How easy, or difficult is it to install 7-1/4″ hardiplank siding by yourself using the hardi brackets and gauges?
http://www.heartyhangers.com/ or something like this,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B0000WU19I
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Replies
It's still a PITA. Getting that floppy stuff up there solo without having a 25% breakage rate is the problem. Wait until you get to the soffits. It'll test your religion :-) It's really a 2 or 3 man job.
I've used the Malco tools you have in the Amazon link. They kinda, sorta, almost work.
If you're doing a 1 story ranch it's do-able, if you're going up two floors it's going to be a PITA.
Ideally I'd like to have a three man siding crew with cement lap. It is possible to do it solo though, just not very efficient
I'm in the middle of a job now. No one else available, but a pair of these:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AQKA2?v=glance
They hold and adjust very well (I'm using story poles). Breakage hasn't been an issue, but I'd love to have a cut man on the ground to speed things up.
I used the Geckos for a 2 1/2 story cabin solo with scaffolding. They are the best.
Bing
I liked the looks of the gecko, but questioned whether or not they would "scar" the siding when you engage the cam. Also, over time, does the cam pressure weaken and maybe would not hold up the siding.
I watched the video of solosider and thought that for 1/2 the price, they seemed to be totally awesome.
I can have a helper on site if I want, not my journeyman, but just a set of hands helper. My helper is very enthusiastic and may over do it and I don't want that. Btw, she's 68 yrs young.
Can you guys who have the gecko please comment on my above doubts. Thanks.
http://grungefm.com
There is a belt of rubber between the cam and where it hits the siding, so no scarring.
We've had them for a while and they hold really well.
Actually no complaints whatsoever - they hold 12' of siding nicely, upright - no hands needed. But its still a lot faster to have a cut man on the ground too.
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
I don't know if is cricket for me to comment on this discussion as I
have a vested interest in SoloSiders but here goes. The Gecko and the Malco are good tools. The Gecko is better insofar it gages from the proper edge of the plank, if you start with a good lower coarse it will continue. The Malco, as well as any other gage that works off of the top of the plank will pick up any error in the width of the plank and accumalate. The point of the Solosider is that it is adjustable in real time and you can correct for this error. But the main point is you can use a different overlap setting from the beginning of the job. If you look at the charts on the site you can see that using even a 1 5/16 lap
can make a lot of difference. If you have a job that you can go straight up with a 1 1/4 overlap, use the Geckos. If you need to adjust, use the SoloSiders. I am a toolmaker with 40 yrs in the trade. I decided to side my own building (100 x 32 x 14) and designed this tool to do it.
Speaking for myself, I have no problem with you or any other toolmaker recommending or answering questions about your tools as long as it is applies to the question at hand and doesnt become a constant source of free advertising. Your reply was well within the rules as far as I am concerned. It looks like an interesting product.
In that I said I was going to buy the solosider, it was strange, to say the least, to have the tool maker/marketer write a response to my post. I was impressed by the video on the solosider website and the fact that you can make 1/16" incremental adjustments to adjust for product size differences is nice. Even though we are not building piano's, the goal is a perfect job.
With that said, incremental adjustments on the gecko are not necessary because, as solosider stated, the gauge comes off of the bottom of the siding. (Am I leaning toward spending more money?)
Solosider, why would I ever want to overlap more/less than 1-1/4"? It would change the siding reveal to an odd measurement, no?
http://grungefm.com
You don't want to use less than 1 1/4 overlap, it would be out of code.
The size of the reveal is not going to be noticed unless it is changed
by a large amount.The important part is where your top plank is going
to end up.f everything is parallel and square with the house you are fine,if not something has to be adjusted.
If you use an 8" plank at 1 1/4 lap on 10 ft eave you end up at 122 3/4" with a 1 3/8 lap you come out at 120 5/8 This is just one example. Happy sidingEdited 9/9/2006 1:28 am ET by Solo-SiderEdited 9/9/2006 1:30 am ET by Solo-Sider
Edited 9/9/2006 1:31 am ET by Solo-Sider
why would I ever want to overlap more/less than 1-1/4"? It would change the siding reveal to an odd measurement, no?
Because you can, (not w/vinyl) and it looks really crisp...
A lot of folks like to vary their siding heights (never more than 1/4" adjacent, and never less than 1-1/4", and always parallel) to make the tops and bottoms of the window trim come out even with the siding laps. This is the reason for the story pole.
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
Put up about 6000 feet of 6 1/4" and the geckos still working like new, and no damage from there use on prefinished siding.
Solo siders seem nice, but did not come up on my initial search.
Greg in Connecticut
If you want a full piece of siding on top and bottom of windows,etc you often can play with the width of your trim, instead of the siding. Helps when the windows aren't lined up perfectly. Our local lumberyard only stocks 5/4 by 8 and 5/4 by 12 material so the table saw gets a workout either way.
I use the Malco spacers and like them OK. They make it easy to keep the courses level and properly spaced. Its easier if you have a helper, but certaimly doable solo.
http://www.solosider.com/
Someone recommended these -- They look great but I have not tried them. Perfect for fudging up or down to obtain whole pieces above and below windows.
F1
I used the Malco tools and I think they worked great. The metal one holds one end exactly where it is to be nailed. Use the guage on the other end and you're set. I was using a Rustgo scaffold and had my daughter hand me the planks and that worked very well. I don't think you would have an easy time on ladders.
The solo siders look great and simple and cheaper than the Pacific product mentioned earlier. I watched the video and it couldn't be simpler.
