Siding Replacement & Repair in Salem, OR

Siding around Salem has one main job: keep the winter rain out of the wall. When it stops doing that, the fix is either a repair to the damaged section or a full replacement down to the sheathing, and which one makes sense depends on what the siding is made of and what is behind it. Start with what you are seeing, then use the service, problem and cost pages to plan the work.

Soft boards? Swollen edges? Paint that won’t stay on?

Siding trouble rarely starts as a hole you can see from the street. It shows up as boards that give when you press them, lower edges that have swollen, or paint that keeps letting go in the same place. Storm damage is the obvious kind, like the limbs the January 2024 ice storm brought down onto Salem homes. Pick the sign that sounds familiar to see the likely cause:

• Swollen or soft lower edges on lap siding. Typical of hardboard and OSB siding that has taken on water. See swelling hardboard or OSB siding.
• Grooved plywood panels peeling apart at the bottom. See T1-11 siding damage.
• Boards, trim or window sills that feel soft. See dry rot in siding and trim.
• Stains or bubbling paint below a roof edge or window. Water getting behind the siding, such as at a missing kickout flashing. See siding repair.
• Wavy, buckled or cracked vinyl. See vinyl siding.
• Paint peeling off the same wood boards every year. Moisture behind the paint, or cut ends that were never primed. See siding repair.
• Round holes in cedar or wood siding. Woodpecker damage that lets rain into the wall. See cedar and wood siding.

See every siding problem and what causes it

Siding repair, replacement and new materials

Siding repair: fix the damage and stop the water. Board and panel replacement, rotted trim and sills, leaks at kickout and window flashing, woodpecker holes and loose vinyl. The right call when the damage is contained and the sheathing behind it is sound.

Siding replacement: back to the sheathing. A full tear-off, sheathing repair, a new water-resistive barrier and flashing, then new siding. Worth pricing when swelling, rot or peeling panels show up on several walls.

New siding: fiber cement, vinyl and cedar. Each page covers installation details, upkeep, and what Salem’s weather asks of the material.

Four numbers behind Salem siding problems

• About 40 inches of rain falls on Salem in an average year, roughly half of it in November, December and January (NOAA 1991-2020 normals).
• 1980 is the median year a Salem home was built (Census ACS 2020-2024), inside the years covered by the Masonite hardboard and LP OSB siding class actions.
• 117°F was Salem’s hottest day on record, June 28, 2021, a hard test for vinyl siding hung too tight.
• 1/8 inch is the drainage gap Oregon’s residential code calls for, by default, between the weather barrier and new siding.

The best siding for Salem’s climate weighs fiber cement, vinyl, engineered wood and cedar against those conditions, and what siding do I have? helps you identify what is on your house now.

Do you need a permit to replace siding in Salem?

Not for the siding alone, unless the wall must be fire-resistive. The City of Salem requires a building permit once the sheathing behind the siding is repaired or replaced, and when T1-11 that doubles as structural sheathing is replaced. On a historic property, changing the siding’s type, style or material also needs historic design review. The full permit answer covers Keizer and the smaller towns too.

What does siding cost near Salem?

There is no official price list for siding work. The cost table further down this page lists published figures for replacing 1,250 square feet of siding with fiber cement or vinyl, plus national ranges for repairs and for removing old siding, each with its source and the date it was checked. The siding cost page explains what moves a quote up or down.

Salem, Keizer, Silverton and six nearby towns

A 1910s bungalow in Gaiety Hill, a 1980s house in Keizer and a 2000s build in Turner ask different things of their siding, and the local rules differ too.

• Salem, West Salem included: permits start at the sheathing, and historic properties need design review before a change of material.
• Keizer: building permits are split between the city and Marion County Building Inspection.
• Silverton: the oldest housing in the area, and historic landmark review.
• Nearby towns: Dallas, Stayton, Monmouth, Independence, Turner and Aumsville.

View all service areas. The quote form checks the ZIP code of the house first.