I have recently taken on the task of siding my house with vinyl siding. I am going with the light grey (or gray for some). I have completed one side with the help of my girl friend and my sister (you think you guys have tackled it all, try siding with 2 girls… that’s right, I’m one bad dude) . We all call her Robin Vila because she repaired and flipped some houses and likes to tackle jobs without calling in the pro’s. Don’t get me wrong, she will research a job and make sure either she or I can do it before she commits. Until now we have not found any home repair that we needed to call anyone else to do. That’s a fine record if you ask me.

I will get into installing the soffit later. I like to do this first and then run the panels up to the installed soffit and end with a j channel and a finishing strip. I will get into detail as I get the pictures and maybe a little video bite here and there. In this little picture I had to replace the wall completely, and then install the windows (that will come later also), then install green board insulation over the osb panels. This is an old farm house and I have done a lot to it already.

I will enter more pictures later as we move forward. There will be more details.

There are some basics that one should take into consideration before starting an install of vinyl siding. After you have installed your soffit, or at least the ‘F’ channel along the top, you need to measure down from the top on both corners and make sure the measurement is exact. The measurement should be down to the lowest solid part of the house just above the foundation. If the measurements are a little different take the shortest measurement and go to the other corner and mark THAT measurement in the long corner. This will be your starting line for your siding.

Next would be to install your corners and all your ‘J’ channel. You must install the J around the windows and doors first BEFORE even thinking about siding. On your corners make sure the corner piece is up to the F channel and 1 inch below your measure mark. Then install them without pushing on the actual corner. You want them to look like corners and not like they were pressed around the corner. I would use a square just to be sure. After you install your J and corners, the next step is to install your starter strip. The best way to do this is to use a chalk line to snap a line on your marks you measured in the beginning. Set your starter strip with the BOTTOM of the strip running the line. Make sure you have your starter strip nailed every 12-14 inches as this will be the base for your siding to be straight. After you have your strip in place and secure, you are ready to start installing the vinyl.

INSTALLING THE VINYL

The first piece is the most critical so take your time and make sure it is securely snapped into the starter strip. Allow about 1/4 inch from actually hitting the inside (or outside) of your corners. This is for expansion of the vinyl, and it WILL expand in the heat and shrink on the cold. If you don’t allow for this you will end up with buckled pieces of siding at certain times of the year. When you are sure of the spacing, nail your siding in the MIDDLE of the slots about every 16 inches or so making sure to NOT drive the nails all the way in. You should have a space about the thickness of a dime between the head of the nail and the vinyl . You should HANG your siding and not fasten is tightly. As you can see below, I am (ok, WE are) coming along nicely on the install.

Vinyl siding actually snaps together really nicely. It’s easy to install and goes on fast after you get the hang of it. I have done this before so I knew what to do for the most part. One thing that I have learned is that no ONE person knows it all, even though we all have that friend that thinks he (she) does. I will be adding to this posting periodically as I move on and even get into a little more detail on on cutting vinyl siding and spacing correctly. Time to move on to another part of the blog for now.