I’m siding the house with wc shingles,5″ exp and weaving the corners. Everything is looking really good except when i sight down the plane of the wall. It seems that the corners are “kicked out’ a bit. I’ve been making sure that I cut the top of the shingle back from the corner, am i missing something else? It’s not something that’s really noticeable unless you sight down the wall. Its an old house and there’s alot thats gone out out of plumb ,flat,square over the years but even on the small addition I did it still seems to be occuring. Should I be concerned about this or is this something thats within acceptable tolerance?
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If you are alternating the weave every course and cutting back the underlaying shingle properly there shouldn't be any noticible kick out. What I mean by noticible is, would the average person walking by see it? or just the obsesively insane fanatical sticklers for detail?
Turtleneck
The only difference between a rut and a grave is depth
Thanks for the reply. I don't think the average person walking by would notice. You did give me a laugh with the obsessively insane stickler comment,though. I do think I get kind of goofy worrying about the details sometimes. All the neighborhood folks say I'm doing a nice job, guess that should be good enough. Thanks again
Make sure to look the other way when cornering around the house. Scratch your ear or something.
I try but I just can"t look away!
You may be experiencing an optical illusion. I have done woven shingle corners quite abit and have noticed the same apparent flare out. However when I place a straight edge along the shingles there is very little variation.
I wish it were an optical illusion. The straight edge tells the story, but I can live with it,Iguess. Thanks
Are you using tyvek or tarpaper behind the shingles?
I notice this a little with tarpaper because there is usually extra buildup of materials where it overlaps at the corners.
Excellence is its own reward!
I'm using tar paper, and I never considered that. I went with the 30 lb too, so that could definitely be a large part of the problem. If you don't mind me pickin' your brain a little more... I was able to run my shingles so the courses line up w/ the top and bottom of the windows etc (5" exp). On the last course under the windows do you just nail off the top of the shingle, or do you nail the bottom as well? I was wondering if the two nails in the top would be enough since there are no successive courses above to help keep the shingle from curling etc. Thanks
two each - three penny fine.
No more curliung than at any other point.
The laps of the thirty pound felt is your problem with corners kicking out..
Excellence is its own reward!
thanks much... take care
under the windows and all exposed nailing.. we use a 4d SS box or siding nail..
if it doesn't have a head the shingle can pull off the nail and be hanging in the breeze next year...
all of the exposed nail heads have to align like soldiers a good space is one hammer head below the top.. one half inch from each edge.. only two nails per shingle.. and no wide shingles for trim work.... they're the first ones to splitMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I've got the right nails. I did use some wider shingles on that bottom course. I'll go back and change them. Thanks for the tip
craw , you don't have to change them..
you could split them in place and nail each side of the split just as if they were two shingle butts instead of oneMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Will do. Thanks Mike
Mike
Do you butt the shingle edges together as you go along or do you leave a gap?
Also, I've heard its a good idea to soak the cedar chingles first in a sealer rather than putting them up and sparying the sealer on afterwards. Any thoughts on this...and what sealer do you like?
BruceM
Bruce
I can't give you an answer as far as the shingle spacing, though its something I've been contemplating as my job moves along. I've had my shingles stored in my shed since last summer so they were out of the weather and nice and dry. when i started installing themIwas trying to space them 1/16-1/8 so they had room to swell if they got wet. I don't know if its my imagination but it seems that even after all that time under cover they may be shrinking slightly. As for pre-treating the shingles before installation, I did that when i sided my shed. Hand dipped each shingle and it was a royal pain in the a#$. When I decided to do the house I ordered shingles pre-treated w/ bleaching oil (you can also choose colored stains). It ain't cheap but it's well worth it unless you have a whole lotta time on your hands. Mine came from Maibec and I' very happy with them. I'll be interested to see what Mike or anyone else has to say about spacing.
another question for mike (or anyone who cares to answer) - how do you finish the joint where the shingles butt against windows and doors - do you just butt them up tight to the window/door trim and leave it, or do you caulk the seam, or use a J-channel...?
luciaj
Depends what window youre using.
If its an Anderson Narrowline.....what I like doing is to add some cedar 1X4 and butt the shingles tight to that. I caulk "behind" the 1x4 against the window.
Be shingles
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the windows are 80 year old wood windows that were retrofitted with aluminium cladding
bruce.... if we're talking about R&R's.. then we use them just as they come out of the box...there is just the slightest out of square condition that will automatically gap them about a 16" or so...
for appearance.. consistency and a straight bottom edge is more important than tight fitting side-to-side..... i'm always bitching to my guysto put their block planes back in their bags... most spend too much time fitting.. with the occasional result that they swell and buckle..
also.. a north side will tend to buckle more that the other sides of a building..
we don't presoak.. just use them straight out of the box.. keep them as dry as the place you bought them..
against windows... the spline of paper behind the window trim is what keeps the water out.. a neat fit is all that is required... and a kicker flash at the bottom corner to get the water back onto the face of the shingles so you don't get those large wet spots in each bottom corner after a rain.. caulk or don't caulk depending on wether you use an ice & water spline against the window/door trimMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I'm also getting ready to install R & R red cedar shingles on my gables. I'm planning on dipping all in stain before hand ( dreading the thought) one coat and then putting the second on in place. I think this is the best way to help the stain stay on and to preserve them. Plan is to dip, brush off and hang on a line with clothspins. And I sure do I hope my wife will do it. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Rupert
make a dip trough.. and spread out a blue tarp.. dip and throw onto the tarp..
then when the tarp is full pick them up and hang them on your clthesline.. drain the tarp back into the can..
of course you can also get them custom dipped any color you want .. or settle on one of the factory colors..
i couldn't do what i described above.. the labor would kill me..i'll buy mine factory dippedMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike
Clearly, you and others here do this for a living, and time is money. But for those of us who are doing this as a labor of love (its our own house), I think I'll take the time, dip each shingle, leave submerged for an hour, then hang upside down from a small #3 nail pushed into the base (thick end) by a clothes pin to dry. Time consuming..you bet. But I've got to do something useful with my retirement time!!
The reason I like the idea of butting each shingle together is that if they are still green, they WILL shrink...yes? If I put a 1/16" gap, this will only widen with time. Buckling occurs when dry-installed shingles get and stay wet (North side)...would you agree? I'm a bit paranoid here, as I don't want to put up 20,000 Red Cedar shingles, only to have to take them back down due to buckling.
Thanks
BruceM
bruce .. if you're dipping them.. they are not going to absorb apprecialble moisture no matter what side of the building they are on..
if they are a good quality R&R.. use them just as they come out of the box.. butt them tight but don't try to fit them... you'll only be exposing raw wood anyways.. kind of defeats the purpose of dipping them
i don't think you will gain a lot by leaving them soak for an hour... shaking them and throwing them onto a tarp will have pretty much the same results..... think consistency....
and a bag of clothespins will be faster than pushing a nail into each oneMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore