Can You Put Vinyl Siding Over a Tudor Style House?

Vinyl siding is a modern type of exterior skin that's applied on the outside of homes to protect them from the elements. Vinyl installation requires a flat, solid layer of substrate -- such as plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) -- as well as a layer of waterproofing. While you can technically put vinyl over the exterior of a Tudor style home, there are some considerations to keep in mind.

A Tudor style home displays a timber structure on the inside, with the wood visible in most areas. The outside of the house features a board-and-batten style with visible strips of wood, either as part of the actual skeleton of the home, or as decorative boards installed after the house is finished to give the appearance of a Tudor home.

Vinyl siding requires a completely flat substrate surface for installation. The preferred type of substrate is either exterior grade plywood or exterior grade OSB. Not only does the surface need to be flat, but you also must be able to attach the vinyl siding across the entirety of the surface structure, as the vertical slats for vinyl siding must be nailed across the length of each row.

There are two different types of Tudor homes. Those which have decorative boards installed after the fact, and actual Tudor houses that feature visible beams on the exterior of the home. In both cases, the areas between the beams must have plywood or OSB installed so you have something on which to nail the rows of vinyl siding. As a result, you must cover the entire exterior of the home with plywood or OSB according to the siding manufacturer's guidelines.

Once you decide to add vinyl siding to a Tudor style home, you forever alter the way the house looks on the outside. It will no longer have that traditional Tudor style, and you won't be able to go back to the old look, because once you install the plywood or OSB -- as well as the waterproofing for the vinyl siding -- you will have punctured the walls with numerous nail and screw holes. It will cease to be a Tudor home and instead have a modern, vinyl-sided track-home look and feel.