Quick answer: If you’re searching this, you’re comparing siding contractors in Crystal Lake. So I’ll save you the corporate-website tour and just tell you what each of the five companies you’ll actually run into is good at — and where they fall short. Including us.
I’m Rhett Wilborn. I own Innovative Home Concepts, one of the contractors on this list. I’ve been doing exteriors in McHenry County for 21 years. The four companies I’m comparing us against are real competitors — they all show up when you search “siding contractors Crystal Lake IL” on Google Maps, and I’ve quoted homes against most of them.
I’m putting Innovative at #1. I’ll show you exactly why, and you can check every claim. If you finish reading and you decide one of the other four is the better fit for your house, I’ll respect that — we don’t win every job and we don’t try to. But if you want a contractor with the deepest manufacturer-certification stack in McHenry County, the most reviews, and a 5-star track record across 21 years, that’s us.
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How I’m ranking these five
Four criteria. All public. All checkable.
- Manufacturer certifications. Real ones — the tier published on the manufacturer’s own website, not the contractor’s claim. James Hardie, Andersen, LP SmartSide, CertainTeed, GutterShutter. A higher cert tier means more training, more accountability, and longer warranty coverage on labor and materials.
- Verifiable review depth. Google review count and star rating from the contractor’s actual Google Business Profile. BBB rating and accreditation status. Birdeye, Angi, and HomeAdvisor where they apply.
- Local tenure. Years actually operating in McHenry County. Not “we’ve been in business since 1995” if that was a different company in a different state. Real founding date in the local market.
- Licensing and trust paper trail. Published license numbers, owner names, real physical addresses. The basics — and most contractors won’t put any of this on their site.
Here’s the list.
#1 — Innovative Home Concepts
Founded: 2005 — 21 years in McHenry County
Owner: Rhett Wilborn
Address: Crystal Lake, IL
Website: innovativehomeconcepts.com
The honest case for us being #1 is the certification stack — we’re the only contractor in McHenry County holding all five of these at once:
5 Manufacturer Certifications
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Andersen Elite Certified · James Hardie Select · LP SmartSide Certified · GutterShutter Exclusive Dealer
- James Hardie Select Contractor — with McHenry County exclusivity
- Andersen Elite Certified Contractor — with McHenry County exclusivity
- CertainTeed ShingleMaster — our primary roofing brand
- GutterShutter Exclusive Dealer — for Lake and McHenry Counties
- LP SmartSide Certified Contractor
“McHenry County exclusivity” on Hardie and Andersen means exactly what it sounds like — we’re the only certified installer those two manufacturers will work with in this county. That’s not a marketing claim, it’s a contractual relationship. If you call James Hardie directly and ask for a McHenry County installer, they’ll send you to us.
The other receipts: 402 Google reviews at 4.6 stars, BBB-accredited, Wikidata entity, and we’ve been serving McHenry, Lake, and the northwest suburbs for 21 years from our Crystal Lake office. I answer the phone myself most of the time. My son Skyler is our lead salesman and sales trainer. My son Albe, at 13, models for some of our marketing. This is a real family business — and most of our crew has been with us 5+ years.
Where we’re not the right fit: If you want the cheapest siding job in town, we’re not it — we install premium products with real warranties. If you want a contractor who’s been on the same Crystal Lake corner since 1982, the next company on this list has 23 more years on us.
#2 — Jackson Exteriors
Founded: 1982 — 44 years
Owners: Cliff, Ellen, Ryan, and Brett Jackson (three generations)
Website: jacksonexteriors.net
Jackson has the longest local tenure on this list. By a wide margin. Three generations of the Jackson family have run this business out of Crystal Lake since 1982 — that’s not something you can manufacture. Cliff Jackson is a Vietnam veteran and a charter member of the Crystal Lake Rotary Dawnbreakers. They’ve been a BBB-listed pillar of this town for 44 years.
