Possible sources for that elusive aluminum siding

Thanks to some reliable readers, I believe I have a possible solution for a North Carolina man who has been looking for aluminum siding to match what's already on a house he is renovating.

Several windows were removed, and the reader, who is from Greensboro, N.C., thought it would be easy to find replacements close to him. He has one uncut sheet to use as a reference for measurements and style/type.

One possible source, says my college buddy Richard S. Lee, owner of Mr. Handyman of the Main Line in Malvern, is Superior Distribution (formerly Pace Supply) in West Chester, which doesn't stock the siding but can order it.

Since becoming Superior Distribution, the company now has several branches in the Philadelphia region, including locations in Lansdale, West Chester, Pottstown, Collingdale, and Hatboro, Lee said.

For our reader in North Carolina, Superior also has outlets in South Carolina, in the event that his need for the siding is worth the ride there.

Again, the company would need to know what the reader needed beforehand, Lee emphasized. It can usually find a match in size and style.

The color might not be available, but the new siding can be painted to match, he said.

By the way, if you want advice on how to paint aluminum siding, go to the website of the Paint Quality Institute - www.paintquality.com - to get step-by-step instructions.

Reader Bob McDaniel said that when he needed siding for an addition, his builder stripped the aluminum siding from the unseen back of the garage and replaced it with matching vinyl siding.

Then he used the aluminum siding for the street-visible area of the addition.

So there's another idea for solving the problem.

Off the aluminum- siding issue, we return to the matter of getting rid of those yellow stains sometimes left behind by rubber mats on vinyl tile.

Lyda M. Doyle said she has used cleanser with bleach in it and an SOS steel-wool pad.

Rug padding under the rubber will protect tile from staining, she said. She also has cut rug padding to match the rugs.

aheavens@phillynews.com or write him at Box 8263, Philadelphia 19101. Volume prohibits individual replies.