Hi,

I have a small ranch home built in 1951 in Portland, Oregon. It's cement with stucco over it, and then vinyl siding attached with firring strips. I would like to remove the vinyl siding, but I'm wondering about three things.

1. Will I lose significant insulation by removing the siding? On different sides of the house there is different insulation under the siding - foam board stuff on one side, just firring strips on another with some foam between.

2. Is there any way to figure out the condition of the stucco other than just getting the siding off? This is a do-it-myself project, and I'm a little concerned that I will uncover significantly damaged stucco that will need to be patched professionally.

3. Any suggestions for how to remove the firring strips and other nails without chipping off large chunks of stucco that will need to then be patched?

Thanks so much for any advice, help, resources you can offer.

Best,
Joellen

The insulating value of that junk they put under the vinyl siding is negligible, so don't worry about its loss.

As for the stucco, you will only know after you've removed everything from it. I can tell you that we removed aluminum siding from a stucco home, and the stucco was perfectly usable with little patching required, but as they say, "your results may differ". If the nails that hold the furring strips are pulled carefully, there is a chance the stucco can be saved.