How to Install Shingle Siding
When you install shingle siding, you create a beautiful texture for your home. Wooden shingles also provide additional insulation. While the work will go faster with multiple people, you can install wooden shingle siding by yourself. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Hammer
- Galvanized nails
- String line
- Long 1-by-2 boards
- Measuring tape
- Level
- Roofing felt
- Pencil
- Utility knife
- Siding shingles
- Carpenter's apron
Instructions
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1
Decide what the exposure will be for the shingles. Typical exposure for 18-inch long shingles is 7 inches to 8 inches.
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2
Place a mark the corners of the side of the house based on the exposure you choose. For example, place a mark 8 inches, 16 inches, 24 inches, 32 inches and so forth from the bottom of the house.
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3
Lay the first row of shingles along the bottom of the building. Put a single nail in the top right and top left corners of each shingle. The bottom of the shingles should be level.
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4
Install shingles at the corners according to the marks made earlier to create one column of shingles at each corner. The bottom of the shingle should line up with the marks. Make sure the shingles are level and alternate between full and half shingles as you progress up.
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5
Tap a nail into the shingle on each corner approximately 16 inches from the bottom of the second shingle up on the building.
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6
Run a string line from one side of the building to the other. You should have a tight string going across the building approximately 24 inches from the bottom of the building at this point (8 inches exposure from first row and then up another 16 inches).
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7
Attach the 1-by-2 board to the first row of shingles so that it butts up against the shingle for the second row of shingles. Drive the nail through the board and into the shingle just deep enough to hold the board in place. If you need to use more than one board across the side of the building, make sure the board is perfectly level.
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8
Slide shingles for the second row of siding under the string line and over the the first row of shingles so the bottom of the shingles rest on the 1-by-2 board. Make sure the shingles butt up against each other. The string line simply helps hold the shingles in place while they rest on the board.
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9
Cut a shingle to fit in a gap by overlapping one shingle over the shingle next to it and marking a line on the shingle next to the wall with the utility knife. Remove the marked shingle and cut it with the knife. Replace the shingles.
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10
Nail down the second row of shingles.
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11
Remove the board and string and set them in place for each row of siding until you are done.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Place 18 inches of felt around windows and doors and then add shingles to combat water problems in the future.
Keep the building free from marks by placing marks on a straight 1-by-2 board and using the board as a measuring stick around the building.
Measure from the bottom of the wall to the top and divide the number by some variation of 7 to 8 to figure out how to lay the shingle siding with perfect spacing from top to bottom.
Never put the seam of two shingles within 1 1/2 inches of a seam underneath the shingles on the next row.
