Some amount of vinyl siding fading is inevitable with long term expsoure to the sun and UV rays. However, most manufacturers include fading clauses in their warranties that protects the consumer from excessive fading (and it should be pointed out that warranties are more often written to protect the siding mnaufacturer more than the consumer). While fiber cement and engineered wood siding can be painted, vinyl siding cannot, making excessive fading particulary troublesome.
Siding Fading Clauses
Most siding manufacturers include one of more clauses in their warranty that touches on fading since it is both predicatable and has caused some serious headaches for homeowners over the years. Often, siding products are warranted to not fade more then three “shades” in the first 10 years after the date of installation. How much fading is permitted will vary from company to company. Manufacturers use varying processes to add or bake the color into their products and how effectively or ineffectively they do so will have a big outcome on the long term fading.
If You Experience Excessive Fading
If your vinyl siding seems to have faded excessively, your first call should be to the installer who did the work. They work with these materials all the time and can give you an opinion (although not necessarily an unbiased one). If they agree that the boards have faded excessively, your next step is to check your warranty and then call the manufacturer. You should be able to take some photos and send them the “proof” and see if you have any recourse.
Compare To Excessive Boards
Most siding projects have extra or spare boards that homeowners can store and use in case any damage and dents occur to a section of the siding in the future. Assuming these have been stored in a garage or someplace out of the sun, they make an excellent comparison model to show exactly how much fading has occurred. To see if vinyl siding fading has occurred on products you are considering, check out all of our siding reviews here.
