Spray on Siding

By
©1993-2012 Tim Carter

        
Summary: Spray on siding is often purchased by people who want to stop painting their homes. But the spray-on siding coating homeowners get is often different from what the salesperson promised. All too often the salesperson makes promises that are never written down or communicated to the workmen who apply the coating.

The following is an email I received from a homeowner who stumbled across my Liquid Siding column after he had a miserable experience with a company that made promises that they did not keep. It seems the only thing they kept was the money they got from the salvage yard for Ted's gorgeous copper gutters!


DEAR TIM: I just read the articles on your site about the spray on siding. I too consider myself a victim of the spray on siding. I went through a lot of pain to make sure what they were telling me was true. I met with the salesperson 3 times to convince myself that I would not have to paint again, at least not for 25 years as they would guarantee. I also took a look at a house they said they painted with the system and although it was rough looking, I justified that by it being an old house.

Since my house was only 10 years old with an already smooth painted finish, I assumed it would stay smooth and look like the painted sample the salesperson carries with him to show what the finished product will look like.

My concerns started when it took so long to start the job after paying a 10% deposit. My first concern was finding that the company does not do the work but subs it out to (in my opinion, to anyone) after seeing the crew sent to my house. There was one fairly nice looking young man who was in charge. He had two helpers who seemed to have just arrived in the USA. The one in charge (OIC) said he had been doing this for three months and today was the first time for the helpers. The OIC said this as he showed me the equipment he had just purchased to work with.

My second concern was watching him power wash from 20 feet away (not much power left for cleaning from that distance). Back to the sales pitch, I expected the power washing to take place, drying for a day or so and then sanding and prep work but I guess it is faster to do it all at once. I let that go on but had to say something when they were sanding the top of our columns while spraying at the bottom of the same column. Over the course of the work it was not unusual to for them do two or three things at the same time on the same piece of wood. I questioned the OIC and in his broken accent tried to make me believe that when it is finished it will be right.

When the salesperson was in my house, I took pains to explain about my copper gutters. These special gutters can be removed from the cradles to avoid damage. I have a written note from the salesperson that the gutters would be removed and replaced so to paint behind them.

Can you imaging me looking over the deck one afternoon and seeing the copper gutters folded and mangled in a heap on the ground? I asked one of the helpers what the hell was going on and he replied that they were going to take them to which I replied, the hell you are and they are not to be removed from our property. The downspouts were still mounted to the house completely out of the way of any painting and they took those also.

Now, can you imagine my surprise when the next day on my way home, I was told at a local store that these guys had stopped in and in the back of their truck were my gutters going to the scrap yard? I reported the gutters stolen to the Sheriff's department and a report is on file. I pretty well have confirmed that they put the price of replacing your gutters in the paint price. They tear them down and you pay to replace them. I bet if I had not been so keen on these guys that I would have had aluminum gutters put back.

The sales pitch also was that the brick would be masked off as well as the shrubbery and so forth. There was no masking of the brick walls or the shrubbery and paint brushes and rollers were washed at the outside tap against the house leaving paint that has still not came off the brick. They did use a dropcloth on the porch. I even put a newspaper under the door that one of the helpers was painting and he moved it saying he didn't need it, now I have paint on the hardwood floors.

Being in the fiberglass business for over 30 years and spraying gelcoat 20 to 25 mills I know what it takes and to keep a uniform surface and thickness. I have photographs of the OIC spraying 25 feet off the ground standing on a ladder rung on his left foot, his right foot wrapped around the ladder upright bar leaning to the left on at least a 50 degree angle, holding a 4 foot edger with a probably 5 foot handle in his left hand trying to spray paint the eaves from 5-6 feet away. None of this spraying should have been done from more than 12 - 18" from the surface.

The company did send a company superintendent to the job site a few times and he assured me that the gutters would be replaced. I had to replace them months later to avoid more water damage at a cost of $4700.00 +. While standing with the superintendent in the front yard watching his OIC painting on the eaves of the A frame I pointed out brush marks on the vinyl siding from smearing out drips of paint and he told the painter to paint all the vinyl siding to make it uniform which he did.

It wasn't long after that I read the Richmond, VA newspaper and lo and behold there is an article on the paint system and a statement saying it can be applied to any surface except vinyl, silicone and glass. I wonder why the superintendent and painter didn't know about this?

When it's all over I was left with broken roof shingles from them putting the ladder against them, paint on the roof shingles, paint on the window sills, overspray on the brick walls, paint on the deck, paint on the grill cover, paint on the shrubbery and painted vinyl siding . I have checked the thickness in places and have found none close to the thickness of a credit card as they advertise except maybe where they did their finger painting.

I can see that if my house were wrapped in a uniform thickness of a credit card it would probably last 25 years, it just makes sense, and that is what I was told it would be and what I expected to get.

This is my first and last experience with this type of system. I would never again use it myself or recommend anyone using it. I figure that for three times the cost of paint, I could also guarantee regular house paint for 25 years and show up to fix the cracks and peels whenever they occur at my convenience. But instead of having patches from repairs over 25 years I would rather have a freshly painted house every 7-8 years. While writing this I just remember that the cinder block walls of our factory were painted 23 years ago with masonry paint and it still looks good.

One last comment, just this week after a long absence the new superintendent from the company wanted to inspect the house. I showed him one area where the paint is blistering along with all the other screw ups and he had the nerve to ask me if this side gets more sun. This paint is supposed to be indestructible, what kind of question is that? Are you going to tell me now to keep it out of the sun?

