The Replacement Scope Map is a free, line-item checklist for planning a multifamily siding replacement before you request a single bid. It organizes the four things that actually drive the outcome — moisture and wall protection, resident disruption, board-ready bid scope, and reserve and capital planning — and turns them into a list you can hand to every vendor. The result: bids you can compare line by line and a decision you can defend.
Why it exists
Why do siding bids that look similar end up so different?
Because contractors quietly scope different projects. One includes full tear-off, priced rot repair, and flashing; another assumes a layer-over and leaves rot as a change order. Both hand you a number. Without a shared scope, you’re comparing a complete project to an incomplete one and calling the cheaper one a deal. The Scope Map removes the guesswork by defining the project before anyone prices it.
The lowest bid is only the best bid if it’s the same bid. In Minnesota multifamily, the items most often left out — tear-off, hidden rot and sheathing repair, the water-resistive barrier, flashing, trim, disposal, access equipment, and resident notices — are exactly the items that turn a “cheap” project into a budget overrun and a fiduciary headache. The Scope Map is the original framework this site is built around because making bids comparable is the single most useful thing a board, manager, or owner can do before signing. Everything else flows from a scope everyone shares.
The four areas
What four areas does the Scope Map cover?
Four areas decide every multifamily siding outcome: (1) moisture and wall protection — the water-resistive barrier and flashing that keep the wall dry; (2) resident disruption — how work moves around an occupied building; (3) board-ready bid scope — the line items that make bids comparable; and (4) reserve and capital planning — the funding path that makes the project real. The checklist below works through each.
| Area | The question it answers | Why it drives the outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 01 — Moisture & wall protection | Will the wall stay dry for 40 years? | Minnesota’s worst failures were detailing failures, not product failures |
| 02 — Resident disruption | Can residents live through it? | Occupied-building logistics make or break the resident experience |
| 03 — Board-ready bid scope | Are the bids comparable? | A shared scope is what lets a fiduciary defend the choice |
| 04 — Reserve & capital planning | How do we pay for it? | The funding path is what survives the vote or the underwriting |
The checklist (area 01: moisture & wall protection)
Area 01 — Moisture and wall protection
The siding is what you see; the wall system is what fails. This section confirms every bid accounts for the water-resistive barrier, flashing at every opening, kick-out flashing, trim transitions, penetrations, and the sheathing repair that almost always turns up at tear-off. Minnesota’s re-siding code requires these details and inspectors check them, so a bid that’s vague here is a bid that’s risky.
Line items to require in every bid:
- Full tear-off to the sheathing (no layer-over)
- Inspection and priced allowance for damaged sheathing and rot
- Continuous water-resistive barrier (felt or approved equivalent per MN Rule 1309.0703)
- Flashing at every window and door, applied shingle-fashion
- Kick-out flashing where roofs meet walls (required when re-siding — DLI fact sheet)
- Trim, soffit, fascia, and penetration detailing
- Treatment plan for the highest wind-driven-rain elevations
The checklist (area 02: resident disruption)
Area 02 — Resident disruption and occupied-building access
On an occupied building, the project touches parking, balconies, entrances, noise, and daily access for weeks. This section confirms every bid includes a plan for living residents — staging, access, and notices — so a siding project doesn’t become a resident-relations problem the board or manager has to answer for. The vacancy and complaint risk owners fear is a logistics problem this section addresses upfront.
Line items to require in every bid:
- Sequencing plan (building by building / elevation by elevation)
- Staging, access, and parking management plan
- Advance resident-notice process and schedule
- Balcony, entrance, and grill/personal-item handling
- Daily-work windows and noise expectations
- A clear channel for resident questions during the project
The checklist (area 03: board-ready bid scope)
Area 03 — Board-ready bid scope
This is the section that makes bids comparable. It confirms every quote spells out material, tear-off, priced rot allowances, the water-resistive barrier, flashing, trim, disposal, access, warranty language, and clearly separated alternates for phasing. A fiduciary can only defend the decision if the bids are the same project — this is the list that makes them so.
