Siding Replacement · Baltimore
Vinyl, insulated vinyl, or James Hardie fiber-cement. Formstone removal quoted as its own line item. Written estimate within 48 hours.
40 Google reviews MHIC #149066 Fully insured
What's in the price
Old material comes off, sheathing gets checked for rot and damage, a new weather-resistive barrier goes on, then your choice of vinyl, insulated vinyl, or James Hardie fiber-cement. The barrier does the quiet work — we never skip it or cut corners there.
Trim wrapped at every window and door, soffit and fascia coordinated, gutters re-hung or replaced as part of the scope. Done together it reads as a finished exterior; done in pieces it looks like the contractor stopped halfway.
On Baltimore rowhomes, this is usually a separate phase before new siding goes up — and a separate line item in the estimate, never buried in the base price. We pull the wire-lath-and-cement shell, repoint the brick underneath, let it dry, then either leave the original facade exposed or re-clad over a proper barrier. Budget $3,500 and up depending on the brick condition.
Most like-for-like replacements on non-historic properties don't need a building permit, but pre-1978 homes may trigger Maryland's lead-safe RRP requirements. CHAP historic districts need a Certificate of Approval before any visible exterior change. We confirm what your address needs and handle the paperwork as part of the job.
How it goes
01
We measure your wall square footage, check behind any loose panels or formstone where we can, note the sheathing condition, and confirm whether your address has historic-district or lead-safe requirements. Written line-item estimate within 48 hours — material, formstone, and trim broken out, not rolled into one number.
02
Formstone comes off before new siding goes on, never over it. We pull the wire lath and cement, inspect and repoint the brick, let it dry, then install the new weather-resistive barrier and window flashing. Asbestos siding is handled separately under certified protocols.
03
Barrier and flashing go in around every penetration first. Then the siding goes up: boards, trim, and corner details in sequence. On rowhomes, the front facade geometry and party-wall returns get their own attention.
04
Wrapped windows and doors, soffit and fascia tied in, gutters re-hung or replaced. Magnet sweep for stray nails, full site cleanup, then a walk-through with you before we call it done.
Baltimore siding
Baltimore has a siding situation you won't find most other places: thousands of rowhomes still clad in formstone, the stamped-cement shell that swept through working-class neighborhoods in the 1940s through the 1960s. A lot of it is cracking, staining, and pulling off the wall, and homeowners are finally dealing with it. The short answer is that you remove it, not side over it. Formstone already traps moisture against the brick. Cap it with new siding and you seal that moisture in, which is how you grow mold behind a wall you can no longer inspect.
A true rowhome is also a different calculation from a detached suburban house. Shared party walls on both sides mean you're siding only the front facade and the rear, which can cut your square footage roughly in half versus an all-four-sides Towson or Catonsville colonial. The same job that runs $15,000 to $19,000 on a detached home can land noticeably lower on a front-and-rear rowhouse, once you've accounted for the party-wall geometry.
CHAP historic districts add another layer. Federal Hill, Fells Point, Mount Vernon, Bolton Hill, and several others require a Certificate of Approval before any publicly visible exterior change — including siding material or color. That review can take 30 to 60 days, so we start it the moment you're committed to the project. If you're in a CHAP district, the CHAP tax credit guide is worth a read — Baltimore City's 10-year property tax credit may apply to the full project, not just interior work.
For the full comparison of vinyl versus fiber-cement, the formstone removal question, and what holds up in Maryland weather, the Baltimore siding replacement guide has it all. If you're planning a bigger exterior project, the pricing page lays out all our services line by line. We do siding across Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County — same crew, same written estimate, same timeline.
★★★★★ 4.6 on Google · 40 reviews
★★★★★
Steven and his team completed a 3-level renovation of my newly purchased home. They took the time to ensure my vision was possible and within budget while keeping quality. Even after construction was completed they were just as attentive, answering any questions I had. I would choose Monarch Bay for any of my future renovation needs.
★★★★★
Steve and his team did a great job on my kitchen remodel. Sergio and Frank were respectful and did clean, quality work. From the demo phase to installing cabinets, granite and plumbing, the process went smoothly. The kitchen looks great and I will be going back to these guys for more work in the future!
★★★★★
Monarch Bay did an incredible job with the complete renovation of our master suite bathroom. All the old fixtures, cabinets, tub, shower, toilet, walls and flooring were removed and an extraordinary new bathroom resulted. We told them what we wanted and the team delivered. Our bathroom is stunning. We highly recommend Monarch Bay Renovations.
Common Questions
The working range is $6.25 to $9.50 per square foot installed — roughly $12,000 to $19,000 for a typical two-story Baltimore home. Vinyl runs $4 to $7 per square foot; insulated vinyl $6 to $9; James Hardie fiber-cement ColorPlus $9 to $13. A true rowhome is often cheaper than those numbers suggest, because shared party walls mean you're only siding the front and rear. Formstone removal, if you have it, adds $3,500 and up as a separate line item. Asbestos abatement, if present on a pre-1980 home, is quoted separately at $5 to $9 per square foot.
Remove it. Formstone is a wire-mesh-and-cement shell troweled over original brick. Siding straight over it traps moisture against the brick, and you can't see any rot on a 70-year-old wall until it's already doing damage. The right sequence is to pull the formstone, repoint the brick underneath, let it dry, then either keep the original facade or install new siding over a proper weather barrier.
Both perform well in Maryland's climate. Vinyl at $4 to $7 per square foot is affordable, low-maintenance, and lasts 20 to 40 years — but it can crack in a hard freeze and warp in summer heat. James Hardie fiber-cement at $9 to $13 per square foot costs more upfront and lasts 50-plus years. It handles Maryland humidity and wind-driven rain well, holds paint for 15 years, and won't rot or feed insects. For a home you plan to stay in, fiber-cement usually comes out ahead on long-term value. For a rental or a shorter hold, quality insulated vinyl is the practical choice.
Most Baltimore homes take one to two weeks once we start. A front-and-rear rowhome can move faster; a four-sided detached home with a lot of trim and soffit detail takes longer. If formstone removal is in scope, that adds a few days as its own phase — the brick needs repointing and some drying time before new siding goes up, and that step can't be rushed.
Like-for-like siding on a non-historic property generally doesn't need a building permit in Baltimore City or the surrounding counties. But if your home sits in a CHAP historic district — Federal Hill, Fells Point, Mount Vernon, Bolton Hill, and others — you need a Certificate of Approval from the city's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation before any publicly visible exterior change. That review can take 30 to 60 days. Pre-1978 homes may also trigger lead-safe requirements under Maryland's RRP rules. We confirm what applies to your address and handle the submissions.
Yes. We work throughout the Baltimore metro — from City rowhouses in Canton and Hampden out to Baltimore County suburbs like Towson, Catonsville, and Dundalk, Howard County (Ellicott City, Columbia), and Anne Arundel County (Glen Burnie, Severna Park). Same licensed crew, same 48-hour written estimate process.
We look at the wall before we put a number on paper. Written estimate within 48 hours of the walkthrough. Formstone, permits, and lead-safe requirements quoted upfront, not discovered mid-job.
