The corner boards described thus far cover
screwed to both. Give the epoxy a day to cure (or
outside corners. Inside corners aren’t as exposed
whatever the manufacturer suggests), and you’re
to weather, so wide trim boards aren’t necessary.
ready to sand and paint. Alternately, you could
Instead, nail 1-in. by 1-in. strips (or 11⁄4-in. by
use polyurethane glue or Titebond III as long as
11⁄4-in. strips) to the inside corners, and butt the
both pieces of wood being joined are sound.
siding to them. That’s much faster than cutting
in-place epoxy repairs are appropriate when
compound miters in the clapboards or inter-
P R O T I P
the rotted area is relatively small (epoxy is expen-
weaving shingles.
sive) and the trim would be difficult or costly to
replace. Rotted windowsills or sashes, for exam-
Some pros align shingles by
REPAIRIng ExtERIOR tRIM
ple, are tough to remove. Epoxy applications vary
tacking up a straight 1x2 for
each course and resting shingle
Although it may be tempting to rip out exterior
considerably, so visit manufacturers’ websites
butts on it. this allows nailing to
trim that’s badly weathered or rotten, repair is
(try Abatron, ConServ Epoxy, and Advanced
go a bit faster, but you must still
often a better option if the original trim would be Repair Technology, for example) for specifics or
snap a chalkline or measure up
difficult to remove or replacement trim is too
get recommendations at your local home center.
from the bottom course periodi-
expensive. Before deciding, survey the extent of
Use a chisel to dislodge loose, crumbling
cally to level the 1x2. Most pros
the rot and address the root cause. Otherwise,
wood. Suck up debris with a shop vacuum. Allow
prefer to snap a chalkline and
you’re treating only the symptom.
the wood to dry thoroughly before proceeding.
then barely cover that line with
Although it’s desirable to cut back to solid wood,
the shingle butts so the chalk
replacing rotted sections is a reasonable
soft, punky wood can often be reinforced by
doesn’t show.
option when the bottom of an otherwise sound
impregnating it with a liquid consolidant.
trim board has rotted away. Flat and square trim
Typically, you’d drill a series of small-diameter
is easier to replace and match than molded trim.
holes into the wood and then inject consolidant
Rotted bottoms of corner boards and splash-
into them until the wood is clearly saturated.
boards are usually easy to cut free and replace,
After the consolidant cures, the impregnated
whereas punky doorsills or windowsills are prob-
wood will become as hard as a rock.
ably best replaced or repaired in place using
But, for the best bond between the consoli-
epoxy, as described in the next section.
dant and the two-part epoxy filler that follows,
Replacing the bottom end of a rotted board is
apply the puttylike filler while the consolidant is
straightforward. Draw a line across the face of
still tacky. Avoid getting epoxy on your skin, and
the board, 6 in. above the bad section. After set-
by all means wear a respirator when applying or
ting your circular-saw blade to the thickness of
sanding it. After the filler dries and you’ve sanded
the board, use a Speed Square to guide the saw
it to its final shape, prime and paint it. Although
shoe, making a 90° cut. Wear safety glasses, and
otherwise tough, some epoxies are degraded by
use a demo blade because there may be hidden
UV-rays, and whatever original wood remains
nails. The replacement piece should be the same
still needs protection from the elements.
thickness, width, and—preferably—species as the
Exteriors
163
lAYIng Out WOOD
Siding
ShInglES AnD ClAPBOARDS
This section shows how to install four of the
more common types of siding: wood shingles,
For clapboards and shingles, the two most
wood clapboards, fiber-cement siding, and
important parts of the layout are establishing
stucco. Vinyl and aluminum siding also are cost-
level for the bottom course and varying the expo-
effective alternatives; they’re durable and virtual-
sure of subsequent courses so that they align
ly maintenance-free if correctly installed.
with door or window trim, if possible. If a leveled
Consequently, vinyl siding in particular continues water table has already been installed, skip the
to gain ground when homeowners faced with
next section.
replacing wood siding take a close look at vinyl’s
Establishing level. If there’s no water table (see
benefits. However, vinyl siding is most efficiently
p. 161), the bottom of the first course of siding
Wood siding is pleasant to work
handled by specializing contractors and isn’t
typically overhangs the sheathing by 3⁄4 in. to 1 in.
with and requires few specialized
addressed here.
tools. Although power nailing has
Because the bottom edge of sheathing is often
The information that follows assumes that
largely replaced hand nailing,
not level, use a laser level or a water level to
building paper or housewrap covers the wall
there’s still plenty of handcrafting
establish a level base line. (Laser levels are rela-
sheathing and that windows, doors, and exterior
and fitting to do, such as the shingle
tively inexpensive and offer quick layout over
shaving shown here.