My advice is this:

1) Write your own contract.
2) Pay the deposit when they show up to start.
3) Have yourself or someone to constantly watch the process.
4) Make sure they have at least 5 years painting experience.
5) Don't assume they have sent experts to do the job.
6) Know for sure the job is done right before paying the balance and only if 100% completed and satisfied.
7) Check the job from close up since everything looks good from the ground.
8) Make sure all promises made by the salesperson are put in the contract.

Ted Mentz
Mechanicsville, VA



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Comments:

Welcome! I, Tim Carter, don't answer questions here. If you post a question here in the Comments Area, perhaps another visitor will help you. You need to go to the Ask Tim page if you want a question answered. Once there, look closely at how many weeks behind we are. Please be patient as you use this free service. If you have an emergency and need to talk to me, there is an option there for you.
linda
07 Feb 2009, 12:18
I was seriously considering this type of finish for a very old house I live in. Now, I certainly have the idea that I will not buy a product of this nature. Will just invest in regular vinyl siding, and let it go at that. I'm so sorry you have had this experience. I have a sister in Richmond who was thinking about this as well. Thanks for your input.
Sean Steinbach
16 Feb 2009, 09:49
As a residential home builder for many years I have seen my share of jobs gone bad by contractors and tradesman who were not qualified. As sharing information is usually a good thing, the consumer needs to understand that this a unique experience based upon the tradesman's lack of training. "Spray on siding" on other products that work in the same manner are extremely effective, provide far greater benefits than painting and have years of success in commercial and residential projects throughout the US and Canada. Don't condemn a product because the installers are not qualified. You would not blame the wood if a poorly built deck failed, would you?
ClarkPeacock
26 Feb 2009, 12:08
Get it in writing
We have had similar problems in Plano, Texas.

Jim Kelly dba Newspray, Spray on Siding, ALVIS, Inc. will tell you anything to get a sale. I had him paint my house for $16,000.00 with the promise that I "Would never paint again". Well, three years later the paint began to peel. Jim said he would fix it at no charge according to our agreement. He did come out and repaint then promptly sent me a bill for $1.300.00 with a note saying "There is no longer a warranty covering this work." I would not recommend any company he represents.
Lester Goldbergh
10 Mar 2009, 14:19
I am a Architect that has overlooked many exterior siding projects. Spray On Siding "Never Paint Again!" has proven itself many times over and is gaining respect trifold each day. Many states are now using qualified spray on siding contractors for state jobs and all major buildings are being specified to use Am-Vi-Co products. A bunch of college kid painters is not going to get the job done right but you pay for what you get! Liquid Vinyl Siding has never failed on more then 70 buildings and I will continue to use it for many more years.
Jim Kelley
04 May 2009, 08:11
Responding to "Clark Peacock's" comments about me and my company, Newspray. A potential customer of mine found this comment on these web pages and notified me. Clark Peacock did not register with me until I figured out that it was a customer, Frank Speyerer, who was using an alias name. Mr. Speyerer, a/k/a Clark Peacock, purposefully made several mis-representations in his comments, but, the bottom line is that we "promptly" refunded his money for the repair work, and he "promptly" cashed the check. As all contractors know, there are always people out there that are difficult to deal with. Fortunately, out of the more than 400 jobs we have installed, this is the only one we've encountered. Contractors Beware of this one --- whichever name he uses.
Sheree
24 Jun 2009, 21:22
I had Alvis Spray on Siding applied to my home in 2005 and just noticed some problems; unfortunately, the telephone numbers for the company that installed the siding and ALVIS in NC have been disconnected and now I have no way to contact them. BEWARE.... my siding is less than 5 years old and is flaking, rust spots from the nails are showing and the siding is has let water through to some of the wood.
cynthia smith
18 Aug 2009, 09:05
I had a spray on vinyl siding job done a couple of months ago from a company in Baldwin County Al. representing themselves as Sunbelt Building Products. The Sales Rep. Never mentioned paint but represented that the house came with a lifetime warranty. My house has a very thick paint job. I am extremely uphappy. The warranty is very generic. I posted a complaint with the better business bureau in my city but was very cautious about giving out to much information. This company has a A rating. The company owner is Allen Doybne. I am very suspicious that this is the same comnpany that I used. Can someone give me more information. I want to inform as many people as I can about this extremely expensive paint job. Also the painters that did my house told me that it was their first job with this company. The sales rep. said that they had been working with this company for years sounds familiar.
Juliet Horan
15 Sep 2009, 13:14
We are currently having our house re-sided after using the Alvis product out of the company in NC. We supposedly had a warranty and would never have to paint again, but I have workers applying vinyl siding now because of the fading we had by Alvis is faded and the phone numbers/website are no longer working. I believe the company owner was the same as the one mentioned in the AL post. The coating is only 7 years old, and we started having problems within the first year. I know there were problems with the same company in N.Georgia as well.
Sheree Essary
17 Sep 2009, 21:08
Thanks for your comments. Please paste the following link to read more information on Alvis Spray on Siding.

http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/BEWARE_OF_ALVIS_SPRAY_ON_SIDING-Roofing_and_Sidi ng-1-T3326.html#3326

Please see the comment from alglasser.
DEAR CYNTHIA SMITH
21 Sep 2009, 20:23
Hope this helps (below).

Was it Sunbelt Building Products or someone else? Did they make it right?

http://sprayonvinylsiding.com/about.html

30864 Bryars Lane Phone: (251) 621-2144
Spanish Fort, AL Toll Free: (877) 621-2144

Freeestimate@sunbeltbuildingproducts.com
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00AM to 5:00PM

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