A crack in vinyl siding that took five seconds to make can turn an admired professional siding job into a wall that makes you cringe. By using basic kindergarten skills, you can patch the crack in your vinyl siding and go back to admiring your sleek uninterrupted siding job. All it takes is a little bit of cutting, a few brushes of glue, and some sneaking around.
To fix the crack in your vinyl siding, you start with sneaking around your home to find a scrap piece of siding. If you’re lucky, you might find some leftover vinyl siding in your garage from the original installation. If not, it’s time to take a walk around the outside of your home and look for a good hiding place. You won’t need to hide in the bushes (unless the crack in your vinyl siding is really bothering you that much), you just have to look for a good piece of siding to cut and steal.
Your goal is to snip off a piece of vinyl from a spot that nobody can notice, and use that piece to patch the crack that passerbys are gaping at. Make sure you measure the crack before you start cutting the patch. The patch that you are cutting off should be as long and wide as the crack you are fixing. If the crack is thin, make sure your new patch is at least an inch wide.
You don’t need any fancy tools to cut siding, just a sharp pair of scissors and a strong hand. Tin snips or a strong utility knife work just as well. A saw can be used, but will make your edges rough. If the piece you are using as a patch is dirty and grimy, simply wash it with water and detergent. While you have the sponge out, wash the vinyl with the crack as well so the glue will adhere. Don’t use a wire brush or a hard scrubby because it can scratch the vinyl.
You need kindergarten skills to clean and patch your vinyl, but you can’t use kindergarten products. Elmer’s glue might work for paper crafts, but it isn’t going to work for your vinyl siding. You need PVC cement and PVC primer-cleaner. If you don’t already have some tucked away in your workshop, you can buy some at a local hardware store. PVC cement is also referred to as pipe joint cement, the lingo will depend on the salesperson. The primer-cleaner and the cement usually come together.
After washing the vinyl, dry it off and apply the PVC primer-cleaner on the patch and on the vinyl siding it’s being attached to. Then just put the PVC cement on the patch and siding, put the patch into place (making sure that it covers the crack), and hold it together for at least 30 seconds. By then, the cement should harden. If you feel it slip, the cement isn’t dry, just move it back into place and hold it tight together a little longer. Once it’s stuck together, your crack is now patched.
Go ahead and reward yourself with a gold star and thank your kindergarten teacher for helping you perfect your cut and paste skills. Enjoy a night of relaxation after all of your hard work, and watch the passerbys get jealous of your perfectly sided house.