Siding Contractor London Ontario

Areas of London we cover

Byron, Lambeth, Masonville, Oakridge, Westmount, White Oaks, Hyde Park, Old South, Old North, Old East Village, Stoneybrook, Summerside, Riverbend, Talbot Village, Sunningdale, Glen Cairn, Pond Mills, Northridge, Huron Heights, Argyle.

The housing stock in London, and what it means for cladding

Pre-1920 — Old South, Old East Village, Woodfield, Blackfriars. Solid brick and buff London stock brick with wood-clad gables, dormers and rear additions. Siding work here is usually gable, soffit and rear-elevation work rather than a full wrap, and heritage rules often apply.

1950s–1970s — Westmount, Oakridge, Glen Cairn, White Oaks, Huron Heights. The largest re-clad pool in the city. Original aluminum siding from this era is now well past its finish life, and chalking across whole elevations is the normal presentation.

1980s–1990s — Byron, Stoneybrook, Pond Mills, Northridge. First-generation vinyl reaching end of life. Panels from this period go brittle in cold and crack when flexed, so repair options narrow.

2000s onward — Hyde Park, Sunningdale, Riverbend, Talbot Village, Summerside. Brick front with vinyl on sides and rear is the standard builder spec. Most work here is accent upgrades, gable feature panels and storm repair rather than full replacement.

Weather exposure in London

Inland freeze-thaw is the dominant stressor rather than lake wind. London crosses the freezing point repeatedly through late winter, and it is that repeated cycling, not absolute cold, that opens up brittle panels and works fasteners loose.

That points the material choice in a specific direction:

• Fibre cement or engineered wood where a heritage district requires a profile sympathetic to the original wood cladding.
• Standard vinyl on the large postwar bungalow stock, where cost per square metre governs.

Permits and approvals in City of London

The City of London lists replacing siding or windows as work that does not require a building permit, provided there are no structural changes. Zoning by-law and Ontario Building Code requirements still apply either way, and a permit is required if the work involves replacement of brick veneer or any structural alteration.

Permits and inspections for London are handled by City of London Building Division — 300 Dufferin Avenue, 519-661-4555, building@london.ca.

London has several Heritage Conservation Districts designated under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, including Bishop Hellmuth, Blackfriars/ Petersville, Downtown, Old East, East Woodfield, West Woodfield and Wortley Village–Old South. Cladding changes to a street-facing elevation inside a district normally require a heritage permit before any work starts. Check the property on the City's CityMap register first.

Working in London

The buff-coloured brick on much of London's older housing is local stock brick, and it sets the colour problem for any re-clad in the older neighbourhoods: a cool grey panel that looks right on a red-brick house in Byron can read badly against buff brick in Old South.

Base city.

What we most often find on London walls

• Chalked aluminum on 1960s bungalows, most visible on south and west elevations.
• Brittle first-generation vinyl in the 1980s subdivisions that cracks on removal.
• Solid soffit runs with no vented panel, showing up as attic frost.