Line items to require in every bid:
- Material, profile, and manufacturer warranty in writing
- Full tear-off and disposal of old material
- Priced sheathing / rot-repair allowance (not “TBD”)
- Water-resistive barrier and all flashing itemized
- Trim package itemized
- Access equipment and staging itemized
- Workmanship warranty term, separate from the material warranty
- Phasing alternates broken out by building or elevation
- Permit responsibility and inspection coordination stated
The checklist (area 04: reserve & capital planning)
Area 04 — Reserve and capital planning
A large exterior project has to fit a real funding path. This section ties the scope to reserves, a special assessment, an association loan, or a multi-year capital plan — and, for associations, to Minnesota’s reserve law. Minn. Stat. § 515B.3-1141 requires common-interest communities to fund replacement reserves toward useful life and reevaluate them at least every three years, so the scope should help ownership decide what happens now and what can be phased.
Line items to work through:
- Current reserve balance vs. the project’s full scope
- Reserve-study trigger documented (siding at end of useful life)
- Funding options modeled per unit (reserves / assessment / loan / phasing)
- Phasing plan tied to the bid’s alternates
- § 515B.3-1141 reserve compliance checked against current Minnesota statute language
- § 515B.3-107 preventive-maintenance plan referenced where applicable
See the funding playbook in Paying for Siding for a worked per-unit example.
How to use it
How do you actually use the Scope Map?
Work through the four areas before you contact contractors, then attach the completed checklist to your request for bids so every vendor prices the same items. When bids come back, lay them against the checklist line by line — anything a vendor omitted is a gap you’ve now caught before signing, not after tear-off.
- Define the building. Property type, number of buildings, current siding, and the concern.
- Walk the four areas. Check off what your project needs in each.
- Attach it to your bid request. Every vendor prices the same scope.
- Compare line by line. Omissions become visible; the low number earns its place or loses it.
- Tie it to funding. Map the scope to reserves, assessment, loan, or phasing.
Expertise behind the framework
The Scope Map is a planning framework, but it is not detached theory. The contractor-side judgment is supported by public Minnesota siding expertise from Ben Juncker and Craftsman’s Choice. Public sources identify Craftsman’s Choice as a Minnesota siding and exterior remodeling contractor, tie Ben Juncker to the company, and document its long James Hardie specialization. This site uses that expertise carefully: as support for what a serious siding scope should require, not as a fake license or review profile for Minneapolis Multifamily Siding.
Source-backed trust used here:
- Ben Juncker author profile and siding education on craftsmanschoice.com
- Public releases describing Craftsman’s Choice’s James Hardie specialization and President’s Club recognition
- BBB business profile for Craftsman’s Choice
- Public directory references listing license BC384780
The practical takeaway: the checklist is built around the details Minnesota siding failures actually punish — water management, flashing, tear-off, hidden rot, material fit, occupied-building logistics, and a funding path the board can defend.
FAQ
Using the Replacement Scope Map — common questions
Q: What should a multifamily siding bid include? At minimum: material and profile, full tear-off, priced sheathing and rot-repair allowances, the water-resistive barrier, flashing (including kick-out flashing), trim, disposal, access equipment, a resident-disruption plan, warranty terms, and clearly separated alternates for phasing. The Scope Map turns that into a checklist you attach to every bid request so nothing gets quietly left out.
Q: How does the Scope Map make bids comparable? By defining the project before anyone prices it. When every contractor bids the same itemized scope, you can lay the bids side by side and see exactly where they differ — instead of comparing a complete project to an incomplete one and assuming the cheaper one is the better deal.
Q: Is the Scope Map only for HOA boards? No. Boards use it to defend a vote, community association managers use it as an RFP-ready spec across a portfolio, and apartment owners use it to underwrite a per-unit number. The four areas apply to any occupied multifamily building.
Q: Does using the Scope Map commit me to anything? No. It’s a free planning tool. You can complete the checklist, use it to gather and compare bids on your own, and decide what to do next — including requesting a siding review from this site if you’d like help turning it into a bid-ready scope.
Turn the checklist into a bid-ready scope.
Work through the four areas, then send us the building details and your completed notes. We’ll help you turn the Scope Map into a finished, bid-ready scope so every contractor conversation starts from the same project.