based on the square footage of damaged siding.
What services does Siding Claims Center provide?
We come to your property, and if appropriate, help you complete all necessary claims forms.
If the siding is involved in an ongoing class-action lawsuit, we will handle the claims process for you.
We will meet with the third-party inspection representative, if necessary.
We will review your settlement to make sure it accurately reflects your damage and that the settlement protocols were correctly interpreted.
Siding Claims Center creates and maintains a database for future and subsequent claims.
How much do you charge for your services?
Our service is guaranteed and fees are based solely on a percentage of the settlement we recover for you. Our guarantee is simple, when you are awarded a settlement then we are paid. If for some reason we do not recover a settlement, there is never a charge for our services. There are never any hidden charges or up-front fees for our service.
What if my siding is not involved in a Class Action?
If your siding is not involved in a class action reimbursement program, you may be able to file a warranty claim with the manufacturer of your siding. Presently, there are several pending state and national class action lawsuits. We will notify you when the parties have reached a settlement and the claims reimbursement process is in place.
Hardboard siding is fine-grained sawdust and wood waste product combined with resins using high heat and pressure.
Although this material has been manufactured since the 1940’s, the bulk of the material was installed on properties from 1980 to 1998. These properties include, apartments, townhomes, condominiums, manufactured homes and single-family homes. Most manufacturers have discontinued manufacturing hardboard siding. Most recently was the Masonite corporation in March of 2001.
View an example of hardboard pattern View an example of smooth hardboard
(Oriented Strand Board) OSB or Oriented Strand Board is a wood panel manufactured with strands of wood layered to increase strength and stability. The strands are coated with a special binder, arranged into layers, then bounded under extreme heat and pressure. Some OSB siding products have a thin paper layer laminated on the surface.
Both OSB and hardboard sidings are among the least expensive siding options.
View an example of OSB siding
Why does composite wood siding fail?
Several factors contribute to the failure of composite wood siding: the performace of the product itself, the quality of its installation, and/or the design of the sturcture. Composite siding does not handle water very well. Water droplets collect on the bottom edge of the siding after a rain shower or morning dew. The wood fibers expand and contract causing the boards to crack, buckle, peel and delaminate. As the paint cracks it allows more moisture and damage to occur. Fungi and bacteria are also attracted to wet wood.
Many new homes lack sufficient gutters and overhangs. Most homes are not painted using the recommended number of coats of paint. Homes today are sprayed with machines and the bottom edge of the boards are not properly protected.
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© Siding Claims Center, 2005
