You should promptly fix any holes or cracks that develop in your vinyl siding. Water and ice will penetrate these openings and threaten the long-term integrity of your exterior walls. You won’t need any advanced construction knowledge to learn how to patch siding. Caulk fills small holes, and replacing a piece of cracked siding is a quick job as well.

How to Patch Siding Steps

Learning how to patch siding varies based on how large the hole is. Read on to discover how to patch a small, medium, and large hole or crack in your vinyl siding.

For small holes in vinyl siding:

1. Squirt exterior-grade caulk into the hole.
   1. Use caulk that matches the color of your siding.
   2. If you cannot match caulk to siding color, then buy a paintable exterior caulk.
2. Leave the caulk to dry for the amount of time recommended by the manufacturer.
3. Trim excess caulk away with a razor scraper so that the patch is flush with the siding.
4. If you need to paint the patch, brush acrylic latex exterior paint over the caulk plug.

For medium holes in vinyl siding:

1. Insert the curved end of the siding removal tool under the buttlock of the damaged piece of vinyl siding.
2. Lift siding piece up gently and apply foil tape over the hole on the back of the siding.
3. Snap the siding back into place.
4. Apply caulk over the tape-filled hole.
5. Allow caulk to dry and then scrape away excess.
6. Paint if necessary.

For large holes or cracks in vinyl siding:

1. Unlock the broken piece of siding with the siding removal tool.
2. If desired, you can cut out just the broken siding section with a utility knife.
3. Pry off the nails securing the broken piece.
4. Insert a replacement piece of vinyl siding.
5. Drive new nails into the nailing strip.
6. Snap the buttlock of the replacement piece into the rest of the siding.