Installing Horizontal Wood Lap Siding

Before installing plan layouts.

Installing horizontal wood lap siding.

Siding materials can dramatically change the appeal of a home exterior by improving its look and style but the value of siding goes far be 7 trendy yet functional siding styles your home s siding is an invaluable part of its overall curb appeal. There are many types of horizontal joints through which siding is fastened to the wall frame including a plain bevel a. Horizontal vinyl siding vinyl siding isn t what it used to be it s actually come a long way. Siding is applied in overlapping horizontal boards ranging from 4 to 12 inches in width including an overlap of to 2 inches.

Lap siding also called horizontal siding or clapboard may be made of wood fiber cement plywood hardboard or similar materials. If the house s sheathing is plywood you can drive nails just about anywhere but it is best to drive nails into studs to ensure firmness. Homeowners have a wide range of options when choosing this material for horizontal installation. Before installing the siding material you ll need to attach trim at corners and a level starter strip along the bottom edge of the wall.

Lay out the job when applying horizontal siding to avoid odd slivers of material above doors and above or below windows. If you intend to install your boards horizontally you need to order them with overlapping edges known as shiplap or tongue and groove edges. While wood siding may be installed in a lap fashion horizontal lap siding in itself is simply a style of installation and it s not just one type of installation it includes a couple of different yet similar ways to install the material. Despite the variety of materials installation methods are basically the same with a few variations in fasteners joints and so forth.

An accompanying chart details nailing recommendations and coverage for four different kinds of siding. Or is lap siding simply a fancy way to say to say wood siding. For example you install fiber cement lap siding in much the same way as wood siding but most manufacturers advise you to leave 1 8 inch gaps at the ends of the boards to allow for expansion and then caulk the gaps. Also you should allow these boards to dry.

For layout the story pole is indispensable. Siding should progress up the wall with an even exposure and courses should line up when they meet at a corner.