Just wanted to add: the reason the PO put up the vinyl was she said doing so would give her less house to paint. This is another reason my husband feels we should leave it alone. The people next door had done the same thing first, and my PO copied them (the colors too). Thanks for any input.

You're going to get a big I Told You So from your husband if the clapboard has to be repaired/replaced. You said you don't have the time or money for repair if the clapboards are in poor condition -- but you still want to do it? That just doesn't make sense. Unless and until you have built up savings ($$) earmarked specifically for the repair job (even if it turns out that you don't need it), I wouldn't remove the siding. This is just my humble opinion.
About choosing a paint color to complement the white vinyl siding--white is a neutral color and every color goes with it.

We just ripped our vinyl siding down the other day to reveal the wood siding underneath...some of it is really old, needs some repairs and new paint, but on our 1875 farmhouse...the worn wood looks sooo much better to me than that damn cream siding~
I guess it really depends what you are dealing with underneath, how long you can live with it and what your budget is...I have to say though there was something real exhilerating about yanking it off the house!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Valley Tin Works

The problem with vinyl siding is that it does not stop water entry 100% (almost no siding does).
The vinyl is often put up when the clapboards have reached a state of needing serious repair and painting.
If an underlayment is used under the new siding (tar paper remains a good choice) at least the old boards are protected a little. If the vinyl is placed directly on the wood (or on stringers without a water barrier) the old wood just continues to be damaged.
If I tear off siding over wooden clapboards I usually figure at having to replace at least 50% of the clapboards. In many cases we tear everything off saving the old boards for use higher up and use new wood down low.

On the other hand... there was a time during the late 20th century when quite a few people, especially older folks, put vinyl siding over perfectly good wood siding so they wouldn't have to paint. Often they were talked into it by siding contractors.

Lately around here (VT), with houses being renovated left and right, I've been seeing a lot of that vinyl being taken down, with the siding underneath in pretty good condition, even on houses that were kinda trashy.

I think it depends partly on what wood the original siding is, partly on how well the vinyl was installed, and on the weather. I suspect that vinyl is more problematic in places with long periods of hot, humid weather.

Sometimes taking vinyl off is teh best thing you can do to keep the wood in good shape. Why not try taking off a panel in a not-too-obvious place and see what's there? Geez, you still have to paint the top half, which is the hardest! (The main part of my house, which is on a slope, is 3 stories tall in back, lol. Good thing heights don't bother me. Much.)
Dayle Ann

"...there was a time during the late 20th century when quite a few people, especially older folks, put vinyl siding over perfectly good wood siding so they wouldn't have to paint."

So far all the old folks waited until the siding needed a paint job before parting with their money.
30 or so out of 30 over the past 20 years or so.
Someone might have covered a good paint job with time left, but I have yet to see one.

I am wanting to do this to my 1917 Foursquare house as well. I would LOVE to paint my house (it's a boring white now...typical) but I read that you can't paint vinyl with a darker color than the original... and everything is darker than white. Did you end up taking your siding down??? How did it go if you did.

Darlynn

We are facing the same delema....when to take off the siding. We typically do one major project each year - last year the living room - this year the original bathroom added in the 30's and converted by PO to a laundry room (replumbing/rewiring etc) and we had our wiring checked and updated full house! But we both are anxious to look under the siding.

Here's what we decided to do - on the back of our 1909 farmhouse, half of the bottom width is still the original(?)wood siding and in good condition - it was likely replaced and repaired when the porch was closed in and became part of the house (about 2 years before we purchased the house). The other half of the bottom width is the laundry room/bathroom I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

We have decided to begin there - we'll take off the siding on the lower level to get an idea of what the damage under there is. Our PO's did a lot of shoddy repair work (well, their contractors did and they didn't have the knowledge to tell it was shoddy - when they began to realize the extent of it all they sold it to us to repair and replace) so we expect that it will be a nightmare - no moisture barrior etc.

