Siding an old House #4

We have been pretty lucky weather-wise in Southern Indiana. No rain for 20+ days. Not so good for the crops – and temps in the mid 90’s, but good weather for a siding project. As a matter of fact – it’s slightly raining today, so a perfect day for a blog post.

I started on the back of the house for a couple of reasons. One – it’s a single story wall with lots of notches and cuts to be made in the siding. Since I’ve not used cement siding – nor sided a house before – I thought this was a good place to start. It’s really pretty easy – even for a one person installation crew. I’m using the Gecko Siding Gauges. These hold the siding at the correct reveal and keep everything in place while you nail them to the wall.

Of course, a guy’s gotta eat. My wife was kind enough to drop off some chicken breasts – fresh from the refrigerator from home. Problem is I don’t like ice-cold chicken and have no way to heat it since a kitchen is non-existent. So, like any DIY’er I got out the heat gun, a cut off piece of 6″ duct, a hand saw and had a handy chicken warmer in no time.

After lunch it’s back to work. Here’s the set up for the airless paint sprayer. The Hardie siding is available pre-finished or pre-primed. I chose the primed because when I bought this 3 years ago I had no clue what color I would paint it. I sprayed one coat before installing. I do about 70 twelve foot pieces per session. I used Low Luster Benjamin More OC-57 White Heron. Once installed, I’ll hand paint the final coats.

I have eight walls that will have siding – this is wall #2 on the patio side. It’s by far the most complicated with windows and lights and roof intersections. Plus it’s two stories high – this will take a while.

To cut the notches for the windows I used the small angle grinder with a diamond blade. It cuts very smooth and straight – but throws out  a cloud of dangerous silica dust. I always wear a P-95 dust respirator when cutting the notches.

Here the thin siding notch piece is supported by a 6′ level while the adhesive/caulk cured over a couple of days. I’ve used many caulks before, but by far the best I’ve found is Solar Seal #900. It’s easy to use and it’s my go-to caulk from now on.

After six years I’ve figured out the scaffold layout. Two sections high with 4 walk boards combined with the scaffold planks makes this safe and easy – well –  except going up and down the ladders countless times a day.

Hang in there – we’ll wrap this building up before winter, I promise.