How To Side A House With Lap Siding

Snap a level chalk line around the bottom of the house about an inch above the bottom of the existing wood siding for a steel starter strip that will hold the bottom of the first row of vinyl.

How to side a house with lap siding.

For an attractive corner install the trim on the sides of your house flush to the face of the house. To the left of the chimney traditional lap siding is used while to the right a shingle adds texture and detail. Generally the best idea is to remove any existing siding from your exterior walls before installing the vinyl siding. Side by side siding this property is broken in the center by a fieldstone chimney which makes a natural dividing point for the siding as well.

This goes for fiber cement hardwood and masonite siding. Vinyl siding is tough and comes in a boatload of colors and textures. Then install the front facing trim so it overlaps the side trim. Expansion should be allowed for so subtract one fourth to 3 8 inches from the actual length to leave a one eighth to 3 16 inch gap between each trim piece and the siding.

Staple a layer of house wrap to the sheathing working from the bottom up and overlapping joints by several inches so that any water that reaches it will shed down the wall. Plywood sheathing provides a sound flat base for lap siding. On one side of the house measure and cut a piece of hardboard lap siding to fit between the corner trim pieces. Lp smartside lap siding is a great material to work with because it isn t fragile to work with like.

Because the color is throughout the material nicks and scratches don t show up. Sophisticated manufacturing techniques create products that do a surprisingly fine job of mimicking wood grain lap siding wood shingles and even stone. While covering lap siding with vinyl is an option for some siding other varieties of lap siding can t be covered by vinyl. The siding must be installed over a flat surface so unless you re siding a new home or have removed the old lap siding you ll need to line the wall with sheets of rigid foam board usually 1 2.