Green Willow Run Siding Replacement | Willow Grove, PA

It Started With a Stucco Versus Siding Question

The project began with a practical comparison. Management wanted pricing for repairing or replacing the existing stucco and a separate option for converting Building 3 to siding, giving the association a clearer way to compare the short-term fix with a broader exterior solution. Our estimating team went to the property, studied the existing facade, reviewed the lower gables, rear wall areas, front elevations, windows, doors, trim, utilities, and the thin-brick veneer that complicated the front side of the building.

That site work mattered because “replace stucco with siding” sounds much simpler in a meeting than it looks standing in front of the building. The rear and gable areas carried stucco over framed walls, while portions of the front elevation used thin-brick veneer over their own underlayment and flashing conditions. Each material had to come off before we could see whether the wall underneath was ready for a new system.

The association ultimately moved forward with the siding conversion. From there, our estimating information, photographs, measurements, contract scope, supplier quotes, permit requirements, and field observations had to move from the proposal stage into Luis’s working production plan. Our multifamily and condominium siding services are built around that handoff because the wall does not care which department forgot to pass along an important detail.

Our office handled the construction-permit process through Upper Moreland Township before work began. The Township requires building permits for repairs and alterations including siding and windows, and in 2026 its Code Enforcement Department moved permit submissions to an online application system.

The Green Willow Run permit was submitted in August and received before the September mobilization. The Township advised that no progress inspection was required, leaving a final inspection as the municipal checkpoint once construction was complete. That gave the field team room to sequence demolition and repairs without repeatedly stopping the facade for intermediate municipal reviews.

Paperwork does not make a particularly compelling project photograph. It does, however, have a habit of becoming extremely compelling when somebody forgets it. Our job was to have the Township process, CAMCO coordination, material planning, and resident communication lined up before the first stucco started landing in the dumpster.

Organizing One Building Around Eight Occupied Homes

The field schedule began September 21 and was planned across 24 working days through October 23. A 30-yard Modern dumpster supported demolition, while Walters provided the portable restroom, and start notices were hand delivered before work reached the residents. The site also required scaffold and debris-handling equipment as the crews moved around the different elevations.

We did not have the luxury of treating Building 3 like an empty shell. Residents still needed their doors, parking, windows, utilities, and ordinary routines while crews worked a few feet away. That meant demolition needed boundaries, materials needed designated staging locations, and anything uncovered during the day needed a clear plan before everybody went home.

CAMCO served as the management connection between the association, residents, and our team. CAMCO’s Fort Washington operation serves condominium and HOA communities throughout Montgomery County and Greater Philadelphia, making the management side familiar with the practical realities of common-element construction. The useful part of that relationship is not simply having somebody copied on an email, but having a management team that can move information when an exterior condition affects one of the homes inside.

The base contract called for removal of the existing stucco, underlayment, and flashing from the lower gables and rear wall-framing areas. On the front elevation, the crews also removed thin-brick veneer, its underlayment, and the existing flashing from the framed wall areas. Only after those finishes were gone could we judge the condition of the sheathing and framing with any confidence.

That is the moment exterior renovation gets honest. Paint, stucco, veneer, and trim can hide a surprising amount of history, and none of it feels particularly obligated to match what everyone hoped to find during estimating. Once the wall is open, optimism becomes less useful than photographs, measurements, and a repair plan.

The contract already anticipated that reality. Additional sheathing, framing, insulation, window, door, and remediation work could be handled when real concealed conditions were exposed and authorized. That gave the project a process for dealing with the unexpected instead of pretending the unexpected had violated some rule by showing up.

The daily field record shows that demolition quickly became intertwined with sheathing and carpentry. The first production days focused on opening sections around the initial homes and rebuilding the surfaces needed for the future siding system. As crews progressed, concealed deterioration in one area required considerably deeper investigation and repair before the exterior could be closed again.

We are intentionally keeping the resident-specific details out of the public case study. What matters is that the wall had deteriorated framing and sill conditions that could not responsibly disappear beneath new vinyl siding simply because the material was already onsite. The affected area needed more exposure, repair coordination, and reconstruction before the finish work could continue.

That is the difference between covering a building and remediating one. New siding is excellent at improving the exterior when the substrate behind it is ready. It is considerably less useful as an expensive curtain over damaged framing.

Rebuilding the Weather Layer With CertaWrap and VYCOR

Once the wall conditions were ready, the project moved into the new water-management assembly. We installed CertainTeed CertaWrap™ weather-resistant barrier with taped seams over the prepared wall areas, creating a continuous layer behind the finished siding. CertainTeed describes CertaWrap as a weather-resistant barrier designed around water resistance, vapor transmission, air holdout, and long-term wall protection.

Openings and penetrations received VYCOR® self-adhered flashing, giving windows, doors, and other vulnerable transitions their own layer of protection before trim and siding covered the assembly. GCP’s VYCOR product family includes self-adhered flashing specifically intended for windows, doors, wall details, and other non-roof transitions.

