After a hurricane, siding is the second thing to go. It is also the part most likely to be under-scoped on a claim.
Homeowners tend to think of siding as appearance and roofing as protection. On the Alabama Gulf Coast that distinction does not hold. Wind-driven rain arrives horizontally, and horizontal rain attacks walls, not roofs.
When Hurricane Sally came through on September 16, 2020, the damage reports across southern Baldwin County were consistently roof and siding. Once siding is breached, water gets into the wall cavity, and in this humidity a wet wall cavity does not dry out — it grows mould and rots sheathing quietly behind a wall that looks fine from outside.
That is also why siding is worth getting properly documented after a storm. It is frequently under-scoped on claims relative to the roof, because it is harder to see and easier to overlook.
The constraints here are wind uplift, salt, UV and moisture, and they push in slightly different directions.
Fiber cement is the workhorse for coastal Alabama. It does not rot, it is dimensionally stable in humidity, it holds paint well and it carries good wind ratings. It is heavier and more labour-intensive to install, which shows in the price.
Vinyl is the budget option and modern vinyl is far better than its reputation, but wind rating varies enormously between products and the cheap end of the market does not belong on a coastal wall.
Wood looks right on older Gulf Shores cottages and is the highest-maintenance choice by a wide margin in this climate. If you have it and want to keep it, that is a legitimate decision — just go in knowing the upkeep.
Whatever the cladding, the weather-resistive barrier and the flashing behind it are what actually keep the wall dry. Siding is a rain screen, not a seal. Most siding failures we open up are failures of what is underneath.
If a storm took both, doing the roof and the siding together is faster, cheaper and produces a better result, because the crew can detail the intersection between the two properly rather than working around somebody else’s finished work.
It also means one scope for the insurer, one company responsible, and one warranty covering both. See storm damage repair for how we document a claim.
Obvious damage, but check the whole wall — panels commonly loosen without detaching.
Press gently. Give means the sheathing behind has taken water.
Water is getting behind the cladding at a termination or a flashing.
In this humidity, a breached wall cavity grows mould well before it shows outside.
UV and salt degradation. Common on the windward and sun-facing elevations first.
Localised paint failure usually means moisture is coming through from behind.
Siding on the Gulf Coast is a wind and water assembly, not a finish. The flashing at openings, the termination details at corners, and the fastener specification are what decide whether a wall survives horizontal rain — and none of them are visible once the job is done.
Our office is at 1404 W 1st St Unit B, Gulf Shores, AL 36542. We are not dispatching a crew from another state after a storm and we are not guessing at what Baldwin County requires — Gulf Shores is where we work every week. Call (251) 313-4853 and you will be talking to somebody who knows the difference between a West Beach roof and one north of the Intracoastal.
A lot of siding jobs touch Storm & Hurricane Damage, Gutters, Roof Replacement and Free Roof Inspection as well — we handle all of it, so there is one company on the property and one warranty at the end. You can see everything on the services page, and we work throughout Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and the rest of south Baldwin County.
We document walls as thoroughly as roofs, and doing both together is cheaper than doing them separately.
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