Matthews has more failing 1980s and 1990s hardboard siding than any town we work in. Fixing it properly, sheathing and flashing included, is most of what we do here.
Matthews grew fastest in exactly the years when pressed hardboard siding was the default cladding on new houses in the Carolinas, roughly 1982 to 1998. The neighborhoods off Sardis Road, Weddington Road, McKee Road and Pleasant Plains Road were built in that window, and a large share of them still wear their original siding. It swells at the butt joints, rots below windows and along the bottom course, and once it has started, paint does not stop it. That single fact shapes more of our Matthews work than anything else.
The town itself is about fifteen minutes from our office in Indian Trail along Old Monroe Road or Highway 74, close enough that Matthews jobs are scheduled like local ones. Beyond the 1980s and 1990s neighborhoods there is the historic downtown around Trade Street with its older frame houses, the mid-century ranches between downtown and Independence Boulevard, and the newer townhome and single-family communities toward Stallings and Weddington.
Permits in Matthews run through Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement (LUESA). A full re-side that involves sheathing, structure or windows is permitted work, as is any roof replacement, addition or structural renovation. We pull the permit and schedule the inspection.
Strip to the sheathing, replace what has rotted at the per-sheet price in the quote, install new weather barrier and flashing at every opening and roof intersection, and re-side in fiber cement or engineered wood. Section repairs on hardboard rarely hold; we will tell you honestly if yours is the exception.
Most Matthews roofs from the 1980s and 1990s are on their second cycle now. Architectural shingles over new underlayment and ventilation, with the kick-out flashing where roof meets wall that the original builders almost never installed and that caused much of the siding rot in the first place.
The 1980s floor plans in Matthews were built for a different way of living. Opening up the kitchen, adding a screened porch or sunroom, finishing a bonus room properly. Designed and priced under one contract.
Everything else we do is on the services page.
Pressed hardboard is wood fiber and resin. It performs until water reaches the unsealed edges, and on Matthews houses that happened in three predictable places: the butt joints between boards, which were rarely caulked and never re-caulked; the bottom edges below windows, where sills were flashed badly or not at all; and the first course above the foundation, where splash-back keeps it wet. Behind the worst of it, the sheathing is usually blackened or soft, which is why a proper re-side is a carpentry job before it is a siding job.
The other recurring cause is at the roofline. Where a roof runs into a wall, a small piece of kick-out flashing is supposed to throw water into the gutter instead of down the wall. Most houses of this era in Matthews do not have one, and the tell is a vertical rot streak below that corner. We install it on every roof and every re-side, because it is the cheapest piece of metal on the job and the one that prevents the most damage.
The older frame houses around downtown, along and behind Trade Street and North Trade, are a different job: real wood siding worth keeping where it is sound, plaster and old framing inside, and roofs that often need decking. These are renovation projects as much as roofing or siding projects, and they need a general contractor rather than a single-trade installer.
Toward Stallings and Weddington the townhome and single-family communities from the 2000s are reaching their first roof, and their vinyl is cracking on the sunny sides. HOA rules on shared roofs and exterior finishes apply; we work within them and supply what the architectural review needs.
Roofing, siding, renovations and additions on the established neighborhoods around downtown Matthews, Sardis Road and Weddington Road, plus custom-home and commercial work.
Matthews is in Mecklenburg County; permits and inspections go through Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement. We pull the permit and schedule the inspections.
That is the most common siding call we get in Matthews. Pressed-hardboard siding fails once water is in it, and full replacement with fiber cement or engineered wood is usually the honest answer. We will say if a section repair is viable.
Yes. Bring us the approved palette and we will quote products that meet it and supply the samples the review needs.
Yes. We inspect, document with photos and give you a written scope you can share with your insurer.
About 15 minutes from our Indian Trail office along Old Monroe Road or Highway 74.
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Great company. The owners are very knowledgeable and completed my project sooner than expected. I highly recommend them for your new roof.
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