Siding Installation & Repair in Garfield, NJ

What’s on Garfield Houses Now

About 41% of Garfield’s homes were built before 1950 and another 21% in the 1950s, according to the 2023 Census estimates in the city’s Housing Element. Houses of that age have usually been re-sided at least once, and every era left its own material behind. When we look at a Garfield exterior, this is what we typically find:

• Original wood clapboard or shingles, sometimes still exposed on a back wall or porch, more often hidden under later siding.
• Asbestos-cement shingles, the rigid, slightly textured rectangular shingles applied to many older houses in the mid-twentieth century. They are durable but brittle, and they should not be broken, sanded or cut carelessly.
• Aluminum siding, which dents, chalks and fades but can last a long time if the trim behind it stayed dry.
• Vinyl siding from the 1980s onward, sometimes installed directly over one or two older layers.

What we are really checking is the condition behind the cladding: soft sheathing below windows, rot at the sill and corners, and water stains where a roof or porch meets the wall. A good siding job deals with those first.

If your house has asbestos-cement shingles

We will identify them during the estimate and talk through the options plainly, including leaving them in place and covering them, before any work is planned. Do not try to pry them off yourself.

Siding Options for Garfield Two-Families

Nearly half of Garfield’s housing units are in two-unit buildings. A two-family is at least two full stories of wall, and on older blocks it can sit close to the house next door. That shapes both the material choice and how the job is staged.

Vinyl

A practical choice for owners who want low maintenance and a clean look on a large wall area. Thicker panels and proper starter strips and J-channels make a big difference in how it lies on an older, slightly wavy wall. Our vinyl siding page covers profiles and colors.

Fiber cement

Heavier and more rigid than vinyl, with a painted finish that suits pre-war houses where you want a more traditional clapboard line. It is a good fit for the front elevation of an older two-family even if the sides are done in vinyl.

Engineered wood

Lighter than fiber cement and easier to detail around porches and bay windows, with a real wood-like texture.

Aluminum repair

If your house still has sound aluminum siding, replacing a damaged section or a single wall can make more sense than re-siding everything.

Working in tight side yards

Garfield side yards can be only a few feet wide. We plan ladder and staging positions in advance, protect your neighbor’s walls and windows, and talk with you about access before the crew arrives.

Permits: The Siding Rule for Garfield Buildings

New Jersey’s construction code treats the repair or replacement of existing siding on one- and two-family dwellings as ordinary maintenance, which means no permit is needed. Unlike the roofing rule, the siding provision does not say “detached,” so it applies to attached one- and two-family homes as well, including Garfield’s townhouse-style units. One exception: polypropylene siding is excluded from the exemption.

Soffit, Fascia and the Details That Keep Water Out

On older Garfield houses, the roof edge is where siding problems usually begin. The fascia board behind the gutter is often original wood. When gutters overflow or pitch the wrong way, the fascia rots, the gutter loosens and water runs down the face of the wall.

• Fascia: we replace rotted boards, then wrap them in aluminum so there is nothing left to paint.
• Soffit: vented vinyl or aluminum soffit gives the attic the intake air it often lacks. That matters for the roof as much as the walls. See our soffit and fascia repair page.
• Window and door trim: we flash and wrap trim so water sheds onto the siding instead of into the wall.
• Roof-to-wall joints: where porch or rear roofs meet the house, we coordinate the flashing with the siding so both are watertight. If the roof itself needs work, our Garfield roof repair team handles that at the same visit.

For smaller jobs, such as storm-damaged panels or a single cracked section, see our siding repair page.

Siding Questions from Garfield Homeowners

More Exterior Help in Garfield

For everything we do in the city, see our Garfield roofing contractor page, the wider Bergen County service area and our statewide New Jersey siding services page.

Other Garfield services include roof repair in Garfield, roof replacement in Garfield and gutter installation and repair in Garfield.

We also install siding nearby: see siding in Clifton, siding in Wallington and siding in Lodi.