trim are already installed.
long distances without the need for a helper.) Lay
out the front of the building first. Pencil in an
appropriate siding overhang on one corner
board. Then transfer that mark to all the other
corner boards. When you’re done, use a combi-
nation square to draw light lines through your
pencil marks, across the faces of the corner
boards. These lines indicate cut-off lines for the
zzzzzz Aligning Siding Courses
corner boards and the bottom of the first course
of siding. To align that first course of siding,
stretch a taut line through the marks and “eye-
ball” the bottom of the siding to that line, or
simply align the siding to the laser line. If you
Soffit
use a taut line, place clapboards or shingle butts
slightly above, but not touching, the line so it
won’t be distorted.
(A) 38 in.
Varying subsequent courses. By aligning siding
courses to window and door trim, you can mini-
mize funky-looking notch cuts at door and win-
dow corners. (When installing wide-boar
d siding,
(B) 45 in.
however, notch cuts are sometimes unavoidable.)
Achieve these alignments by increasing or
decreasing the exposure of individual courses. Of
course, there are physical restrictions. For exam-
ple, clapboards must overlap at least 1 in. But as
(C) 39 in.
long as exposure adjustments are no more than
1⁄4 in. between courses, they’ll look evenly spaced.
The following steps refer to the illustration
at left:
1.Measure the full height of the wall, from the
For best visual effect, align siding courses with the top and bottom
cutoff at the base of a corner board to the under-
of windows and doors. This may require three separate calculations
side of the soffit or frieze trim. Let’s say the height
for exposures, as represented by A, B, and C and explained in the
is 10 ft. 2 in. (for calculation purposes, 122 in.).
text. Whether installing clapboards or shingles, it’s customary to
Because shingle exposures are customarily 5 in.,
mark course lines lightly on corner boards and then snap chalklines
that wall will have roughly 24 courses.
between them.
2.The wall has three windows and a door.
Fortunately, their head casings happen to align
84 in. above the base line. This creates three sep-
arate areas for which shingle exposures need to
be adjusted, as shown in the drawing: (A) from
164 Chapter 7
Cross-grain cutting is a snap with shingles. Score them
. . . and snap them sharply over your knee. Use a cordless
with a utility knife . . .
jigsaw for complex cuts around windowsills and exterior
light fixtures.
the top of head casings to the soffit, 38 in.; (B)
bundles per square (100 sq. ft.). Always inspect
from the top of the window head casing to the
the visible shingles on a bundle to make sure
bottom of sills, 45 in.; and (C) from the bottom of they’re uniformly thick (3⁄8 in.) at butt ends, of
windowsills to the base line, 39 in. Total: 122 in.
varying widths (on average, 6 in. to 12 in.), knot-
free, and reasonably straight grained. Installing
3.Calculating exposure adjustments is easy.
shingles requires a lot of trimming, so you don’t
Round off each measurement to the nearest
want to be fighting knots and wavy grain. Shingle
increment of 5 in. Then increase or decrease the
butts should also be cut cleanly—not ragged. Feel
shingle exposure accordingly. Thus area A yields
a 43⁄4-in. exposure (38 ÷ 8 = 43⁄4); area B is exactly
5 in. (45 ÷ 9); and area C is roughly 47⁄8 in.
The easiest way to keep track of these adjust-
ments is by penciling them onto a story pole, a
long, straight board (a 1x2 is fine) whose length
Nails 1 in. above
zzzzzz Wood Shingle Details
equals the distance between the top of the water
butt line of
next course
table (if any) to the underside of the soffit or
frieze. First, mark the tops and bottoms of win-
Building paper
dow and door casings onto the story pole, then
Butt line of
the adjusted course heights between.
next course
Sheathing
As you work around the house, align the bot-
tom of the story pole to each corner board and
transfer marks from the pole to each board. If the
house has windows set at varying heights, story-
pole marks will better align with casing on some
walls than on others; give precedence to the
house’s most prominent facade. Where courses
just won’t line up with casing joints, notch the
siding around them.
InStAllIng WOOD ShInglES
Before you start shingling, make sure that win-
dows and doors are correctly flashed, and that
sheathing is covered with building paper, and
that exterior trim is installed. A plastic mesh
underlayment such as Cedar Breather, which
Offset shingle
allows air to flow behind shingles, is installed
joints 11/2 in.
for three courses.
over building paper.