What they offer that we can’t match: pure tenure. If “the company my parents used and my grandparents used” matters to you — and for some homeowners it really does — Jackson is the answer. Their family story is real and their roots in Crystal Lake go deeper than ours.
Where they’re thin compared to us: their website doesn’t publish any manufacturer-certification tiers — no Hardie, no Andersen, no CertainTeed badge anywhere visible. The trust signals exist offline; the public-facing proof doesn’t surface. If you call them and ask which Hardie tier they install at, they may have an answer — but you’ll have to call to get it.
#3 — Jarvis Exteriors
Founded: 1998 — 28 years
Owners: Robert J. Jarvis (founder) + Gage Cantrell
Website: jarvisexteriors.com
Jarvis has the strongest published trust paper trail of any contractor on this list besides us. Their Illinois Roofing Contractor License #104-014366 (Unlimited Classification) is right on their site — most contractors won’t put their license number anywhere public. They’re BBB-accredited since 2005, which is 21 years of staying in good standing. Their aggregated review average is 4.9 stars across 64 reviews.
If you want a contractor with documented credentials and a clean record going back two decades, Jarvis is a serious option. The trust signals are real and easy to verify.
Where they’re thin compared to us: like Jackson, they don’t publish any manufacturer-tier certifications on their site. No Hardie tier, no Andersen tier, no GAF, no CertainTeed. Their license number tells you they’re a real licensed roofing contractor — it doesn’t tell you which siding products they specialize in or what the manufacturer warranty backing looks like. For a siding-specific project, you’ll want to ask which brands they primarily install and what tier they qualify at.
#4 — GSD Construction Services
Founded: 2014 — 11 years
Owner: Joseph Piagentini
Website: gsdconstruction.com
GSD’s distinguishing angle is insurance-claim work. Their homepage and their Crystal Lake landing page both lean heavily into storm response, hurricane tarping, and claim assistance — and they operate across multiple states (Illinois, Florida, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri). They’re a multi-state operation, not a single-county specialist.
That’s the right fit for some homeowners. If your siding job is the back end of an insurance claim — wind damage, hail damage, a tree through the wall — you want a contractor who’s done the insurance dance before. GSD has done a lot of them. They have 109 Google reviews on their Crystal Lake-linked profile and an A+ BBB rating (not accredited). Their site lists GAF Certified — that’s the entry tier of GAF’s roofing program. They don’t appear to publish a James Hardie, LP SmartSide, or Andersen certification tier.
Where they’re thin compared to us: they’re a roofing-and-storm-restoration company that also does siding, not the other way around. If your project is a retail siding job — you decided you want new Hardie or LP, no insurance claim involved — they’re not the natural specialist. Hire them for storm work; hire a siding specialist for retail siding.
#5 — Level Up Restoration
Founded: 2021 — 5 years (newest on this list)
Owner: Michael Southworth (Managing Principal)
Website: levelup.contractors
Level Up is the newest of the five. They’re a restoration-focused company — more roofing than siding by default — but they show up for siding searches because they do exterior work generally. Their BBB file was opened in March 2024 and they’re rated A+ (not accredited).
Their distinguishing operational claim is a patented netting system that catches falling debris during a re-roof — protecting landscaping, siding, and windows from damage during the job. That’s an unusual workmanship-protection commitment and worth noting if you’ve got expensive landscaping or hardscape you don’t want trashed during construction.
Where they’re thin compared to us: 5 years in business is short. No manufacturer-tier certifications are published on their site. No team-page bios, no published license number, no review aggregate visible. They might be excellent — they just don’t have the public trust paper trail yet. If you’re considering them, ask for references from completed jobs and ask which siding manufacturer they’re certified under.
Note: There’s a separate company called “Level Up Improvement” based in Michigan with a different owner (Brandon Parsons) and a James Hardie Select Contractor cert. They’re a different business. Don’t confuse the two.
Siding in McHenry County — what actually matters
Picking a siding contractor in Crystal Lake isn’t quite the same as picking one in Phoenix or Atlanta. A few things are specific to this market that affect who you should hire.