Those layers are not glamorous, which is usually a good sign. The best weather barrier spends its entire service life hidden behind the material everybody photographs. Its reward for working correctly is that nobody standing inside the building has a reason to know it is there.

Installing CertainTeed Monogram® Siding

The finished facade uses CertainTeed Monogram® D4 Rough Cedar vinyl siding, supplied through SRS Building Products. SRS deliveries supported the project in phases, beginning with plywood, accessories, and initial siding before additional material arrived as the work moved across Building 3. That staggered delivery approach kept the site supplied without requiring the entire project inventory to live beside the building for a month.

CertainTeed Monogram® siding uses a traditional vinyl profile with a low-gloss woodgrain appearance and a locking system designed for dimensional stability. CertainTeed currently identifies Monogram as a low-maintenance product and lists a Lifetime Limited Warranty at the product level. The final Green Willow Run warranty documents should still control the actual project-specific coverage and ownership terms.

Installation quality matters as much as the material. Vinyl needs correct fastening, room for movement, straight courses, proper accessory integration, and clean transitions at windows, doors, corners, mounting blocks, and utility penetrations. A premium panel installed carelessly remains a very expensive way to create a wavy wall.

The rear and gable elevations moved through demolition and siding while the front required additional coordination around the thin-brick removal and building utilities. By mid-October, crews were actively finishing the front wall while electrical work was being coordinated around meter panels and other exterior components. The project was approximately 75 percent complete on October 16, 80 percent by October 19, and around 90 percent by October 20.

That progression shows why a one-building project can still have several different construction stages happening at once. One side can be receiving finish siding while another section is being rebuilt, flashed, capped, or coordinated with an electrician. The square footage may be smaller than one of our large community programs, but the number of trades meeting on the same wall does not necessarily shrink with it.

Luis kept those pieces moving while the crews worked through the final elevations. By the last stretch, the plan was simple on paper: finish the building, clean the site, remove the tools, and hand the exterior back. Getting to the simple part was where most of the work lived.

Windows and Doors Became Part of the Remediation

One residence required additional window and door work as the wall remediation progressed. The project record shows the new units arriving onsite on October 7, followed by installation across October 8 and 9 while demolition, carpentry, and siding continued around them. Our window and door services fit naturally into that situation because the opening, flashing, siding, and trim all have to work as one exterior detail.

The project files include Wincore window and Therma-Tru door documentation associated with that work, but the reviewed records do not conclusively establish the final installed model numbers. For that reason, the public article should describe the completed window and door work without turning an uncertain product series into a permanent website claim. Accuracy ages better than specificity for its own sake.

Coordinating that work while the facade was already open made practical sense. The surrounding sheathing, flashing, trim, and siding could be rebuilt around the new openings rather than cutting back into a completed exterior later. If a wall is already telling us what needs attention, it is usually worth listening the first time.

The siding scope also required exterior electrical components to be managed as the walls changed. Existing light fixtures were removed and stored as required by the base contract, while the field record shows electricians returning to address meter panels, switches, outlets, and other components as crews moved across the front elevation. That work needed to follow the wall sequence instead of becoming an afterthought after every siding panel was already locked in place.

A late change order also approved a new black exterior-lighting package for Building 3. The current record identifies 16 fixtures, two at each of the eight homes, but does not yet confirm final installation. Until closeout establishes that the new fixtures were actually installed, we are treating the lighting package as an approved project addition rather than part of the completed public scope.

This is the less romantic side of exterior renovation. Walls collect cables, meters, lights, vents, hose connections, trim blocks, and decades of small additions. Every one of them has to leave the wall temporarily, return in the right place, and still work when we are done.

Sealants, Mounting Blocks, and the Small Parts of the Wall

The base scope included vinyl mounting blocks around exterior penetrations and QUAD sealant at appropriate finished transitions. These components help organize openings where utilities and fixtures pass through the new siding, giving the finished exterior a cleaner and more maintainable detail than simply cutting panels around whatever happens to be sticking through the wall.

The same principle applies at windows, doors, corners, meter areas, and other interruptions. Large siding fields are relatively predictable; most future water problems start where the predictable field stops and another material begins. That is why our exterior project services focus on the entire wall assembly instead of treating the visible panel as the whole job.

The last five percent of an exterior renovation usually contains a remarkable amount of detail. Sealant, capping, mounting blocks, touch-up work, fixture coordination, cleanup, and small corrections do not cover much square footage, but they are the pieces residents see every time they walk to the front door.

The project started September 21 with demolition and sheathing work at the first homes. Rain interrupted the schedule almost immediately on September 22 and again later in the first weeks, which is not exactly shocking for exterior construction in southeastern Pennsylvania. The schedule continued around those interruptions rather than pretending wet weather was merely a suggestion.

By late September, crews had moved into rear-elevation demolition, gable siding, scaffold setup, and installation of the new weather barrier. October brought the more complicated front-elevation work, window and door installation, electrical coordination, and the concealed repair conditions that required extra attention. The planned 24-day schedule eventually carried the project through the October 23 completion window.

Weather does not care how elegant the Gantt chart looks. The practical job is to know when to open the wall, when to protect it, and when leaving something exposed for the sake of schedule would be a bad trade.

