Modest Siding Costs for Quality Northern California Exterior Renovations

As a truly family-owned and operated company, we treat our business not as a "job" but as an investment in our family and our community. With 3 generations already a part of the team and a 4th in the future, we are dedicated to creating a legacy that our family can be proud of. That means that we insist on completing our projects the right way the first time, and our customers love us for it! Our quality service has been recognized on both a local and national level, and we are pleased to have an impeccable record for online customer reviews. In fact, we were even featured on Animal Planet's "Tree Masters" TV series!

The experts at 3 Generations dedicate the full amount of time necessary to ensure that we have a thorough understanding of your expectations and the overall scope of the project. This includes a full tour of the exterior of the home, along with measurements and photos of the home in order to prepare an accurate quote. We will provide a quick presentation about 3 Generations Improvements, so you know what to expect from our service, and we will be sure to answer all of your questions. Most importantly, we do not put pressure on you to make a decision immediately. We understand that siding and renovations of your home are an important investment, so we make sure you have all the time you need to consider your next step. If you have additional questions or concerns to address after you receive our detailed proposal, we are always happy to arrange a follow-up appointment at your convenience.

A 3 Generations proposal is detailed and clear, with no hidden fees or unexpected costs. You can expect a clear scope of work, with associated costs, as well as additional service options, such as windows, painting, and gutter installation. It is our goal to ensure that you have all the information you need in one straightforward proposal, and we have been reliably informed that the detail on our proposals is second to none!

All of our projects vary depending on the size of your home and its construction; however, most siding installation projects follow the same general timeline:

1. Demolition: The demolition process is the initial step, and involves removing the existing trim and siding from your home. This is the loudest and messiest part of the process, so we try to complete this step as quickly as possible. The demo process starts on the first day and ends once all the old siding has been removed. Fortunately, once the plywood has been installed, the disruptive noise and mess decrease significantly.
2. Shear Wall: If your home already has plywood under the existing siding, we can often install the siding over the current plywood shear wall, provided it is in good condition. If, as is often the case, there is no plywood or the plywood is damaged, we must replace the plywood with new material or sheathing.
3. Weather Barrier/Flashing: Once you have a solid shear wall, we install a Tyvek or HardieWrap weather barrier to provide protection from the elements. The weather barriers we install are woven, which allows your home to breathe while keeping the moisture out. In addition, we install flashing tape around the doors, windows, and corners of your home to prevent damage from moisture intrusion.
4. Trim and Siding: We will install your new siding and trim on top of the weather barrier and flashing.
5. Finishing Touches: After we have completed your siding installation, we go over everything to add caulking, mount fixtures, and generally touch up and clean up your exterior. The project foreman will walk with you to ensure that you are satisfied with the completed project.
6. Inspection: We will arrange for your local building inspector to review the work and sign off on the permit. Please be aware that your local building code may require a smoke detector and carbon monoxide inspection. They may require access to the inside of your home, and they may ask you to sign a form indicating your compliance with local building codes.

If we discover interior dry rot, we will let you know when we find it and how much we find. Dry rot is a time and material repair. We charge $65 per hour plus the cost of materials. While we do our best to tell you exactly how much it will cost up front, this can vary depending on the amount found and how long it takes to repair. This change order is typically paid for at the very end of the job.

While we are as careful as possible, it is important to remember that safety is our main concern. We may need to place a ladder near and tree or plant in order to safely access an area of your home. During the course of your project, material will fall to the ground. Again, while we take preventative measures, damage may occur. If there are plants/trees that are particularly important to you, please let us know prior to the start of the project. We will do our best to cover/enclose them to prevent damage.

While many customers only concern themselves with the outside walls during a project, the inside of the home is important as well. Fragile items (pictures, clocks, TVs, dishware, etc) hanging on the walls that will be worked on, should be removed prior to the start of the project. The racking of the walls during demo and installation can cause these items to fall. It is also worth noting that this racking can also cause “nail pops”. Nail pops are when the drywall screws or nails pop out to reveal themselves on the inside of your home. This is common and we can repair and touch them up if necessary. On the exterior walls, hanging garden art, pottery, furniture, etc, should all be moved away from the home. Landscaping may also need to be pruned back off the walls to allow access for installation. If you need help moving any items away from the walls, please let us know prior to the start of the project

For one story homes, ladders are typically used during installation. Higher walls will require pump jacks (scaffolding system) that allows us to work close to the wall). This system will have tobe tied into your fascia, eaves or in some cases your roof.  In all cases, the holes made to tie the pumpjacks into will be completely filled with caulking and sealed. This equipment is designed for siding projects and is much less intrusive on landscaping than a typical scaffolding system.

