Siding installation

What 35 Years of Installing Siding Across the Midwest Has Taught Us

from the HANSONS Home Improvement Team

Over 35 years and more than 300,000 customers across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, you learn things about exterior siding that no color swatch or showroom sample will tell you.

You learn that siding fails from the outside in — and usually not from a single dramatic event, but from years of incremental stress that hollow vinyl panels simply aren’t built to absorb. A Nebraska derecho. A Michigan winter that contracts and expands siding panels fifty times before spring. An Ohio summer where direct western sun hits the same side of a house day after day for thirty years.

Here is what that experience has shaped about how we think about siding installation.

The Midwest and Mountain states test siding harder than almost anywhere in the country

Iowa and Nebraska sit in one of the most wind-active corridors on the continent. Derecho events — straight-line wind storms that can sustain 100+ MPH — are a regular occurrence. Standard hollow vinyl siding rated to 90 MPH is not a question of if it fails in these markets — it’s when. Our Smart Choice Series is rated to 160 MPH. Our Premium Series to 180 MPH. Those numbers exist because the weather in our service area demands them.

Standard vinyl becomes brittle under prolonged UV exposure and cracks on impact. Our composite Premium Series — made from a glass fiber and polymer mixture — maintains structural integrity under both conditions significantly better than vinyl alternatives. Michigan and Ohio’s freeze-thaw cycles create expansion and contraction stress that hollow vinyl panels handle poorly over time: buckling, waving, and nail-hem cracking are the common failure modes. Fully reinforced panels with factory-bonded insulation resist all three.

Insulation changes the math on energy performance

Standard hollow vinyl siding provides essentially no thermal resistance — the R-value is negligible. Our Smart Choice Series achieves R-4.0 through factory-bonded insulation that fills the entire panel cavity. That means the insulation is part of the panel, not a separate layer added during installation. It eliminates the thermal bridging that happens when insulation boards are installed separately around studs. In markets where heating and cooling represent a significant portion of a homeowner’s annual costs — which describes every state we serve — that R-value difference translates to real monthly savings.

A common question: why does Premium Series list R-2.0 when Smart Choice lists R-4.0? The composite glass and polymer material in the Premium Series is denser and more rigid than the foam-insulated vinyl in Smart Choice. That structural rigidity is why it achieves 180 MPH wind resistance and maximum impact resistance — but the material itself is thinner, so the R-value is lower. Both series far outperform standard vinyl. The choice depends on whether energy efficiency or structural performance is the higher priority for a given home.

The installation determines how long everything holds

Siding installation failures are almost never product failures — they’re installation failures. Improperly flashed windows, siding run too tight at corners, panels installed without appropriate expansion gaps for seasonal movement: these are the issues that cause problems five years after a job that looked perfect on day one.

Our crews are trained on the specific products we sell, which means they know the expansion tolerances, the flashing requirements, and the corner and trim details that determine whether a siding installation holds for thirty years or starts showing problems in five.

What Happens When We Install Your Siding

Here is exactly what the process looks like from estimate to final cleanup.

Step 1 — Your free in-home estimate

A Certified Home Improvement Expert comes to your home, walks the exterior, and walks you through our three siding product lines in person. You’ll see material samples, get energy performance data for each option, and receive a complete written estimate before we leave.

Step 2 — Materials delivered to your home

Your siding materials will be delivered before installation begins — typically placed in the driveway or yard as out of the way as possible. We don’t have exact delivery windows from our suppliers, so materials may arrive any time between your purchase date and installation day.

Step 3 — Confirmation and day-of communication

You’ll receive a confirmation call or text the day before installation begins. The morning of your appointment, your Project Coordinator will contact you to walk through what to expect and answer any questions.

Before installation day, here’s what to prepare:

• A dumpster may be delivered for project debris — move cars from the driveway and garage the night before. If you’d prefer a different dumpster placement, let us know in advance.
• Remove items on interior walls near the work area that may fall due to vibrations from the installation.
• Move patio furniture, grills, and anything close to the home’s exterior away from the work area.
• Leave a porch light on if you have no exterior power outlet — our crew can use an adapter.

Step 4 — Professional installation

Our crews remove existing siding, inspect the sheathing underneath, and address any moisture barrier or wrap requirements before the new siding goes on. Every panel, trim piece, corner, and flashing detail is installed to manufacturer specifications. We don’t cut corners on the details that determine whether a siding installation holds for decades.

All installations are weather-dependent. Wind, rain, snow, or severe temperatures can require postponement. We make that call on the morning of your installation and contact you right away.

Step 5 — Cleanup and walkthrough

We clean up the work site when installation is complete. Before we leave, your Project Coordinator walks you through the finished installation and your Lifetime Guarantee coverage.

How Much Does New Siding Cost? What Homeowners in Our Service Area Actually Pay

Siding is priced by the square — 100 square feet of wall surface. Here is how the cost breaks down for a typical whole-home project.

What drives the cost

Home size and complexity. The square footage of your exterior walls — minus windows and doors — determines the base material and labor cost. Homes with complex trim details, multiple stories, or significant architectural features require more labor time.

Product series. Classic, Smart Choice, and Premium represent meaningfully different material quality, energy performance, and warranty protection. The right choice depends on your climate, your goals, and how long you plan to stay in the home.

Substrate condition. If we find damaged sheathing or moisture barrier issues under the old siding, repairs are necessary before the new product goes on. We assess this during installation and communicate before proceeding.

Ballpark investment by product series

These ranges reflect typical whole-home projects across our service area. Your free estimate gives you an exact number.

Financing available

We offer GreenSky financing including 12-month no-interest, no-payment plans for qualified applicants. Your estimator walks you through all options at your free in-home appointment.

Siding Installation Across Six States — Find Your Local HANSONS Team

We understand what your home’s exterior is up against — whether that’s a derecho in Iowa or thirty winters of freeze-thaw cycles in Michigan and Ohio. Our siding product lines are engineered for these conditions. Our installation teams are trained on them.

Not sure which location serves your area? Call us 24/7 at 1-800-426-7667 or get a free estimate online.

Find your HANSONS location:

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Saginaw, Michigan

Toledo, Ohio

Evansville, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Omaha, Nebraska

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa

South Dakota