Installing fiber-cement siding solo

Because fiber cement is heavy and dense, it is difficult for one person to hold it to a line, match up to an end, and start the first fastener. My method makes it a lot easier for one person to juggle those tasks. As shown in the drawing, I use a bracket affixed to the wall near each end of a piece of siding to support it with the correct amount of exposure. If the siding needs to be tweaked, a shim can be slid between the siding and the block. Once the siding has two or three fasteners, the screws in the coil stock are removed, the brackets are pulled down and out, and they are reset for the next course.