Here’s How To Protect Siding From A Weed Eater

protect siding from weed trimmer

As a homeowner, few things are more frustrating than putting in the time to maintain your lawn only to realize all your hard work resulted in botched stucco or vinyl siding by your weed eater. If this has ever happened to your home, take heart in knowing that it is a very common problem.

The good news is if you take the necessary precautions and implement the following tips, you will be sure to reduce the chances of your home’s siding being damaged by your weed eater.

In this article, I will cover how to protect siding from a weed eater. I will tell you exactly what measures you can take to protect your siding from damage by providing tips on proper weed eater operation, as well as suggestions for products and materials to use.

How A Weed Eater Can Damage Siding

If you want to prevent and protect your siding from damage by your string trimmer, it is important to understand how this type of damage occurs. 

Weed eater trimming lines can reach speeds up to 7000 revolutions a minute. At these speeds, a string trimmer can hurl a pebble or other hard objects that they encounter while in use into your home’s siding with devastating force, leaving marks, lacerations, holes, and other serious damage.

Damaged vinyl siding from a rock thrown by a string trimmer.
A single piece of the vinyl siding has sustained damage from a rock thrown by a string trimmer.

Preventive Measures

Although weed eaters are great at eliminating unwanted foliage, they can be disastrous for the siding of your house, especially if your house happens to have stucco or vinyl siding. The first step to protecting your home’s siding from weed wacker damage is taking preventative measures.

Many people make the mistake of being lulled into a false sense of security if their weed eater has a spacer guard. They don’t anticipate the possibility of the weed trimmer’s powerful spinning line catching a pebble or some other hard object and hurling it against your once previously mint condition vinyl or stucco siding.

Tips on Using a Weed Eater to Prevent Damage to Siding

Proper handling of a weed eater is significant when it comes not only to your safety but also to protect the siding of your home from damage as well. Before using the weed wacker, it is crucial to ensure that: 

  • There are no rocks, pebbles, or other hard and loose objects on the ground where you will be working.
  • You are alert and aware of your surroundings.

Although many string trimmers are equipped with a protective shield, they are only designed to protect the user from objects flying in their direction. However, they do little to prevent things from going out the front and in the direction of your home. 

However, you can make your home’s own “shield” by inserting a piece of wood into the ground between you and your home’s siding where you are using the weed eater.  This can be a 2×4 stud that you place next to your home to provide a barrier between you and the siding. 

Length is up to you: it’ll be easier to carry the wood if it is cut shorter, but that will mean more stopping to move the wood stud to a new location as well.

If that sounds too inconvenient and time-consuming to do every time you trim, another option is to install 1 X 6 PVC Lumber to the bottom panel of your home’s siding where it meets the base. Then, cover it with some metal molding for maximum protection, such as aluminum Z molding or J molding. 

However, if that goes beyond your skill set, you’ll have to bring a contractor on board to get the job done.

Master the Weed Trimmer

With practice, you can improve your weed eater technique and precision, which will reduce your chances of making the mistake of damaging your home’s siding when using the weed eater.

We’ve got a great article with advice on how to use a weed eater that will have you trimming and edging like a pro and protecting your home’s siding while you’re at it.

Ut-Oh! It’s Time For Siding Repair

If you are reading this because your siding has already been damaged, don’t sweat. At least not just yet. Depending on the severity of the damage, you may be able to repair it to an acceptable degree, visually at least (more on what exactly I mean by this later).

For minor cases of strictly surface marks, it may be worth giving vinyl siding repair patches a shot if you have vinyl siding. It may mean the difference between you and the cost of a contractor.

I suggest trying the Mendyl Siding Vinyl Repair Kit, which is a pack of two durable and weather-resistant PVC patches that conform to the surface of your siding. They are specifically marketed toward vinyl siding. These patches are 6 1/2 by 4 3/4 in. and are made to be painted to your desired color.

It is important to note here that if you do decide to repair a hole in your home’s siding, you need to take extra precautions if the damaged area has been left untreated for an extended period.

One of the major problems that a hole in your siding can cause is trapped moisture inside your home’s walls, leading to mold and fungus that can lead to structural damage. It is critical to ensure there are no signs of moisture inside and around the damaged area to avoid this issue.

herbacides can help with weed but shouldnt be the first choice

Alternatives to String Trimmers Near Siding

Another way to protect your home siding from a weed eater is to avoid using a weed eater altogether. Instead, consider treating unwanted weeds with weed-killing chemicals, like Roundup.

Conclusion

In this article, we have looked at a few solutions to the question, “How to protect siding from weed eaters.” While there may not be any easy fixes or quick solutions, with a bit of time and effort, keeping your home’s siding looking in top shape is absolutely achievable.

Few things are more frustrating than putting time into maintaining your yard only to find that you now need to fix the siding on your house.

I hope this article will help to prevent you from finding yourself in that situation. The whole point of yard maintenance is to maintain the visual appearance of your home, not create more work for yourself.

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