In addition to vinyl siding, there are three more exterior finishes to consider if you’re interested in affordability, low maintenance, and attractive appearance:
COMPOSITE WOOD. These planks are made the same way as OSB sheathing panels, but they look like solid- wood clapboards or horizontal lap siding when installed. This siding comes with a factory-applied primer coat, and it needs to be painted after installation. Composite-wood planks don’t split, crack, or warp like solid-wood siding does, but they may not be a wise choice in extremely wet climates. These clapboards nail on walls much like cement fiber boards.
STUCCO. Two types of stucco finishes can be applied to house exteriors. Lightweight acrylic-type stucco treatments are available for application over specially prepared foam insulation board. Old-fashioned Portland cement–based stucco can be applied to masonry walls and to wire or stucco lath that’s been fastened to wall sheathing or directly to studs. It’s best to hire experienced professional
crews to do these treatments. In hot, sunny climates, stucco stands up better than most other siding treatments.
SHINGLES.Many houses, especially in coastal areas, have cedar shingles on their exterior walls. Sometimes in Oregon we will shingle the gable ends of a house just to give it a distinctive look. I think it is safe to say that if you can nail composite shingles on a roof you can learn how to nail wood shingles on a wall. You can also buy cement fiber shingle panels that make it easier to cover a gable end or even an entire house
When you use shingles, start by covering the exterior walls with OSB panels and a good housewrap. The courses of shingles can be laid out with a story pole. The first course is doubled just as if they were roof shingles. Check with a local contractor to make sure you are using the right fasteners to nail each shingle in place. In coastal areas you will want to use a nail that doesn’t rust easily.
PLY WOOD OR OSB SIDING .I have been sheathing houses with plywood panels for years. In the past, some of these products didn’t hold up well over time. In wet
The exterior of the house can be closed in rapidly with sheets of textured plywood or OSB. [Photo by Don Charles Blom]
Lap siding, made either of cedar or cement-based material, is a good choice for a traditional appearance. [Photo courtesy HFHI]
CLOSING IN 163
climates, the plywood delaminated. In dry climates, the surface cracked easily and paint peeled off. Houses began to look like the prairie house I lived in during the 1930s. Pretty shabby.
Texture 1-11, or T1-11, plywood panels come in different sizes and textures. The standard size of these plywood sheets is 4 ft. by 8 ft., with 1⁄4-in.-wide grooves cut into the face every 4 in., 8 in., or 12 in. These sheets can be purchased with a tex- tured face without grooves and even come in 9-ft. and 10-ft. lengths. These longer lengths allow you to sheathe both an 8-ft. wall and the rim joist with one piece. The same patterns and sizes are available as an OSB product. I actually prefer the OSB panels, called Smartside®, because they come paint-primed on the front side.
I have been using these panels in wet, coastal Oregon on some of the small houses we have built. You can rapidly close in the exterior walls with this material. I always prime the backside and edges before installation.
Installation is straightforward. The panels can usually be nailed directly to the studs once the housewrap is on and the windows are in place. Some people square up the framed
walls on the floor and nail on sheathing before standing the walls upright.
The siding needs to extend down over the foundation 1 in. I begin by snapping a chalkline 1 in. below the bottom sill plate all the way around the house. Start from the corner that has a 4 ft. o.c. stud layout. Use a level to make sure this first panel is nailed on plumb and level directly on the chalkline. Get this first one right and all the following panels will install easily. I like to nail off the sheets with 7d or 8d galvanized ringshank nails. Nail each panel every 6 in. around the perim- eter and every 12 in. out in the field.
Make your measurements and cuts within 1⁄8 in. to 1⁄4 in. around windows, doors, electrical outlets, or dryer vent. Before nailing these panels in place, run a bead of good exte- rior caulk around the openings and under the sheathing. Once the sheets are nailed in place, fill any gap between the panel and the window or door frame with caulk to help prevent wa- ter from entering at these points.
Trim for T1-11 or OSB sheeting is rather simple. Use roughsawn 1×4s to cover the outside corners and full 1-in.-sq. stock ripped from a 2×4 on the inside corners. Use frieze blocks between rafters when they are exposed, and 1×3s or 1×4s to trim around the windows and doors.
Windows can be trimmed in a number of ways. Here we are using 1×3s to trim and seal this window. [Photo by Don Charles Blom]
You can add a bit of class to a house by simply installing shingles in the gable end. [Photo by Don Charles Blom]
STEP 4 COMPLETE VENTILATION AND ELECTRICAL WORK
Before you install the siding, soffits, and exterior trim, it’s important to resolve some ventilation and electrical details. For example, this house has a rectangular attic vent centered beneath the ridge in each gable-end wall. If you chose to sheathe the gable-end truss on the ground, this is the logical place to cut the hole for the vent. If the hole hasn’t been cut yet, do so now, then install the vent (see the photo on p. 161).
Referring to your house plans, an electrician will be able to locate any outlet boxes that need to be installed in the exterior walls. Outdoor receptacles are placed at convenient locations; the same is true for outdoor lights.
This is also the time to cut the hole for the dryer vent. A standard dryer vent requires a 4-in. hole; it’s usually placed in the laundry room, at the back of the dryer near the floor. There are several ways to cut a vent hole. The easiest way is to use a 4-in.-dia. hole saw (borrow one from the plumber, if possible). Otherwise, mark the vent location with a 4-in.-dia. circle, drill a 3⁄4-in. hole along one edge, then cut out the circle with a keyhole saw, a jigsaw, or a reciprocating saw. Just make sure you are above the bottom plate and baseboard and away from the end stud. There shouldn’t be any electrical wires down this low, but check to make sure. Insert the vent pipe through the wall, then attach the vinyl trim cover.
Be sure to seal around the vent on both the inside and the outside to keep cold air and moisture from entering the house. Vent pipes can become plugged with lint after years of use. I unplug ours by cleaning out the pipe with a broom handle and then using the vacuum cleaner.