Siding Contractors in Gresham, Oregon: East Wind & Permits
Gresham sits where the Columbia River Gorge opens onto the Portland basin, and most of its houses date from the 1970s on. Both shape the siding work here.
Siding contractors in Gresham, Oregon deal with two things the rest of the metro sees less of: newer housing stock with its late-twentieth-century siding materials, and winter weather coming straight out of the Columbia River Gorge. Gresham’s median home was built in 1981 and only about 3 percent of its homes predate 1940 (Census ACS 2020-2024), so hardboard, T1-11 and vinyl are more typical here than original old lap siding.
Portland Siding Pros passes Gresham siding requests to independent siding contractors who work in east Multnomah County, and they quote directly.
Gresham’s permit rule for siding
Gresham’s building division lists “replacement or repair of siding not required to be fire-resistive” among projects that do not need a building permit. Fire-resistive walls, and sheathing or framing repairs found during a tear-off, may. Gresham also administers land use and building services for some unincorporated east Multnomah County areas under agreements with the county, so a house just outside city limits may still deal with Gresham.
East wind, ice and Gresham siding
Gresham sits near the west mouth of the Gorge. NOAA researchers counted 92 gap-wind events at the Troutdale gap exit, lasting 38.5 hours on average and most persistent in January, and linked the shallow cold flows to freezing rain. The National Weather Service puts the strongest gusts from Washougal and Troutdale eastward. For siding, that means:
- Wind-driven rain finds weak caulk joints, unflashed penetrations and gaps in house wrap that ordinary rain misses. See water behind siding.
- Ice and falling limbs break boards and open walls. The February 2021 ice storm was the largest outage in PGE’s history. See siding repair for storm damage.
- Loose or poorly fastened panels take the brunt of it on east-facing walls.
The siding on Gresham’s 1970s-1990s houses
Houses built from the 1970s to the 1990s make up much of Gresham’s stock. Common problems:
- Hardboard or Masonite siding swelling at the lower edges.
- T1-11 panel siding delaminating at the bottom and at horizontal seams.
- Vinyl that has buckled because it was nailed too tight, or cracked from impact in cold weather.
When those are failing across the house, a full replacement is common, usually in fiber cement or vinyl, with new house wrap and flashing.
Before you request a Gresham quote
Tell the contractor which walls face east, what the siding is, and whether any damage followed a storm (and whether you have filed an insurance claim). Published figures with sources are on the siding cost page. Nearby: Portland, Troutdale and Happy Valley.
About Gresham
- Gresham's building division lists replacement or repair of siding not required to be fire-resistive among projects that need no building permit.
- Gresham's median home was built in 1981 (Census ACS 2020-2024), and only about 3 percent of its homes predate 1940, so hardboard, T1-11 and early vinyl are far more common here than old-growth lap siding.
- East Multnomah County sits at the west mouth of the Columbia River Gorge. NOAA researchers counted 92 gap-wind events at the Troutdale gap exit, most persistent in January, and the shallow cold flows are linked to freezing rain. The National Weather Service puts the strongest gusts from Washougal and Troutdale eastward.
- Gresham also administers land use and building services for some unincorporated east Multnomah County areas under agreements with the county.
Covers Gresham, OR and surrounding Multnomah County addresses (97030, 97080).
Available in Gresham: Siding ReplacementSiding Repair
What we can help with
Siding Replacement
Tear-off to the sheathing and a complete new wall skin: rot repair, house wrap, flashed windows, a drainage gap where it is required, new trim and new siding.
Siding Repair
Targeted work on part of a wall: rotted boards and trim cut out, torn or missing flashing fixed, storm and ice damage patched, and matching boards woven in.
Fiber Cement (Hardie) Siding
James Hardie and other fiber cement lap, panel and shingle siding, primed or factory-finished, installed to the maker's clearance and fastening rules.
Vinyl Siding
Vinyl lap, board-and-batten and shake-profile siding, and repair of panels that have buckled, cracked, melted or slipped out of their channels.
Cedar Siding
Cedar bevel and lap boards, board-and-batten, and sawn shingles: replacing split or rotted pieces, re-siding in cedar, and keeping the finish ahead of the rain.
Historic Wood Siding Repair
Repairing original lap and shingle siding on older Portland-area houses: consolidating and patching sound boards, milling matches for missing ones, and working lead-safe.
Signs it is time to call someone
Soft, crumbly boards, sills or corner trim
Despite the name, dry rot is fungal decay in wood that stays wet: behind failed caulk, along the tops of trim with no drip cap, and where boards sit close to soil, decks or roofing. Portland averages about 37 inches of rain a year, most of it from November to January, so the same spots stay damp for months.
Siding RepairSiding ReplacementCedar SidingHistoric Wood Siding Repair
Grooved plywood panels peeling apart at the bottom
T1-11 is plywood with vertical grooves, and it lets water in through its edges: the bottom cut edge near grade, horizontal joints that lack Z-flashing, and panel corners at windows. The veneers then separate and the panel softens from the edge inward.
Lap boards swollen and mushroomed at the lower edge
Hardboard siding, much of it sold under the Masonite name, and LP Inner-Seal OSB siding are wood-fiber boards that swell once water gets past the paint at edges and nail holes. Both were installed widely in the 1980s and 1990s, and both class-action settlements have long since closed to claims.
Stains or soft wall below a roof corner or window
Siding sheds most rain, and the layers behind it deal with the rest. Water gets past them where a roof edge dies into a wall without a kickout flashing, where house wrap is torn or lapped the wrong way, and where windows were set without head or sill flashing.
Vinyl panels rippled, bowed, cracked or melted
Vinyl moves with temperature, so it is meant to hang loosely on its nails with room to slide at corner posts and J-channel. Panels nailed tight or butted hard into trim buckle when they heat up, and sunlight concentrated by a neighbour's low-emissivity window glass can soften them.
Boards cracked or knocked loose in a winter storm
Portland-area winter storms bring down trees and limbs onto houses: the February 2021 ice storm left about 420,000 PGE customers without power, the largest outage in the utility's history. A broken section of siding exposes the wrap and sheathing behind it, so it needs closing up before the next rain.
Paint peeling off the same boards after every repaint
Paint that fails in the same place is usually being pushed off by moisture from behind, or went on over end grain and replacement boards that were never primed. On a house built before 1978, scraping it counts as disturbing paint that may contain lead.
Common questions
Is a building permit needed for new siding in Gresham?
Gresham's building division lists replacement or repair of siding not required to be fire-resistive among projects that do not require a building permit. Walls that must be fire-resistive, and structural repairs behind the siding, are a different matter; confirm with the City or the contractor.
Does the east wind damage siding in Gresham?
East Multnomah County gets strong gap winds from the Columbia River Gorge in winter, and the National Weather Service places the strongest gusts from Washougal and Troutdale eastward. Wind can drive rain into weak joints and bring down limbs. Whether it damaged your siding is something a contractor has to judge on the wall itself.
What ZIP codes does the Gresham page cover?
97030 and 97080. Addresses in 97233 and 97236 near the Gresham line are covered too; this site lists those ZIP codes under Portland.
Start My Siding Quote
Describe the siding job once and we pass it to an independent local siding contractor, who quotes you directly. Free, with no obligation.