Builders Edge 4-in Plastic Louver

Ahh...that clarifies the situation quite a bit.

When you said that you "called the association", many of us assumed that you called as a tenant, not as an owner.

That's a pretty bold assumption. If they inspect the units to the extent that this situation implies, then why would they allow their contractors to do shoddy work? Do you think that they would let the contractor do a crappy job and then cite *you* for the way it looks?

Wake up, the whole wall of siding. Otherwise you will never match the color.

I knew what you were talking about and I still call BS.

He's replacing a frigging vent cover. At most he'll have to use a zip tool and a hammer to *temporarily* loosen up some siding. Maybe temporarily remove a piece or two. How does the need to *match* siding even enter into this?

I've done this type of thing multiple times. Never damaged a single piece.

This Assoc does some really crazy stuff, two years ago they hired a contractor to replace some of the siding that was damaged from hail. They gave plenty of notice and got it done. Next day my tenant called and said that there were nail pops on the inside of the unit. Like they had missed a stud and caused the drywall to show pops on the inside. So I went over, took some pics and emailed them to the assoc bldg. maintenance dept. This is the best, the reply that I received back stated that per the contract with the siding contractor, "The siding contractor was not responsible for any damage inside the units due to or caused by there work ..." Seriously, who in there right mind signed that !! <end rant>

IDK why that particular one costs $24. Looks more like it should cost $10, maybe $15. Could probably find a similar one that looks close, but costs less. But in the end, even if it's $24, it's not all that bad and not worth wasting a lot of time and angst over.

The couple I have experience with were essentially just outside trim pieces that slip into the sheet metal pipe and secure from the outside. Very easy to replace.

I can see a contractor wanting such a release, if they have to do work on the outside, where hammering could possibly cause unpreventable damage inside. The interesting question here is that from what I know, an association most likely can't grant the release, unless they will fix any damage. The release for the inside would have to come from the unit owner. I would have sent back a letter saying that and asking the condo association to pay the cost.

I'm familiar with that style, but that is not what the OP has.

He basically has a "new construction" style with a nailing flange that goes behind the siding. There's a installation video at the link he posted.

It might be possible to cut that one out (leaving the flange) and replace it with the type you mention but he's trying to make sure everything matches when he's done.

If that's the case, I would not be looking a gift horse in the mouth. Just pay the $24, it would be a bargain. Installing these so you have to remove siding to replace a cheap plastic part is a real bad idea.

Obviously, I don't know the situation, but I don't see how "missing a stud" would result in a nail pops in the drywall.

First off, vinyl siding is nailed to the sheathing, not to the studs. IOW, you don't have to worry about stud locations when nailing vinyl siding

Second, if the nails were long enough to reach the drywall from the exterior, then they would cause a nail pop even if they hit a stud. Of course, this assumes that the nail heads are on the same exterior plane in both cases.

Sounds more like the nails were too long in the first place, but again, I can't see the situation from where I'm sitting, so I don't really know.

I'm not sure what you are saying.

Per the OP, the $24 unit would require the removal of some siding in order to replace it, something he is trying to avoid. That's why he's been looking for a replacement louver.

When did a gift horse ride up?

From the OP "to replace the whole thing I have to remove siding"

If they were nailing into the studs they could pop some nails on the drywall side. Old joint compound and tape gets pretty brittle and those little nails they used to use lose their grip. I have seen truck traffic pop drywall nails. (law suits and such) That is why screws became popular. The sheathing might be Celotex if this is an old building and that will not hold a nail.

Of course! The siding around the vent. BTDT. Besides, "removal" is a nebulous term. I've removed nails and pulled siding out of the way without really "removing" it from the wall. I "removed" it from around the vent.

In any case, call it what you want, even go so far as saying that every single piece will have to be removed and laid on the lawn. Your claim that he would have to "replace that whole wall" because of a color matching situation still doesn't stand up.

You take it off, you put it back on. Where's the color matching issue?

No argument there.

You assume you don't break any. On your house, no sweat. On a wall you don't own in a building full of condo commanders looking for flaws, I wouldn't touch it.

Then who you would have fix it?

As long as you like to play "From the OP", I'll play too.

From the OP:

"Already emailed the assoc., they stated that the dryer and bath vents are my responsibility."

Maybe we need to know what state he is in and what the condo docs actually say. I only know about Florida law. I owned one and my FIL just moved into one. In Florida your responsibility stops at the customer side of the drywall on any common wall.

Even if he does own the vent, he doesn't own the siding. That is what we are talking about. I would get a waiver of responsibility for the siding before I touched it. These are condo people. They sue for sport.

I agree. Condos I've been involved with, the outside is the associations problem, unless something is specifically called out differently in the documents. They should read the condo documents, see what that says, not just listen to some answer from some manager that may be clueless. It's possible something is in there that excludes this, but if it were me, I would check it out or ask the association what the basis for the exclusion is. If nothing is in the documents, then writing a somewhat threatening letter to the association will probably get them running to their lawyer, who will tell them they are wrong and need to fix it.