Hear from Our Customers
Most Bush Manor homeowners don’t call a siding contractor because they woke up one morning and decided to upgrade. They call because something finally got bad enough to notice — panels warping, seams separating, faded sections that no longer match, or a water stain on an interior wall that shouldn’t be there.
By that point, the siding has usually been failing for a while. The visible damage is just the part that finally broke through. Water finds its way into micro-cracks during a wet fall, freezes overnight in January, and slowly widens those gaps through every subsequent winter. New siding stops that cycle. It gives your Bush Manor home a proper moisture barrier, tight weatherproof seams, and materials that hold up against Delaware’s climate rather than just looking good on the day they’re installed.
The result isn’t just a better-looking house — it’s a house that isn’t quietly deteriorating behind its own walls.
First State Roofing & Exteriors Co. is based in Smyrna — about 15 to 20 miles up Route 13 from Bush Manor — and has been serving Kent County homeowners for over 22 years. Bush Manor falls squarely within the area we’ve worked in throughout that time, and the Dover-area housing stock isn’t a mystery to us. We know what the homes in Bush Manor were built with, how they’ve aged, and what Delaware’s weather does to exterior siding over a few decades.
Every project is handled in-house by our own trained, insured crew. No subcontractors, no day labor, no surprises when someone shows up at your door. We’re licensed and insured per Delaware’s contractor registration requirements, BBB accredited with an A+ rating, and have a 5.0 out of 5 rating across 63-plus verified reviews. Those aren’t numbers we throw out to sound impressive — they’re the reason homeowners in Bush Manor, Rodney Village, Capitol Park, and the broader Dover area keep calling us back and sending their neighbors our way.
It starts with a free consultation and a detailed inspection of your current siding. Not a quick glance from the driveway — an actual assessment of what’s there, what condition it’s in, and what’s likely going on underneath. For homes in Bush Manor, that inspection often turns up things the homeowner didn’t know to look for: moisture infiltration behind north-facing panels, fastener failure from years of thermal expansion and contraction, or original installation shortcuts that have been slowly working against the home for years.
Once we know what we’re dealing with, we walk you through the scope in plain language. What needs to come off, what we’re putting on, what materials make sense for your home’s size and exposure, and what the project will actually cost. The City of Dover requires permits for exterior siding work, and we handle all of that — you don’t have to navigate the permit office or worry about unpermitted work creating problems if you ever sell.
From there, most siding projects take two to five days from start to finish. Our crew manages the full job — removal of the old siding, inspection of the substrate, moisture barrier installation, new siding installation, trim work, sealing, and cleanup. When we leave, the job site is clean and the work is done right the first time.
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We install both vinyl and fiber cement siding, and we’ll give you an honest recommendation based on your home — not on which material is faster for us to install. For most Bush Manor homes in the 1,700 to 2,100 square foot range, both options are worth a real conversation.
Vinyl is Delaware’s most popular siding choice for good reason: it’s moisture-resistant, handles freeze-thaw cycling well, requires minimal maintenance, and performs reliably in the humid inland climate of Kent County. Fiber cement offers a longer lifespan — up to 50 years versus vinyl’s 20 to 40 — and is virtually immune to moisture problems, making it a strong choice for homeowners who plan to stay long-term or want to maximize resale value.
Every siding job we do includes full removal of the existing siding, a substrate inspection, moisture barrier installation, and weatherproof sealing at all seams and trim intersections. If we find rot, mold, or structural damage underneath the old siding — which does happen, especially in homes that have had failing siding for a while — we tell you upfront before any additional work begins. No surprise charges without your approval.
If your siding damage was caused by a storm, we also assist with the homeowners insurance claim process. Wind and hail damage to siding in the Dover area is more common than most homeowners expect, and navigating an insurance claim without a contractor who knows the process can mean leaving covered repairs on the table. Financing is also available for homeowners who want to move forward now rather than wait.
Yes. Bush Manor is a neighborhood within the City of Dover, which means exterior siding replacement falls under Dover’s building permit requirements. Skipping the permit process isn’t just a technical violation — it can create real problems down the road, particularly if you sell your home and a buyer’s inspector or title company flags unpermitted exterior work. In Delaware, contractors are also required to register with the state’s Department of Labor before performing work, which is a separate layer of compliance beyond the city permit.
