Beveled Cedar Siding and Corners – Help!
I normally (or abnormally, maybe) hang out at Knots, but this question is more house-related. I just finished the carcass of a large woodbin, and I want to put 8″ beveled cedar siding around the outside to spiff it up a bit. Can’t figure out how to do the corners (i.e., where the front panel and a side panel meet, outside corner).
I did a search here at Breaktime, but the results went right over my head — more advanced discussion about specific products and such. I’m hoping to find a fairly simple way to install the cedar so that the corner doesn’t look rough and ratty. Don’t know if there’s some kind of corner-thingie I can buy at the lumberyard or what (they were closed when I got off work today). Thanks!
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
I have fancy corner board thingies on my house, but probably the best thing is to have 2 vertical boards on each corner and fit the siding between them (or possibly under them instead). Remember that if the corner boards are butted together, one board will be cut narrower by the thickness of the lumber.
as the other poster said, vertical boards such as cedar 1x4's are an option. Mitered corners look great, but take some time, especially if the structure isn't square.
If you want a sort of retro look, which seems to be popular, you can buy metal corner pieces for various exposures.
Hi Beach, mitered corners were my first thought, and then I tried to actually get them to match. Oooops. Too many variables, I think, lack of total squareness being one. The metal corners aren't very appealing to me, so I'll probably go with some kind of 1x trim.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
That is probably your most attractive bet forest girl. Good luck with your project.
I prefer to do mitered corners with vertical boards as was suggested. I preassemble them so they're fit well and run a sander or plane down the outside corner to ease it a bit. And if the wood is to be painted or stained, it's a good idea to at least put a primer or a sealer on the mating faces before assembly to protect the wood from weather intrusions.
By preassembling the corners, they nail up cleanly and bridge over any moderate discrepancies on the corner of the structure. (I usually make up the corner assemblies a little long and trim them to length before installation. If you do this, make sure you place your nails so they're not in the way of your saw blade when you trim to fit).
When you then install your siding, it butts up cleanly to the corner.
One alternative suggested was to put the corners up OVER the siding. The problem with that is that you end up with insect habitat at the end of each piece of siding.
You stated you wanted a simple way to do your corners and I think you'll find it to be no more time consuming or frustrating, in the long run, to do miters than any other method and I KNOW you'll be pleased with the results.
Edited 8/16/2002 1:03:02 AM ET by Notchman
I may not have been specific enough in my first post -- this is beveled siding which would be mounted in a horizontal orientation. Makes for a challenge trying to fit them in a mitered fashion at the outside corner. On my way to the lumberyard to check out some possibilities. Thanks for your ideas!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I think a true mitered corner is the cleanest looking, i.e., cutting each piece of siding on a 45 degree to turn the corner. It's pretty difficult to do without a sliding compound miter saw, but once you get the angles figured, it's a piece of cake. I always glue the joint with waterproof glue. Make sure your corners are tight.
This method probably takes a little longer than corner boards, but looks pretty good. I agree that the metal corners are not the best looking, but after a few coats of paint, they don't stand out as much.
Good luck!
And I guess I wasn't clear, either. What I described as mitered are the vertical trim boards at the corners. The beveled siding is then installed horizontally and butted to the corners.
Pro-Deks suggestion was similar in that if you do vertical corners, build the corners first.
Ah, gotcha now. I just finished the front of the bin, which is in 2 sections, with a divider inbetween, since the top is in two parts so as not to be toooo big. Appreciate the help -- Breaktime's been good to me the two times I had questions to pose!
PS: Next time, I hope I have a nail gun. Trying to keep those boards straight and tight to the frame, and juggling a hammer and nail was a bit of a challenge. If I had a bigger area to do, I'd definitely want a nail gun.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Here is another option......................
Select a nice cedar 4x4-10' or 12' depending on the framed wall ht.
Set up table saw with the fence 1-1/4" from the blade and blade ht. set at 2-3/8".
Make two rip passes on the 4x4 at right angles to each other...to leave a one piece 1-1/4" thick x 3-1/2" wide outside corner and 2x2 offall which can be cut down to 1/1/4" square to be used as inside corner trim.
.....................Iron Helix
My old house has corner boards like that, but they are factory made. The outside corner is rounded over, not flush, but instead has a small reveal. Not sure what kind of wood they are made of, but they held up good.
I used those recently on a home remodel...very nice!!! Mine were milled from Western Red Cedar...about $2 lin.ft. Came in length multiples of 2 foot.
Accepted practice here is to fasten a 1x3 to a 1x4 vertical then fasten that over your corner.
Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
if you don't want to do corner boards, or mitre the corners, you can do a kind off like a modified woven corner, like so:
starter strip, then first course tack up long, butt scrap piece behind at corner, run pencil along edge of the scrap piece, take siding board off, see that angle? Cut that. Nail it back up. Done. The next piece you install is the first course going around the corner, same spot where you held the scrap piece, see the angle you have to make? Cut that on the board, butt it to the previous piece, see how it fits? Get the idea?
As you go up the wall, alternate the boards, the edges that overlap the ones below, it's the same method that some folks do siding shingles without corner boards.
no turn left unstoned
First of all, I want to compliment you Breaktimers for having really cool nicknames. Am dying to know what Panama Red was doing on the first Whole Earth Day, as that's what his name reminds me of in a stream-of-(un)consciousness sort-of way, LOL! Notchman, Redstains, BeachBum, all great names.
Since this project is a lowly woodbin, and can't soak up my time as a house project could, I decided to go with the simple 1x vertical solution. Am reading all your recommendations though, and filing away for future reference.
I've cut about half the boards to length, now need to find out what the minimum overlap is supposed to be, and up they'll go! Thanks for the help.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
You know, I've done that "woven" technique on a couple of jobs long ago, and had forgotten all about it - thanks for reminding me, Panama!
It's similar to how I install sidewall shingles with no corner boards.