Siding Weekend

It was the Friday after Thanksgiving and the forecast called for semi-warm weather, but when I got out of the truck up at the road, it was anything but. The thermometer read 20F but the winds were really whipping and the ground was still ice covered. Ben was having some car trouble at home and I figured I better just call this off. This ended up being a smart move because after the sun came out, I pressed forward with the work I had planned, which turned out to be a one-man job anyhow. This included framing out an opening for the west side service door and installing the frieze channels and 2x4 nailing boards. Lots of fine tuning was required to get these to line up straight and still be within an inch of accepting the rear siding panels (which were pre-cut) while being level with where the soffits would attach. With that, Saturday’s siding plan could commence.

You couldn’t have asked for a better day temp-wise. We hit mid-40’s with a clear sky and warm sun. This was ideal for working on the gable ends of the building, but not so much the south side where the snow-covered roof was melting in the sun and creating a muddy mess below the roof line. That said, with a 9AM start, we put in the first rear sheet to prove out the concept and to set the alignment for the rest of the 45 linear feet. Piece of cake. Then we tackled the gable ends which required cutting each panel top at the correct angle of the roof. After a rudimentary check, the 4:12 roof pitch jibed with basic geometry. A 4 in 12 rise over the width of a 3’ panel meant a 12” slope for each. Using a Malco turbo-shear (which I cannot say enough good things about), we soon got the hang of panel lengths and made quick work of the job. By sundown, we had the bulk of both walls cut, installed, and screwed into place. I spent the evening on the net trying to figure out the best way to trim out the service door, not being satisfied with the ‘standard procedure’ which didn’t seem to address the issue of things like…rain.

And so it was Sunday the 30^th that Ben and I had a few minutes before our buddy Don D. would roll up, along with my father, not far behind. We put up the partial pieces of frieze runner and leveled and fastened in the service door. The temps were not as kind as the previous day and we’d spend frequent sessions warming up in the car between jobs, but on the plus side, there was no longer a mud issue and the snow was GONE. Cara joined us around the same time and after some odd jobs, we launched into the rear panel install. The work was swift, with two people staging the panels through the back wall, and three aligning/fastening them down. I’d be surprised if it took more than an hour to finish the whole rear. 

With manpower available, we snapped chalk lines, put in screws, and even cut/installed the final two partial roof sheets using the Malco to get from one end to the other of those 18’ panels. Once again I found myself on the roof, wondering what might break my fall at the bottom. By 1:30 we were done and headed into town to hear the latest Don D. tales.