the 1/2″ x 10″ cedar siding on my house is quite loose from years of neglect (owned it for only 2 years). i think the big reason much of it has wriggled loose is that many of the nails never sank into anything other than the sheathing (most of the end-to-end joints weren’t laid on studs). as i’m prepping for painting, i’m going through all of the loose pieces and wanting, of course, to fasten them securely to the house. i was told by a supposedly reliable source that i should remove all the nails and fasten with screws instead. it was recommended that i put a 1/4″ lag into the siding for the screw head, so as not to crack the thin and old siding. i’ve been doing some research on siding repairs and haven’t come across one reference to using screws, so i’m wondering if there is a very good reason NOT to use screws, other than possibly cost. thanks.
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You could make repairs like that using 1-1/4" stainless steel trim head screws. Remove the nails if possible and try putting the screws in the same holes. Seat the screws so that the head are just flush with the wood, or very slightly recessed, not much. You may find that the nail hole prevents the siding from splitting, and that the threads grab into the plywood well enough to pull the siding down.
All siding wants to lift away from the house. It's got more dampness on the back than the front, and it gets baked by the sun on the front only. Sometimes it will pull away even in spite of large siding nails that are into the studs.
I've never seen screws used. Seems like the old wood would split easily if you started that. I wouldn't do it. Siding has been nailed for years on plenty of houses that are 100 years old. The nails need to hit something solid more often than not.
Try using ring shank nails (aka shake and shingle nails). You can get them in different sizes. Get some long enough to go through your siding and the underlayment, and make sure most of them go into studs if possible. Better practice your hammering though, they bend easy.
I'm curious. What's under the siding? Is it plywood or one of those exterior type sheetrocks or something else?
Don
Predrill the stainless trim screws with a good flip bit, prevents splitting. Take it easy on the clutch, just enough torque to set the screw. You won't need to replace every nail, just where you see a problem, say at joints and every 4' on a run as a baseline. Putty and paint as usual. Was the siding backprimed? If not and you're painting an unfinished or stained siding clapboard, a layer of paint may peel prematurely. A tinted stain may work better.
i'm going to prime all bare spots. what do you recommend for putty? the local store guy said light spackle, but that doesn't seem hardy enough, and it tends to leave craters after sanding. other people have recommended caulk, which seems like a lousy choice for filling in recessed screws where the surface needs to be levelled afterwards for painting. thanks.
Personally, I think it would be ridiculous and frustrating to try to remove nails without damaging the old siding to replace them with screws, especially since the nails are not on studs anyway.
what I would do is get trimhead ring shanked stainless steel siding nails, and place them at the studs, and whever else needed. you are painting anyway so you are going to be filling the heads with exterior spackle and sanding smooth so the extra nails won't be obtrussive.
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you've got the frustrating part right. i didn't know whether it was ridiculous to use screws or not. the type of nail used must be the key. the nails these guys used were straight nails, no shanks, which must be the difference between right and frustration. i looked for a spackle for exterior use, and was told to just use light spackle, which says it's ok for exterioe, but it just doesn't seem hardy enough. do you have any specific product recommendations on the exterior spackle/putty? thanks.
You are right that you don't want a caulk for filling, but I have heard here and elsewhere that a new product called Bond'n'fill is good for caulk or for fill. Can't say personally.my painter's mostly use spackle on light filling, Elmer's wood putty on heavier, and Minwax wood filler on really bad stuff. Both of the latter are harder to sand out
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