I've seen good results from people removing siding, including large asphalt siding, from the older wood siding with lovely results.

Old wood can hold always hold paint, but sometimes people are told it can't because the cost of prepping for the new paint can be daunting. If it's real wood (as opposed to some form of laminated or chipboard), and the previous layers of paint have been stripped and the surface correctly prepared there is no reason it can't be painted again.

Vinyl jobs over wood siding, especially on older houses almost always damage some of the trim details, either by sawing them off entirely to fit the vinyl dimensions, or just covering them up. That's what makes most older houses with vinyl coverings look so bleak. And then there's the issue of what vinyl (and any foam laid underneath it) may do to the strucure if there isn't an adequate vapor barrier on the interior (warm) side of the wall. In wooden houses without vapor barriers (the original state for most old houses) moisture from the interior can migrate outward and dissipate harmlessly without being trapped within the wall assembly. If vinyl is just laid on without attending to the interior moisture issue, then serious, long-term problems can occur within the wall leading to structural rot and damage.

Around my area one of the most active vinyl installers has a slogan on a sign outside of every house he's working on. It says: Vinyl is Final. In many cases it is the final straw that damages older buildings.

I think that vinyl siding wouldn't be such a problem on a newer building without the trim and detail challenges of old buildings and with modern moisture handling techniques designed-in from the start.

HTH,

Molly~

Last year we started to redo the kitchen and dining room and the horribly inappropriate windows HAD TO GO!! I wanted to just replace the offending windows, but a snowball occured and we ended up replacing all the windows in the front of the house with windows similar to what used to be in the house. The snowball also lead to a more appropriate porch on too. We could only afford the front of the house so we put the vinyl back on, but this time, our contractor made a simple wooden window trim with header and nailed it to the siding then wrapped it in aluminum. So it has a 3-d look to it. While I would much prefer to have the old wood siding, this will have to do for now.

Here is a before picture:

and during (needs more paint and cut sandstone to cover porch block):

Sorry this is so long winded! But I wanted to give you some options if you end up getting a house that is far from original.

Now if I can just figure out what to do with that front door.....

All I can say is, WOW! You have improved the look of your old house, wonderfully. And I'm very glad you posted because your before and after pictures perfectly illustrate an important (and often lost in the discussion) point. When working with an old house, it's often proportion that matters, more than anything, I think. The change of window shape and the new porch make a huge improvement. And if the structure is covered in vinyl for the nonce, well, so be it. Few people have enough funds to completely overhaul an old house in one go and most of us live with vary states of completeness.

Thanks for posting your pictures.

Molly~

I've been looking for something to buy outside of town and on a lot of the older farm houses (1900-1940) I see (just old farm houses, not anything really spectacular) I've noticed that there is a lot of cheap looking vinyl siding.

Nope no - extolling evil vinyl there - just saying I find a lot of it already done.
Not that I'm looking for a vinyl house, not that I like vinyl, just that there's a lot of it out there.

cont...
Now I know that old wood gets to a point where it just doesn't hold paint so people need to do something but some of them look like they just took the siding and attached it directly to the wood so its just that thin sheath of vinyl directly on the old wood, at least thats the way it looks to me. (If I remember right one house had staples?)
Isn't there supposed to be some sort of foam backing?

Nope - not extoling or praising evil vinyl here either
- just pointing out that people take the cheaper way out and wondering if there's supposed to be foam backing.

Is there a correct vs. incorrect way of doing vinyl - or just a better vs. a not so better cheap way? What do I look for?

Nope - no extolling the evil vinyl here either. Just wondering if I do buy an old house that ALREADY!!!!! has vinyl - what would I look for to determine whether it was done "correctly" if there is such a thing.

So

"If you want vinyl look for something newer."
"We aren't an unfriendly bunch, "

pretty is as pretty does, I suggest some of you read posts more thoroughly before you get self-righteous.

I am a regular lurker here, and sometimes responder. There are indeed a series of topics that will get people up on their high horses (vinyl siding, replacement windows, removing original plaster, etc, etc) on this forum. I read posts because I generally learn something new about a topic every time. I don't think there is any need for people to preach though.

I'm afraid that I don't know the answer to your question either about the foam backing or the right vs wrong installation techniques. Maybe the remodeling forum, or someone in the construction trades could help you find out. Stay after the information, though. If you are considering buying an old farmhouse that already had vinyl installed, these are good questions to ask and know -- because you might live with the vinyl for a while and not be replacing it (e.g. while the kids are in college, or you are building your retirement nest egg, or whatever). If a shlocky vinyl installation causes damage to what's under it, you might not buy. Hang in there. There are still some nice people out here.

I completely understand having to look for houses that have been muddled with. I live in a rural community with lots of old simple farmhouses. People don't necessarily consider the details on a simple farmhouse worth keeping and just want to update their house. My MIL is one of them having grown up on a farm and now loves all things modern, LOL! Vinyl is actually not the only type of siding redo here. There is fake brick (kind of like asphalt shingles), asbestos shingles, and aluminum.

Thank you Molly and kimkitchy for the kind complements. When we moved in I could see where the windows, trim and porch should be and I took a ton of pictures. Then we finally had enough to change out the windows. We were 3/4 the way through the project when I got a chance to talk with a man in his 80's who grew up in our house. What a wealth of information! He even had a picture of the old porch. He said the house was always white and had some sort of darker color for trim. The porch did have a bit more detail with Italianate influence that I'm now going to figure out how to add. Also the entire house had slate roof tile (WAY out of our price league :(). I kept the porch wood so I could add detail or paint different colors when I figure out what I'm doing. I hated the old windows, but what I didn't know is how many other people didn't like them either. We live in a small rural community (DH and I both grew up here) and I can't tell you how many people have been complementing and saying how much better it looks.

Boy this became a book! Sorry.

Weep holes are already in the vinyl and I know of none that doesn't have them. I personally think the biggest problem when vinyl is already installed (other than losing architectural features) is it can hide big problems. But there should be evidence of that inside the house too for someone who knows what to look for. To my limited experience, we haven't had any moisture problems. Because I think the vinyl when installed correctly isn't tight against the house and flashing is put on all windows, doors, porch roofs, back steps (8' long stone steps that WILL become our main entrance if it kills me, LOL).

I also checked out that link, great stuff! Thank you jcin_los_angeles! I bookmarked it, because I would love to bring this old house back to it's former great self. Mary1000, I think just because it has vinyl you don't have to eliminate it from a potential home. It could just be a diamond in the rough!

happy said:
you're in the wrong forum if you came here expecting us to extol the virtues of vinyl siding.
That's not what owning an old house is about.
Vinyl is an evil that should never be put on an older home, or any home for that matter.

The tone of your post did way more than just agree sweetheart. I suggest you take your own advice.