We handle all permitting as part of every siding project in Bush Manor. We know Dover’s requirements, we pull the permits before work begins, and we make sure the finished job passes inspection. For homeowners who may need to sell on short notice, having a fully permitted, code-compliant siding installation is one less thing to worry about at closing.
It depends on how widespread the damage is and what’s driving it. Isolated cracked or broken panels — say, from a single impact — can sometimes be repaired without replacing the whole system. But if you’re seeing warping, widespread fading, panels that have lost their rigidity, seams that have opened up, or any sign of moisture getting behind the siding, repair is usually a short-term answer to a whole-system problem.
In Bush Manor, a lot of homes have original siding from the 1980s and 1990s that has simply reached the end of its useful life. At that point, patching individual panels doesn’t address the underlying issue — the moisture barrier behind the siding may be compromised, the fasteners may have worked loose from years of thermal cycling, and the overall system is no longer doing what it’s supposed to do. The inspection we do at the start of every project is specifically designed to give you a clear answer: here’s what’s failing, here’s why, and here’s what it will take to actually fix it rather than just cover it up.
For most homes in Bush Manor, vinyl and fiber cement are the two materials worth serious consideration, and both perform well in Delaware’s inland climate when installed correctly. Vinyl is the most widely used siding in Delaware for practical reasons — it doesn’t rot, doesn’t absorb moisture, holds up against freeze-thaw cycling, and requires very little maintenance over its lifespan. For a mid-size suburban home in the Dover area, it’s a reliable, cost-effective choice.
Fiber cement offers a longer lifespan — up to 50 years — and is particularly resistant to the moisture and humidity that Delaware’s climate produces year-round. It also holds paint better over time and has a more substantial appearance than standard vinyl. The trade-off is a higher upfront cost. If you’re planning to stay in your home long-term or want to maximize what new siding adds to your resale value, fiber cement is worth the investment. If budget is the primary consideration and you want a material that will perform well for the next 20 to 30 years, quality vinyl installed with a proper moisture barrier is a completely sound choice.
Often, yes — and more homeowners in the Dover area miss this than you’d expect. Delaware’s inland weather regularly produces the kinds of events that trigger legitimate siding claims: high-wind summer thunderstorms, nor’easters in the fall and winter, and the occasional tropical storm remnant that comes up the coast. If wind or hail damaged your siding, your homeowners insurance policy may cover part or all of the replacement cost, depending on your coverage and deductible.
The challenge is that the claims process isn’t always straightforward. Documenting the damage correctly, understanding what your policy actually covers, and working with an adjuster who may push back on the scope of the claim are all things that trip homeowners up. We assist with the insurance claims process as part of our service — we help you document the damage, understand what a covered replacement should include, and make sure you’re not leaving legitimate coverage on the table. If you’ve had a storm event recently and you’re not sure whether your siding damage qualifies, a free inspection is the right first step.
For most homes in Bush Manor — which typically run in the 1,700 to 2,100 square foot range — a full siding replacement takes two to five days from start to finish. The actual timeline depends on a few variables: the size and shape of the home, the material being installed, how much prep work the substrate requires once the old siding comes off, and weather conditions during the installation window.
What doesn’t vary is the process. We don’t start a job and then disappear for days between work sessions. Our crew shows up, works through the project in sequence, and finishes clean. If we find something unexpected underneath the old siding — rot, moisture damage, or compromised sheathing — we stop, show you what we found, explain the options, and get your approval before any additional scope is added. You won’t get a call at the end of the job telling you the price changed without having agreed to it first.
The most reliable approach is to verify the basics before you get into pricing conversations. In Delaware, contractors are required to register with the state’s Department of Labor — that’s the baseline compliance check. Beyond that, look for a business with a physical address in the area (not just a phone number), active BBB accreditation, and a review history that’s both substantial in volume and consistent in what customers are saying. A handful of five-star reviews is easy to accumulate. Sixty-plus verified reviews at a 5.0 rating over years of operation tells a different story.
It’s also worth asking directly whether the contractor uses subcontractors. Some companies in the Dover area manage projects but hire outside crews to do the actual work — which means the people showing up at your home aren’t employees of the company you hired. We use our own trained, insured crew on every job. No subcontractors. The team that starts your project is the team that finishes it. For Bush Manor homeowners who want a straightforward answer to “who is actually going to be working on my house,” that’s a question worth asking every contractor you talk to before you sign anything.
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