Weather. McHenry County sees real winters — hard freeze cycles, ice dams, and lake-effect weather coming in off Lake Michigan to the east. We get hail in spring and fall. Your siding material and your installer’s flashing details matter more here than they do in milder climates. James Hardie fiber cement and LP SmartSide engineered wood both hold up well — vinyl is fine on the right house but cracks if it’s hit with hail when it’s cold. The installation matters as much as the product.
Permits. The City of Crystal Lake requires a building permit for siding replacement on most homes. Turnaround varies — check with the City of Crystal Lake Building Division at the time you’re ready to start, since office times change with season and volume. A good contractor pulls the permit for you. A cut-rate contractor “forgets” — and you find out when you go to sell the house. Always confirm before you sign anything that the contractor will pull the permit, and ask for a copy when it’s issued.
Older homes. A lot of Crystal Lake’s housing stock is 1950s-1980s. Many have layered repairs underneath the current siding. A walkthrough before quoting matters — every contractor on this list should be willing to do one. If anyone gives you a firm number without looking at the house, that’s the signal.
Neighborhoods. We see different siding profiles in Country Club Estates than in Coventry than in Trout Valley than in Briarwood. Architectural review boards in some neighborhoods restrict color and material choices. Ask any contractor you’re considering whether they’ve worked in your subdivision before — and whether they know that neighborhood’s architectural standards if there are any.
Frequently asked questions
How much does siding cost in Crystal Lake, IL?
Based on what we and most legitimate local contractors quote in 2026: vinyl runs $6-$8 per square foot installed, insulated vinyl $10-$12, James Hardie fiber cement and LP SmartSide $14-$18, cedar $16-$22, Versetta stone $25-$30. A typical 2,000 square foot wall area home will run $12,000-$36,000 installed depending on the product you pick. Storm-damage claims are insurance-driven and priced differently.
Do I need a permit to replace siding in Crystal Lake?
Yes. The City of Crystal Lake requires a building permit for siding replacement on most residential properties. Turnaround varies depending on season and office volume — check directly with the Building Division when you’re ready to start. Your contractor should pull the permit on your behalf — if they tell you “we don’t need one” or “you should pull it yourself,” that’s a red flag.
How long does a siding install take?
A typical Crystal Lake home runs 7-14 days from start to finish, weather depending. James Hardie installs run slightly longer than vinyl because of the cut-and-nail labor and the priming required at job-site cuts. Weather delays in spring and fall are common — plan for them.
Which siding holds up best in McHenry County weather?
For our climate, James Hardie fiber cement is hardest to beat on durability, impact resistance, and warranty terms (30-year non-prorated). LP SmartSide is a close second and slightly easier to install. Vinyl is fine on the right house but more vulnerable to cold-weather hail. Cedar looks beautiful and lasts if maintained — but maintenance is real and most homeowners underestimate it.
How do I tell the difference between a real local contractor and an out-of-area lead-gen front?
Three things to check. One: their physical address — type it into Google Maps and confirm a real business exists there. Two: their team — real names on the About page, real photos. Three: their reviews — generic “great service” reviews from accounts with no other activity are a red flag, but reviews that name a specific rep, a specific neighborhood, or a specific product are real.
How to actually choose
Here’s what I’d do if I were the homeowner: get quotes from three of the five companies above. Tell each contractor exactly the same scope. Ask each of them — verbatim — these four questions:
- What manufacturer tier are you certified at on the brand you’re recommending?
- What’s your written labor warranty, and how long has your company been operating in McHenry County?
- Will you pull the building permit, and when does work start?
- Can I see two finished installs in my neighborhood?
Whoever answers all four directly and without dodging is the contractor you want. If we’re one of the three you call — great. If we’re not — pick the one of the other two who answers the questions cleanest.
If you’re ready for a quote, give us a call. We’ll come out, walk your house, and give you a written quote with real numbers — not a phone estimate.
— Rhett Wilborn, Owner, Innovative Home Concepts
