Last year I put a 12×16 porch addition on the rear of the house and sided with 16″w.c. shingles. I am now making my way around the rest of the house tearing off the old vinyl siding and cedar clapboards which were nailed directly to studs. I have the sheathing installed now and am waiting on my windows to continue w/ the cedar shingle siding. On the porch addition mentioned previously I went w/ a 6″ exposure. After looking around at some other houses and reading some recommendations from shingle manuf. it appears that most houses and at least the manuf. of my shingles (Maibec) recommend a max 5″ exp. I talked w/ a Maibec rep and he said sinc e I’ve already started w/ a 6″ exp. it shouldn’t be a problem to continue. Any other opinions out there? Am I asking for trouble w/ a6″ exp ? (warping etc) The porch thats already done is not really visible from the street or the front of the house due to landscaping etc. so I guess I could switch to a 5″ exp for the rest of the job and just live w/ the 6 on the porch, or promise myself I’ll reside it someday (yeah, right). Or, am I looking for a solution to a problem that only exists in my head? I know this is something that should have been decided from the get-go, but hey, sometimes I just do things bass ackwards y’know. Thanks
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If it were me and my project, I'd go to 5" exposure ........... I'd sleep better. Maibec makes good products but a lot depends on the grade you are using. A lot of older homes in this neck of the woods use even less exposre on the north side ....saltboxes in particular.
Thanks for the reply, I'll probably bite the bullet and go to the 5" for the rest of the house.
basically.. what you are looking for is triple coverage.. so a 16" shingle maxes at 5.33"
and an 18" maxes at 6" .. you'll be a little shy... the tendency will be for a little more curl, and a somewhat deminished life span.. which is a function of the thickness of the exposed part of the shingle ..
you are pushing the envelope a tad.. but it is still your choice..
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Ya' think I'd know what w.c. stands for as it relates to Cedar shingles. I suppose these are sawn both sides? Possibly that is my lack of familiarity. If these are sawn both sides that would account for the 16 inch overall length. I used 18 and 24 inch overall length shingles.
I just (well, there are a few unfinished areas) finished my 1800 sq foot building last fall. All of mine were sawn and split. My siding job seemed like it would never end. The reveal on those were 8 inches to 10 inches per the tag on the bundles. Wish I'd used 10". I was 25 percent over my material cost and 200 percent over on my labor anticipated by using the 8 inch reveal.
Looks great but don't know I'd do it again. Oh by the way, 18,000 nails from the paslode nailer. It ought to give one pause.
Boochie baby,
You were using handsplit and resawn shakes, not shingles. Different animal. I hope you didn't let that paslode set the nails deep enought to bury the heads or you'll be doing this all agian sooner than you like.Excellence is its own reward!
Thought there was a difference. Probably would have been faster to use those skinny shingles. My bad.
As for the Paslode. Yes you do have to change the depth setting, otherwise you get lots and lots of kindling. Funny, you can change your angle of attack with the paslode (nose up vs magazine on the deck) and change the penetration of the nailhead. It works far better than the Galv shingle nails I started with. Although my right & left rotator cuffs would have appreciated the nails. My shoulder still pops from the long reaches on a 40 foot ladder.
Final thought / tip that might work on shingles as well as it did on shakes. Take a 1x8 or 1x6 (depending on your reveal) and nail a firing strip on the bottom of it to make a ledge as thick as the edge of the shake or shingle. Then get a couple of those 2 dollar plastic levels from the bargain bin and fasten one to the face of each end. Put a nail in the board on each end. You've made a jig for slapping up the shakes(ingles). Take the jig and slide it up the wall to the last row. Catch the ledge of the jig on the bottom of that row. Look at the levels (you and your assistant) then tap the nails in the shingle to hold the jig in place. Place the next row on the top of the jig board. Now you can cover the joints of the previous row (sort of racking) and have your assistant take the nailer and nail them in place. Repeat until it gets dark.
Wish I could get a felt pen and a napkin. It'd be so much easier to show you.
Edited 9/16/2002 5:06:52 PM ET by Booch
Thanks to all for taking the time to reply. Piffin, I don't know if these are #2 or select. They're Maibec's Kennebunk line which I believe they describe as having some pin knots in the exposed portion of the shingle. I ordered them pre treated w/ cabots bleaching oil. Judging from your reply to Booch should I assume you're a proponent of hand nailing shingles? I planned on purchasing the Hitachi (nv65?) siding nailer for the remainder of the job, bad idea? I want to do the job right so any further feedback from you guys is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I'm a dinosaur.
Still hand nailing. When roof nailers first came on the job, I was getting 16-17 sq / day asphalt shingles, hand driven. Ohter guys with nailer could get 20 - on a good day and 10 when it wasn't working right. I didn't have patience for it. Matbe there are good guns now but I'm not the one to answer that Q. One of my crews uses wide crown staples (bostcih gun)for cedar siding and have to carefully set pressure
Excellence is its own reward!
Craw, It's kind of marginal. It's often done but there are some variables.
Are these select or #2? the better grade is less prone to letting water in.
Are they predipped? the coat of oil will help preserve and prevent warping with that extra ezposure
Are you right on the water or in the windy blast? if you're in the lee of some trees with a generous overhang, weather won't effect them as much.