Just finished installing Hardi on my brother’s house. The house has 2 dormers that gave me fits. We don’t have many dormers in my area of Florida so I have limited experience working on them. My problem came when trying to get a straight line on the siding next to the roof. When I cut the same angle on each piece the siding didn’t make an even gap. We had to install each piece then level a line for the next piece, measure the top and bottom runs and then cut to whatever angle that made. It drove me crazy and took forever to get the Hardi on them.
So what’s the secret to a nice straight, even gap between the siding and shingles?
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Rake board.
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A La Carte Government funding... the real democracy.
The siding still has to be cut the right angle to fit the rake board.
Even more accurately than a hanging open cut over the step flashing.BTW, I don't see any flashing over that rake bd. You must have pretty tall step flashing behind it;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Yep... flashed all the way up behind the felt beyond the bottom of the siding. Easy to do with 10" coil stock when you brake your own flashing.
All siding is cut at the same angle and installed. The rake is then installed under the siding. The changes in the wall/roof angle kinda "disappear".A La Carte Government funding... the real democracy.
Looks great! We discussed the rake board and now that I've seen yours I wish I had tried harder.
Thank you.
The quality of the framing/roofing on this one was well below par. The original siding had no water barrier behind it and was caulked to the shingles, Those shingles were installed without felt and the flashing was nailed to the decking at the bottom rather than the top.
I won't even mention the painters....
maybe I just did.A La Carte Government funding... the real democracy.
the rake board is also better because if it wicks moisture and rots it's easier to replace than all those pieces of siding and if you should ever need to change the flashing it makes it easier as well.
I feel your pain. I usually cheat. I cut the correct angle (the same angle as the roof which you can figure with a square or a bevel guage and a level) on the roof end, hold the piece in place and mark for the square cut on the other end. Cut, install & repeat.
That said, if you get the angle accurate enough, and you're careful with the install, each piece should be exactly the same amount longer than the prior one -- kinda like jack rafters.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
That's what i started with but the siding kept dipping toward or away from the roof. This house has the worst framing I've ever seen. Seriously, it borders on criminal to me. The dormers aren't level or square, the roof bows up and down and the decking isn't nailed tight. On one side of the house the girder sits on the brick veneer instead of the piers 3 inches away. Most of the windows were held in with 6 finish nails,no shims, no flanges, no flashing, no insulation. I suppose an even reveal was too much to ask.
It's a little like remodeling an old house, you have to cut things to fit as you go. If you were to level a line somewhere in the middle of the dormer wall, it will give you a reference line to measure from as you go. Sometimes you can mark the tops of the clapboards if they are all equal width. Some tapered wood clapboards are not the same width. Wood shingles are another type of siding where you need to mark the bottom. If you make that reference line either the top or bottom of a row, it's easy to keep all the rows coming out where you want them. Depending on the type and width of the siding, it can be common to have the rows come out even with the tops and bottoms of windows.Even with a straight framing job, there can be variation in the angled cut on the end of the piece, due to the roof shingles. It's easy to mark that by holding a piece of siding level and laying a piece of board/siding/what have you, on edge on the roof and scribing. As you go up the wall, set a combination square to the weather exposure you want. To make things come even with a window, you may have to do the math, the rows might have to be 4 3/16", instead of 4", for example. Mark that on each preceding piece. You then know the short point measurement for the next piece. If you find you have to change that roof angle as you go, to fit, just cut the next piece of siding a little longer, let it stick out by the corner, scribe to the roof and make the necessary adjustment. Every now and then, check things to your reference line. Theoretically, if the first piece is level, you mark the next row on it and stay on that mark, it should be automatic but it doesn't always go that way. When you do step flashing, it possible to avoid it showing through slots in the shingles. The shingle is wider than two rows "to the weather" Technically, you can run two steps on a shingle. You still have a step flashing just slightly above each row, as the picture shows, but it's down one more layer. It still makes the necessary lap over each other and the top of the shingle as specified. It's just that you start with two on the first shingle. It's also a good idea to have a kicker flashing at the first row. It kicks out 1/2"-3/4" to divert the water away from the corner. You just double the first step flashing and bend the second layer out.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
We chalk lines marking down from the soffit or frieze bd, so that each line is the top of a siding piece.
Then lay a 3/4" or 1-1/2" bd on the roof, and measure long point to that. Since all those lines caulked are parallel, the angle is the same for each.
It can seem to be slightly different for the first if you don't shim out behind it to give same lay to framing
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I do a hybred version of all said, I lay a removable stop stick on the roof at the right thickness. Make my tick marks on the corner, use a gage block for my reveal, and set the angled cut on the temp stick, mark at the tick and cut there.
You can also make a "preacher" for the corner marking if there are any dips or bows in the corner, it'll butt to the highest knob or hiccup and give you the best length.
The perfect world of using a common number to shorten each course also works if the work is all perfectly plumb and level.
Also on dormers, I cheat the reveal for scale, if the main home has a 6" reveal, I may drop to 5 or 4.5" on the smaller dormer, it just looks better to my eye. And a LOT less like Vinyl where the reveal is exactly the same everywhere.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"
Jed Clampitt
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what's up with the step flashing, I've always put it at the top of the shingle where it isn't visible ..
His shown is correct, you just see the steps in the rain channel showing. The steps should end just behind the bottom of the shingle exposure. and lap over the previous step with shingle inbetween.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"Jed Clampitt
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The shingle packaging instructs that this is the correct installation procedure. A La Carte Government funding... the real democracy.