Vinyl siding is thin, flexible, moves with variations in outside temperature and relies on being interlocked at the top and bottom to achieve its weather tightness. As you will soon see, it is the technique used in the interlocking process that is the trick to removing and installing the siding.
It is fastened to the house with nails driven through elongated holes in the nail hem. However it is CRITICAL that the nails not be driven tight against the nail hem or else the siding cannot move with temperature changes and will buckle. This is the most common error made in vinyl siding installation.
You need to make sure there is a 1/32" gap between the nail head and the vinyl siding (about the thickness of a dime).
To attach or to separate vinyl siding requires a special siding removal tool called a zip tool. Let's review how to use this tool in the next section.
