New siding going on over housewrap on a Long Island house

Alec's Construction replaces and repairs siding in Huntington, Suffolk County — vinyl, fibre cement and cedar, with the housewrap, flashing and sheathing repair behind it — working out of the yard in East Patchogue. Siding runs through our winter on the days above freezing, and fibre cement and cedar do not mind the cold at all.

Siding in Huntington

Huntington's siding stock is the widest on our board — cedar shingle on the village-core houses and the North Shore-style houses on the hills, clapboard on the older colonials, and vinyl and aluminum on the post-war streets. Cedar is the Huntington question: it is beautiful, it is what the older houses were built with, and it needs maintenance that a lot of owners have deferred. The choice between repairing the cedar, replacing it in kind, and going to fibre cement that looks like it is a Huntington conversation more than anywhere else.

The Wall Behind the Siding Is the Job

Siding is a rain screen. Water gets behind every kind of siding there is — wind-driven, capillary, at every joint and every opening — and what keeps the wall dry is the water-resistive barrier behind it and the way the windows and doors are flashed into that barrier. On houses sided before the 1990s there is frequently nothing back there but building paper that failed decades ago, or bare sheathing.

A re-side is the one time the wall is open. The sheathing gets inspected and repaired where it is soft, a proper housewrap goes on, the openings get flashed in the right order — sill pan, jambs, head — and the siding goes on top as the finish. Skipping that to save a day is how a new siding job rots the wall behind it.

Contractor sealing an exterior joint on an older Long Island house in winter

Materials, Honestly

  • Vinyl — least cost, no maintenance, installed loose to move with temperature. Brittle in the cold, so winter installs are done with care and not on the coldest days.
  • Fibre cement — holds a crisp edge and a painted finish, takes a colour change later, does not chalk or corrode. Reads as wood from the street. Fine in any weather.
  • Cedar — what the older houses were built with. Beautiful, and it needs the maintenance it was always going to need. Repair in kind where it is mostly sound.

Permits in Huntington

The Town of Huntington requires plans sealed by a licensed architect or professional engineer for alterations costing more than ten thousand dollars, and the filing package runs to notarised applications, surveys, drawing sets and a workers compensation certificate. Siding replacement in kind is usually maintenance; where sheathing is replaced or openings change, it becomes permitted work, and we file.

Free walkthrough in Huntington. Alex looks at every elevation, probes the soft spots, photographs the openings, and you get a written scope and the photographs whether or not you hire us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I keep the cedar shingles on my Huntington house?

If the house was built with them and most of them are sound, yes — cedar shingle that is properly maintained lasts a very long time, and it suits the older Huntington houses in a way nothing else does. Where the shingles are cupped, split and rotting at the butts, replacement in kind is one route and fibre cement shingle that mimics cedar is the other. The honest answer depends on the condition and the house. We will tell you which on the walkthrough, and we will say if repair is the right call rather than replacement.

Can you match the existing siding for a repair?

Sometimes. Vinyl profiles and colours are discontinued constantly, and a patch in a colour that has faded for twenty years will show. Where a match is not possible we side the whole elevation so the seam is at a corner, which is invisible. We tell you which it is going to be before we start.

Can siding be installed in winter?

Yes, on the days that allow it. Fibre cement and cedar do not care about the cold. Vinyl gets brittle below about 40°F and has to be cut and nailed with more care — it is installed loose to move with temperature, and a cold-day install has to leave the right gap so it does not buckle in July. We work the winter calendar around the forecast and we do not hang vinyl on the coldest days.

What is behind the siding that matters?

The housewrap and the flashing. The siding is a rain screen — water gets behind every siding there is — and what keeps the wall dry is a continuous water-resistive barrier with the windows and doors flashed into it in the right order. On houses sided before the 1990s there is often nothing back there. A re-side is the one chance to fix that, and it is where the money should go first.

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Work With Alec's Construction

This guide is written by the crew that does the work. See Alec's Siding service — James Hardie, vinyl and cedar with the rot behind it repaired first. Licensed and insured on Long Island, one crew start to finish, free walkthrough and a written estimate inside 48 hours.

Booking the cold months now: we also handle Roofing and Painting.

Get a Free Estimate from Alec's Construction

Working across Suffolk County since 2018, one crew from start to finish. We come out, look at the actual job, and put a written number in your hand — no pressure, no obligation.

Or call (631) 312-7441

No cost, no obligation. We reply the same day.