FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Main Menu
Subscribe

In every issue you'll find...

  • Expert insights on techniques and principles
  • Unbiased tool reviews
  • Step-by-step details to master the job
  • Field-tested advice and know-how
Subscribe Now!
Subscribe
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
  • Join
  • Log In
Main Menu Subscribe
Tips & Techniques

Clever Siding Deconstruction

A hole saw and some homemade plugs make saving and reusing old wood siding a simple job.

Issue 288 - Dec 2019/Jan 2020
Article Image

My boss wanted to try to reuse the redwood siding we were taking off his house to make some upgrades. Prying at the boards caused splitting, so we decided to use a hole saw to separate the nails from the wood. The local home center had a 3/8-in. diamond hole saw for tilework that turned out to be the perfect thing. The bit’s diamond grit works fast and creates a smooth cut.

To start the cut, position the bit over the nail at a slight angle and start the bit rotating slowly. Once the kerf is established, straighten the bit and drill to a depth of 3/4 in., leaving the nail and cutting the siding around it. Once you’ve drilled around all the nails, make a few passes with a utility knife along the painted joint between boards so they pop free. When it was time to reinstall the siding, I plugged the holes with 3/8-in. redwood plugs that I cut on the drill press. I glued them in the holes and then sanded them flush. The reclaimed siding cost next to nothing and matched perfectly.

Click here to enlarge the illustration

—Martin Alonso, Rohnert Park, Calif.

Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller

From Fine Homebuilding #288

More about siding

Don’t Forget the Flashing – Easily overlooked and sometimes installed incorrectly, flashing keeps water out and rot at bay.

How to Choose the Right Siding for Your House – Learn about the costs, pros, and cons of the 3 most common siding materials: wood, fiber cement, and vinyl.

Understanding Rainscreens – These construction details can improve the durability of exterior walls by allowing rain and moist air to escape from behind your home’s siding.

Sign up for the Fine Homebuilding Tip of the Day and get daily tips and special offers delivered to your inbox.

Sign Up

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

×
X
X

New Feature

Fine Homebuilding Forums

Ask questions, offer advice, and share your work

Comments are closed.

More Tips & Techniques

View All
  • shingle holder

    Shingle Holder

  • old hand saw

    Deck-Board Cleaner and Homemade Scrapers

  • Shim Storage

    Shim Storage

  • scribing

    Scribing Made Simple

View All

Up Next

Featured Story

IBSx Roundtable: Behind the Siding—WRB, Drainable WRB, or Rainscreen?

Fine Homebuilding hosts a panel of building pros in a discussion of the various types of high-quality substrates that can be installed under siding to make a wall assembly more durable.

Featured Video

Video: Build a Fireplace, Brick by Brick

Get an overview of the process of creating a traditional-style fireplace that burns well and meets current building codes from experienced mason Mike Mehaffey.

Related Stories

  • Sidewall Shingles With a Flare

  • Replacing a Basement Door

  • Smart Siding Tool

  • High-Strength, Long-Life Lap Siding

Discussion Forum

Recent Posts and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
View More Create Post

Highlights

  • Fine Homebuilding All Access
  • Fine Homebuilding Podcast
  • Tool Tech

    Plus, get an extra 20% off with code GIFT20

  • "I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.

    Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

    Sign Up See all newsletters

Video

View All
  • Podcast 190: Becoming a Contractor, Patching Old Siding, and Strengthening a Building With Spray Foam

  • Podcast 184: Insulating an All-Brick House, Working with Engineered Siding, and Carpentry as a Second Career

  • How to Install Stone-Veneer Siding Panels

  • deck ledger mounting system

    Deck Ledger Mounting System for Masonry Veneer (and Other Challenging Cladding)

View All

Siding

View All
  • Shingle-Replacement Tool

  • Burnt, Brushed, and Burnished

  • Streamlined Skirtboard

  • Clever Siding Deconstruction

View All

BOOKS, DVDs, & MERCH

Shop the Store
  • Musings of an Energy Nerd

    Buy Now
  • Code Check Building 4th Edition

    Buy Now
  • 2020 Fine Homebuilding Archive

    Buy Now
  • Fine Homebuilding Magazine Slipcase

    Buy Now
  • Shop the Store

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 297 - Feb/Mar 2021

    • Foundations for Success
    • Staircase Renovation
    • Ditch the Hose
  • Issue 296 - Dec 2020/Jan 2021

    • Insulating Glass Keeps Getting Better
    • Simple Way to Make Old Walls Straight and Plumb
    • Making Sense of Minisplits
  • Issue 295 - Kitchens & Baths

    • Condo Kitchen Reimagined
    • Row-House Remodel
    • Rise of the IAQ Monitor
  • Issue 294 - Oct/Nov 2020

    • Schoolhouse Reimagined
    • Tool Test: Folding Sawhorses
    • A Better Way to Build Tall Walls
  • Issue 293 - Aug/Sept 2020

    • A Practical Guide to Fall Protection
    • Installing Frameless Cabinets
    • Make Any Tablesaw Safer

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Manage Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • CA Privacy Rights

© 2021 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Account

  • Log In
  • Join

    Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

    Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

    All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

    Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

    More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • Customer Support

    Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Follow

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 52%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in