Sep 13, 2014 1 min read

Q. Our house is about 50 years old, and its aluminum siding is loose along the bottom. Is there any way to put it back on? Can it be nailed back into position? You have helped so many people, and I hope I’m going to be one of them!

A. We seem to be getting a lot of questions from New Yorkers. The current batch of letters is from readers of the column in the Albany Times Union. That’s nice, and since my father was born in upstate New York and a nephew lives there, too, it’s an extra pleasure to answer them. To the Morrises: Aluminum and vinyl siding are installed in a way that the lengths are snapped together, and by nailing through flanges on those strips. Try to lift the second-lowest strip, which will reveal a flange that is nailed in place. They might have used short roofing nails that have popped, and you can swap out longer roofing nails to resecure them. Call a siding installer (some do both) and ask for hints. A carpenter could help, too.