mobilehomerepair.com

Hello:

I have been a lurker for the last year or two, and now have a question. I live in a 16'x80' 1996 Fleetwood, and want to know about removing and reusing the vertical metal siding on my home. The reason I want to remove the siding is to install new insulation inside the wall, especially on the south facing wall that gets all the sun during the summer. I have a metal roof that is folded over the siding for about an inch and stapled against the wall. There is a J-channel gutter along the edge of the metal roof which is screwed in through the folded metal roof section into the wall. Is it possible to remove the J-channel, then the staples on the roof, and then all the screws holding the siding panels on, remove the metal siding panels (one at a time), replace the insulation, and then reinstall the metal siding, and reattach everything? I'm would do one panel at a time; it appears each panel of the siding slides into channels into the adjacent panels. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi & welcome. You may get lucky and be able to reuse the panels. You will find hidden staples under the seams that you will need to be careful removing. The panels may also bend & crease under their own weight.

You may want to have plan "B" ready just in case. Greg

Greg - you aren't joking about the panels creasing and bending - I've found stronger materials being used to cover paperback books! So far, I haven't found any staples under the seams, but there are enough of 'em around the roof and along the top of the outside walls. I'm slowly but surely making progress. Thanks for the info, Greg!