The job will not be in a windy location and will be only one story and my helper is fishing so I am going to try it myself.
I agree, 2-3 man would be optimum.
Anyone else with a product indorsement?
Thanks.
http://grungefm.com
I'm putting the same stuff up now. 7 1/4 with a 6 reveal. I"m doing it by myself. It wasn't bad until I got to ladder height.I make sure the wall is well marked with chalk lines if possible.Every guide I've tried never works well. Just take the extra 15 seconds and set nails where the top of the siding is to be. Just push the siding up to the nails and nail it off. Pull the guide nails and move up to the next course.It takes a lot longer than having a cut guy below but sometimes you need to make hay while the sun shines.Story poles are the best way to make your job easier.
My 2 cents...
I've put up a few thousand feet of the siding , from the ground, scaffolding and ladders. Last year I posted a few pics of an office building that needed some extensive work and complete residing (about 3,000sf). Until I got up to the rake and the scarf cuts and the multitude of short pieces around posts I was able to install almost 4 squares a day, solo.
After installing all the corner boards and window trim I mark the vertical spacing on every stick of trim around the building. I then pocket a handfull of stainless 1 1/4" trim nails and use them to space the boards as I work.
Tap a nail in against the corner board so when you push the siding against it, it hits right about 6" up from the bottom of the board which is placed at the course mark. This friction is just perfect to hold the board exactly in place while you place the first nail to the right of where you are balancing the 12' plank. I use the spacing gauge to mark the previous course about 10' out rather than using it to hold the plank because it seems to require a third hand as well as the hook-on tool for the trailing end of the plank.
When I butt the planks I use another trim nail for spacing and the friction point to hold the trailing end of the next plank firmly in line with the previous plank and then align the plank to the pencil tick and nail that off.
The nail spacing as well as accurate cutting gives me the caulk joint I want.
When I get to the rake I then tap a trim nail into the previous course at the reveal because friction no longer works to hold the end of the board up. After nailing off these planks I use that trim nail to hold down the free end of the scarf cut.
If you hand nail, place the plank on the top of the previous course so you can start the first nail against a hard backing and to be sure you are centered on a stud. It also helps if you take the time to snap a verticle line on the house wrap or paper over each stud before you begin.
That stuff is a bitch by yourself. If the wind is blowing forget it.
I have a set from http://www.thelaborsaver.com that I bought at a JLC show.
They don't have a hook, just rest on top of the piece below. Not the answer if you're working alone, they slip off if you're not real careful.
Be prepared for some breakage, and a lot of cursing.
Joe H
It's possible. But keep the women and small children out of earshot until you're finished. You're on the right track by looking at buying the proper tools for it, but it's still going to test your patience.
My brother and I are hanging hardi 6.25 inch with the gecko guides now. We have the malco guides also, but my brother prefers the gecko.
We are doing a two story, and I'm the cut guy.The only breakage we got is for pieces I cut wrong, and my brother threw back at me.
The Geckos make a heavy siding a lot easier to install.Spend the money on the Geckos, you won't be sorry,
Greg in Connecticut
Hire a helper. Even an otherwise useless kid will do to hold up the other end of a board while you nail it off. If time is worth anything to you, it'll go faster that way than you could manage using brackets by yourself.
These are knock off clips. I have not used them but figured I throw it out there for you.
http://www.bearclip.com/about_bearclips.html
I've been installing 71/4" Hardi plank on my house. When I started, I made 2 of my own spacer / holders from scrap wood. About 20" long 1x3, the bottom has a small ledge of plywood that catches on the bottom of the previous row of siding. At the top, I screw into the sheathing, thru the 1x3 and another 3/4" thick block. This ends up being well above the row being installed. I used a 6" wide x 6" tall (or whatever your exposure is) block of 3/8" plywood for the exposure. This is fastened onto the bottom of the 1x3, just above the ledge. The blocks face the wall.
Slide in your siding from the side on top of this 6 x 6 plywood and it's automatically supported to the proper exposure, trapped against the wall. It's real easy to fine tune the fit and nail it.
I tried using the metal store bought model, but I went back to my homebrew - even though it does take longer. Clearly, another set of hands would be ideal, but working by myself, It's easier to work with the long pieces and get the good fit.
Kop
I don't know if this is appropriate for a crew, but i put up my siding in my own fashion, by myself, with screws. I pre-drilled stacks of planks on 16" centers first. Every course was chalk-lined on the building.
I screwed the first course on. I figured out where the break would fall on the first plank of the second course, and slightly unscrewed the last screw that plank would cover. This screw became my "helper" holding up the other end of the plank. I screwed down the end i was holding, then walked to the other end and screwed down the 'helper' screw, then screwed that end of the second-course plank down. With both ends secure, i fastened the intermediate screws.
The slight raising of the plank on the 'helper' screw at the far end gave me a slight space at the butt joint. I'd used 30# felt strips behind, caulked, let it dry, then caulked again before priming. I recommend caulking twice bec the caulking shrinks some and the second application means the joint will disappear from ten feet away.
I'm only 5-4 or so and the highest siding was 15', so a lot of my siding happened off a ladder, but it wasn't difficult to lean up one end of the plank and walk up a ladder with the other and i didn't break a single plank. Any mistakes, of course, are very simple to modify bec of the fasteners, and no fasteners were over- or under-driven. I also liked that i only had a cordless drill to hang off my 'Prazi' instead of dragging an air hose around.
I was doing it for myself at homeowner speed, but i did a side of my house per day, either 315 or 378 s.f per day, and i have bar-none the nicest Hardieplank siding job i have ever seen.