Siding Preparation

Before I hang my siding, I go and locate ever place where I might be able to penetrate the plumbing or any other item I could damage with the nails and I place a metal plate over them if the run vertical. I also give them double lines, one on each side and write no nailing between the lines. I take the time to locate every stud of the exterior framing.

I have wrapped the unit with a material which is able to used as a rain-screen. And I have had my inspection for the wrapping, window and door insulation. I have used pressure sensitive tape to seal the window and metal z-bar flashing over the window, the header of the window and door trim also have their z bar flashing and it gets pressure Sensitive tape also.

I take every precaution I know of to keep water from penetrating the seal of the sided wall, but I do not seal or prevent any water from leaving the area between the units sheer or the plywood which fills in the gaps between sheering. Many siding manufactures allow for a 3/8” space between the siding and the sheer, and I like to take advantage of that detail. I use the CORAVENT SV-3 system to provide the space on top and bottom of the wall and around every opening for door or windows. When I caulk around the windows I do not caulk because I want the water out. I form my corner boards and plumb them into place so that my siding installs easier. I also place my 3/8” by 1&1/2 furring strips at 16” on canter over every exterior vertical stud.

Now when these procedures have been accomplished. I paint my siding before Installing it. These steps make the final coat of paint much easier. I proved the 3/8” gap called for between the butting of the siding. When I fill those gaps, I turn a scrap of siding (a cut off) upside down over the gap and a piece of wax paper between them so that my seal disappears. I also paint every cut off before I siding with it. There are no areas of bare or unprotected material in my system.

To begin I pull out the laser to establish the line for my bottom run of CORAVENT SV3 and the first row of siding itself. I also use the Gecko clamping system to install the lap siding. Though it would be hard to get to far out of wack I still pull the measurement to obstacles in the wall so that I don’t have some small or weird reveals in the siding. I stagger my joints by using my cut offs as the starting strip for the next row. This does take a little longer by the results are worth it. I prefer to use screws in plumbing walls and nails everywhere else.

When I am finished, I paint the outside of the unit. So that my exterior is complete. People see it as a finished project and stop to talk sometimes but the is drywall to hang and finish electric and plumbing to complete, but the owners are excited most times and able to see it coming along.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662.  He resides in Southern California.