Weaving corners on clapboard siding
eirelander
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I am considering siding my house with prestained cedar clapboards. In terms of the corners, most homes in our area use corner boards (new and old construction) – it’s definitely the most straight forward treatment. However, for the sake of discussion and research, has anyone installed clapboards and attempted to weave the corners instead of using corner boards? Please note, I’m not refering to mitered corners, but an alternating overlapping corner like you would see on a house with cedar shingles.
Curious if it would work the same way as woven shingles, or if the explosed endgrain would cause problems.
Replies
If you were painting I'd suggest tin corners. Never tried weaving -- obviously a lot of work and a fair amount of tedium, to do it right. And you hope that the siding won't curl.
eire
If it's stock cedar siding-barely a half inch on the thick edge-I don't think I'd weave-too thin, yes to wicking, and cupping would prove an ugly corner I fear.
End grain doesn't hold the small siding nails needed to keep it together.
Old growth maybe-todays woods, suck like a sponge.
A house being build next to mine is using cedar clapboard and they have metal (tin?) pieces on each clapboard joint at each outside corner so it has the effect of a mitered corner. They are painting and from 30 feet or so the corners blend nicely.
I think the woven approach would be beautiful but labor intensive (expensive) and need more than typical upkeep to preserve it.
Yeah, that's "tin corners"
Yeah, that's "tin corners" (though they're more often aluminum). Despite the opinion by some that this reeks "cheap" and "shoddy", it does produce a neat appearance, and less "formal" than corner boards -- good for a ranch or other house trying for a more casual look.
I have once or twice seen painted corners on stained siding, but that effect is only good if your tastes are, shall we say, "unusual" -- not bad looking, but "different". (How "different" depends on the color you choose, I suppose. If the siding were darked stained then you could tone the corners to match and they wouldn't be noticeable from 50 feet, but then siding stain never stays the same color.)
Corner boards definitely have some problems - laying flat, getting a good seal,etc. Tin corners are pretty much fool-proof.
I should be clearer: they are painting the siding and the corners, not just the corners. The siding was installed already primed.
Yeah, but the OP said "prestained".
hadn't considered the metal corner
This post and others are good food for thought. I associated tin corners with homes builts in the 1920s, rather than contemporary. Will have to check with my local supplier.
They are hard to find these days. 20 years ago you could buy them at any building supply place, but now they're special order.
I buy them online at prosidingaccessories.com. I wish I used the retro corners on an old garage I rehabbed, they didn't run the old siding all the way to the corner, and the new style barely covered the end cuts but the retro ones would have covered without any problem. They are aluminum now, the galvanized ones on the old garage were rusted out. Looks nice and fresh now. Old growth redwood should never be covered with plastic, just paint (or maybe once in a while stain).