Materials. No. 2 grade shingles are fine for walls
Offset joints in
because they receive less weathering than roofs.
doubled starter
Starter course doubled,
(Roof shingles should be No. 1 grade.) For a stan-
course by 11/2 in.
extends below sheathing
1
dard 5-in. shingle exposure on walls, figure four
/2 in. to 1 in.
Exteriors
165
free to send back bundles that look inferior or
shingles along the bottom is doubled, with verti-
P R O T I P
contain mostly narrow shingles. Standard-milled cal joints between the two shingle layers offset by
shingles usually taper slightly: Their butt edges
at least 11⁄2 in.
When snapping chalklines to
are not perfectly square to sides. Thus, as you
When buying shingles, lift a few bundles to
indicate shingle exposure lines,
nail up each course, you must approximate the
see how dry they are. Relatively wet shingles are
use white chalk. Red chalk would
butt line. If you want a crisper, more exacting
fine, as long as they’re good quality, but they’ll
seem the obvious choice because
it’s closer in color to wood shin-
look, ask your lumberyard for R&R (resquared
shrink. In fact, most shingles shrink. Although
gles than white. But for some
and rebutted) shingles, whose sides are sawn
how-to books are fond of telling you to leave a
1
reason, red chalk remains vivid
parallel and whose butts are squared off. R&R
⁄4-in. gap between shingles during installation,
and visible much longer, whereas
shingles cost more but, being squared, are easier
many shinglers don’t bother; unless the shingles
white chalk fades away in two to
to install.
are bone-dry, installers assume that all shingles
three weeks.
To save a little money, you might want to use
will shrink some.
No. 3 shingles for the bottom layer of doubled
Use two 11⁄4-in. galvanized nails or staples per
starter courses. In this case, order one bundle per shingle, whatever the shingle’s width. Because
50 lin. ft. of wall. Typically, the starter course of
nails must be covered by the course above, place
the Art of Weaving Corners
to weave shingles tightly on corners, nail them up and shave them
shingles tight, dril a pilot hole in 1⁄4 in. from the edge and up 2 in. from
in place. As you place each shingle, use a torpedo level to level the
the butt of the shingle. A push dril (also cal ed a Yankee dril ) is perfect
butt, overlapping the adjacent wall by about 1 in., and nail the shingle for the task. Alternate the edge that overlaps from course to course.
&nb
sp; down. As before, use stainless-steel, brass, or bronze nails wherever
Because there’s not enough room to use a block plane on the bot-
the nails will be exposed; ring-shanked nails hold best.
tom and top course of corners, use a cordless jigsaw to precut shingle
use a utility knife to rough-trim the excess. then continue with a
edges or butts. And because the top course of shingles will be quite
block plane until the shingle edge is almost flush to the shingle it over-
short (about 4 in. long) and susceptible to splits, caulk the back sides
laps on the adjacent wal . to prevent splits and to draw overlapping
with a durable urethane caulk, in addition to nailing.
Alternate shingles overlap at the
corners. Nail each shingle up,
then use a utility knife to trim all
but 1⁄4 in. of excess before
finishing up with a block plane.
Stop planing when the edge is
barely proud of (above) the
oncoming shingle. On the top
course, where a block plane won’t
fit, use a jigsaw to precut the
Draw the shingle corners
shingle to the correct angle.
together with a single nail
driven through the overlapping
shingle. To prevent splits,
predrill with a push drill.
Because the nails joining corners
or finishing the top course of
shingles will be exposed, use
either stainless-steel, brass, or
bronze nails at those junctures.
166 Chapter 7
shingle nails in 3⁄4 in. from the edge and 1 in. above
the exposure line. Where nails will be visible—
Replacing shiNglEs
say, on interwoven corners or the top course
below a windowsill—use siliconized bronze ring-
ifyousplitashinglewhileinstallingit(orif
shank nails or stainless-steel nails. Again, 11⁄4-in.
youneedtoremoveshinglestoinstallan
nails are fine, unless you’re also nailing through
exhaustventforafan),breakouttheshards,
a gypsum layer to reach the sheathing on a fire-
hammerdownthenailheads,andreplacethe
rated wall.
shingle.Toremoveafewdamagedshinglesonan
installation. If you’ve got a water table, set your
otherwiseintactwall,useashingleripper(also
first course of shingles atop it, even if it’s not
calledaslatehook),showninthetopleftphoto
level. That way you eliminate unsightly gaps
onp.150.Slideitshookedheadupunderthe
along the trim, and it’s easy enough to level the
surroundingshinglesuntilyoucanfeelithook
Renovation 4th Edition Page 38