By only removing the back section, we can keep costs down to repair/replace the old wood where necessary and get an idea of how much to set aside to begin the remainder of the house. We do plan on removing all of the siding eventually - but we'll complete the inside work first.

"By only removing the back section, we can keep costs down to repair/replace the old wood where necessary and get an idea of how much to set aside to begin the remainder of the house."

Watch out.
Depending on the prevailing weather in the area and the orientation of the house the damage can be very different as you go around.

"Watch out.
Depending on the prevailing weather in the area and the orientation of the house the damage can be very different as you go around."

Oh, I know....we both have awakened from nightmares regarding what we'll actually find under all that siding. I seriously doubt it was repaired in any way by our PO's...they had a tendancy to tell their contractors to just "do the best you can for the least amount of money".

Its very frustrating because we learned the history of how the po's got the house....they own an investment company and lent money to a cousin who died owing them the money (only mortgage on the house)....it was a $5000 loan with a balance owed at his death of only 3400.00....they got the house in lieu of payment from the estate.

The house was never owned by other than a family member until we bought it....they took out about $60,000 in mortgages themselves to repair the house (in the 90's) but did such shoddy work we are basically redoing everything one room or section of the house at a time.

I just can't understand why they didn't do it all right when their investment was TOTALLY in restoration not in any kind of purchase price...it is frustrating to say the least each time we open up a wall and see what was done.

The PO said to my husband when we were inspecting the house - "well, my roofer was an excellent plumber"...that was our warning and the words have proven true!

As for what you may find, most anything is possible. The main thing is a lot of nail holes that will appear as soon as you remove the vinyl. How you deal with that in repairing them prior to painting will no doubt be time consuming, caulking,sanding, etc. As others have stated, perhaps original siding that needs to be replaced, a little or a lot. If a underlayment such as a house wrap or tar paper was used there will be additional holes to patch as well. It is doubtful you will find any of this material however since the vinyl was applied over the original siding.

I am not a big fan of vinyl yet it is an easy low cost way to provide protection to the exterior and does stop the need to paint every few years. And if a good hail storm comes along you can get some new. It does not provide any insulation value. There is a foam backed vinyl that will provide a little eadditional insulation value, however.

However, if you don't like the looks you better start planning for it's removal and replacement. I just got through having my house stucco'd because I did not like the brown board an batton exterior, not that it was in bad shape, I just did not like the look and the thought of painting again in a couple years did not excite me either. Now I am happy and it only cost $5.00 a sq ft to get what I like, which is about where you are, except you still are in the initial stage of dissatisfaction.

So I say start planning, drive around the neighborhood, get some ideas. look at some home improvement magazines or make a trip to your local lumberyard. This is half or most of fun, dreaming of what color to paint, a little new trim. perhaps some new windows or a new front door, etc. Then reality appears(hubby says "it is fine the way it is"). You just wanted to remove that vinyl siding, remember? Then when you and hubby are content with the idea, or you finally convince him you are right(again), "get er done"!! Just my thoughts.

siobhanny5 - Did you end up stripping the vinyl and restoring the wood? If so, what did you find and are you happy with the decision? My wife and I purchased a 1 760s colonial in NE this summer. The original cedar clapboards were covered 20 years about with vinyl, which we're now considering removing.

How did the window trim look after you removed the vinyl. Our window seems to come out toward exterior? And they added a wood piece I assume to mount new Windows. Amy ideas on how to make it look right

If it is the white vinyl siding that is bugging you, you can paint siding with 100% acrylic house paints. The one caveat is that you don't want to go significantly darker, as vinyl can warp and distort if too much heat from the sun is absorbed. Light greens, tans, yellow, etc. should be fine.

I realize this is an old thread, but since it's been brought back.....

@ Lilian Reuter

Vinyl siding has been recycled for decades. This is how some new products are manufactured. Brokers buy this stuff. Why would anyone want to pay to get rid of it in a landfill?