CAMCO, the Board, and Resident Communication

CAMCO coordinated the community side of the project with the association while our team handled the construction sequence. Start notices were hand delivered, homeowner forms moved through the process, and building-specific questions could be routed through management rather than asking residents to chase crews around the scaffold. For a condominium project, that communication chain matters because the association owns the common project even while individual residents experience the work personally.

Kathy served as the management connection while Luis handled the field. That kept decisions about access, resident conditions, material changes, and repairs from becoming separate conversations happening in separate places. A wall does not become easier to rebuild because three people have three different versions of what was approved.

The goal was to keep the project understandable. Residents did not need every procurement detail or every internal production conversation, but they did need to know when crews were approaching, what work was happening outside their homes, and who was responsible for moving a concern into the construction process.

Building 3 is now recorded as Complete On Site, with the scheduled construction window ending October 23. The final municipal inspection still needs to be recorded, along with any remaining closeout documentation, warranty records, and confirmation of late project additions such as the exterior lighting package. That is why we separate physical completion from administrative closure.

The distinction is not bureaucracy for its own sake. The final file should tell CAMCO and the association what materials were installed, where concealed repairs occurred, what windows or doors were replaced, which permits were closed, which additional work was approved, and what warranties apply. Five years from now, that information will be more valuable than anybody’s memory of where the plywood looked bad.

Our warranty information can provide general guidance, but the issued CertainTeed and project documents should control any warranty question for Green Willow Run. The closeout package is where the construction story becomes an asset-management record.

Residents should expect Building 3 to have a more consistent, lower-maintenance exterior and a renewed wall assembly behind the finished siding. They should also understand that new vinyl siding does not make the facade immune to impacts, unauthorized attachments, failed sealants, damaged windows, landscaping, or later contractors. New materials improve the starting point; ownership still has a role.

Residents can help by reporting loose siding, displaced trim, staining, movement around windows or doors, visible sealant failure, or unusual moisture conditions early. Cameras, satellite components, decorations, hose reels, electrical accessories, and other items should not be drilled through association-maintained siding without management approval. The hole made today is usually much easier to remember than the leak investigated six years from now.

Cleaning should stay simple. CertainTeed recommends mild soapy water, a soft-bristle brush, and a garden hose for routine vinyl-siding cleaning, and specifically advises against power washing because high pressure can force water behind the siding or damage the finish.

What CAMCO and the Association Should Track

Building 3 should now have its own permanent exterior file containing the contract, approved siding information, material acknowledgments, permit records, final inspection, photographs, concealed repair documentation, window and door records, electrical change orders, warranty information, and future service history. This project exposed enough conditions behind the original exterior to make that record especially useful. The next manager or contractor should not have to rediscover 2026 from scratch.

Periodic facade inspections should focus on siding, corners, trim, mounting blocks, sealant joints, windows, doors, flashing, electrical penetrations, and any locations where concealed framing or sheathing repairs were completed. CertainTeed recommends routine inspections and prompt attention to cracks, movement, moisture conditions, and damaged siding rather than waiting for a minor problem to become a wall problem.

Landscaping and irrigation should also stay clear of the siding. Shrubs rubbing against the wall, soil or mulch piled too high, and sprinklers repeatedly soaking one elevation can create avoidable wear or make future inspections more difficult. The exterior lasts longer when the building is allowed to dry and when somebody can actually see the bottom of the wall.

Management should also keep a simple exterior-access and modification log. If an electrician, cable provider, security contractor, window installer, pest-control company, or another trade drills, removes, flashes, or attaches something to the exterior, the date and location should be recorded. Institutional memory remains an unreliable building material.

One Building,  a Much Bigger Exterior Story

The Green Willow Run project brought together one condominium building, eight homes, stucco removal, thin-brick veneer removal, CertainTeed Monogram siding, CertaWrap weather barrier, VYCOR flashing, sheathing and framing repairs, insulation work, window and door coordination, electrical work, permits, resident notices, material deliveries, scaffolding, dumpsters, and a month of carefully sequenced exterior construction. Luis, Jeffery, our estimating and office teams, CAMCO, the association, suppliers, electricians, and field crews all had a role in moving the building from an aging mixed-material facade to a coordinated siding system. The vinyl is the part everybody sees, but much of the real work happened after the old wall stopped hiding what was behind it.

That is the part worth remembering. Exterior projects are rarely just about making a building look newer, especially when the existing materials have been in place for decades. The useful renovation is the one that gives us a chance to correct the wall while we still have access to it.

Green Willow Run Building 3 now joins our growing portfolio of condominium and multifamily exterior projects throughout Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic. Associations facing aging stucco, siding, windows, roofing, decks, or other exterior capital work need a team prepared to manage the visible finish and whatever the building has been keeping behind it.

Planning a siding replacement, stucco conversion, or broader exterior renovation for your condominium, HOA, or multifamily community? Contact Lemus Construction to discuss your building conditions, project phasing, resident communication, material options, concealed-condition planning, permits, warranties, and long-term exterior maintenance.