Although you do not need to take time off work, it is important to be available in some way in order to answer questions that may arise. This can often be done by phone/text. We will need access inside if we are installing windows. It is important to remember, if you have pets, please take precaution to ensure they are inside. Many customers choose to have their pets relocated during the project. For typical siding projects we will order a port-a-potty to avoid having to come inside as much as possible.  Our goal is to complete your project efficiently and with the least amount of headaches as possible.

LP Smartside siding is an engineered wood product. It is made of wood strands and treated with waxes, adhesive resins and zinc borate applied before being bonded with a resin-saturated, water-resistant overlay. This process helps the products resist termites and fungal decay for long-term strength and durability in a variety of weather conditions.

The current battle of paintable composite siding boards has given rise to quite the rivalry between LP SmartSide and James Hardie. These two really don’t like each other; they make the Vikings/Packers rivalry look pretty tame in comparison. And like Vikings/Packers, the front line of this battle is taking place in the Twin Cities because this is one of the top remodeling and building markets in the nation. See our Siding Replacement Wars blog post for more information: Hardie vs LP.

The current battle of paintable composite siding boards has given rise to quite the rivalry between LP SmartSide and James Hardie. These two really don’t like each other; they make the Vikings/Packers rivalry look pretty tame in comparison. And like Vikings/Packers, the front line of this battle is taking place in the Twin Cities because this is one of the top remodeling and building markets in the nation. See our Siding Replacement Wars blog post for more information: Hardie vs LP.

Vinyl windows offer the best value for the dollar than other composite frames such as fiberglass, fibrex or wood-clad. Vinyl does not conduct the outside energy into your house, so it is very energy efficient. The main drawback to vinyl is it susceptibility to expansion and contraction.  It is virtually maintenance free, never needs to be painted and most manufacturers offer a limited lifetime warranty.

Fibrex is a composite material invented by Andersen. Fibrex has advantages such as narrower frames allowing for more glass space, high energy efficiency and low maintenance. It is also stronger than vinyl.

These types of windows have either an aluminum, fibrex, fiberglass or vinyl exterior skin with a wood interior.  These windows offer the most interior beauty as the frames can be painted or stained. They also offer custom styles and grid patterns that are found in older homers.

3 Generations Improvements is a full service siding, windows, doors and decking company. Meaning, we can furnish and install any material type needed.

Yes, we offer financing through Synchrony Financial. We offer several plans to help fit your needs. We also provide energy financing such as mPower or California First financing.

Yes, we accept credit cards through PayPal. We email you an invoice that can be processed on their secure site whether you have a PayPal account or not.

Our typical payment schedule is:

1. A) 10% or $1,000 down (whichever is less)
2. B) 50% of the balance when the material is delivered
3. C) Remaining balance upon completion.

Please note; not all projects are the same and we are flexible.

3 Generations has multiple crews which have different amounts of crew members. On an average size project (1-2 story) 1500-3000 sq ft home, it will take us 5-10 working days to complete. Please note; this depends upon the scope of work and assumes inspections are on time.

Our manufacturers and suppliers hand out periodic price increases. They notify us 30 day notice in advance before increase goes into effect.

This depends upon the individual building department. Most permits are based on the valuation of the project or the square footage of siding being installed. Most permits range between $500-$1500. However, there are many bay area city’s that continually increase their costs and we have seen more in the $2,000 – $3,000 range than ever before.  You can contact your city for accurate pricing if this is a concern. We do not include permit costs in our pricing because there is no way to know how much the permit is going to cost until the project is finalized and calculated. We find that those contractors who include permit costs often times guess high to cover their costs. We do not charge you to pull the permit and this can often times take several hours to get.