Replies

1. 
   JDRHI | Jun 24, 2002 04:00pm | #1

   Holes in exposed shingles are minimal and rarely an issue. If it still concerns you, try hanging sail board by "strapping" it from above. I often use 1x scrap as "straps" at either end.

   As for the Mahogony...I`ve never used the Mahogony T&G decking, but if your thinking of standard decking be sure to leave spacing between boards. Mahogony will swell greatly with changes in moisture content.

   I don`t think the Hitachi gun is the answer. I use my stapler for shakes. 

   J. D. Reynolds

   Home Improvements

   "DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"

1. 
   crawdad12 | Jun 24, 2002 05:35pm | #2

   Thanks for taking the time to reply.    You've had no trouble with the staples holding tight?   What kind of stapler do you use?   Narrow crown,wide crown are they available in stanless steel?   Thanks again.

1. 
   BruceM16 | Jun 24, 2002 07:09pm | #3

   Jaybird

   Looking forward to more discussion here, as I'm also getting ready to shingle.

   I agree that I don't want to put nail holes from a 'platform board' in the new shingles....so here's my though. Carefully rip a couple of 3/4" plywood strips about 4" wide and 8' long, making sure they are absolutely level and the wood is not warped. Lap joint the ends (about 4" overlap) so you have made a straight board about 15' 8" long. Hang this down the wall using a couple of 8' long rippins from some 3/4" OSB or other stuff kicking around, but be sure to secure it to the outside of the long straight board you made.  This 3/4" strap should be sturdy enough to hold the level 'platform board' up against the wall, so you can just set your shingles up on it without having to worry about the board pulling away from the wall and having your shingles waiting to be nailed fall down behind it. This is an idea I have, but I haven't tried it yet.

   Do you have a good source that recommends how far off-set a joint should be from the joint below it? I'd also like to read some experienced thoughts on inches of 'show', sealing the end shingles that butt up agains windows, door casings, etc. Also, like you, I'd like to use a nailer and Stainless nails (this house will be on the Oregon Coast), but not sure what nail gun would work best....but it would have to be light, as I've got about a gazillion of these shingles to put in.

   BruceM

1. 
   crawdad12 | Jun 24, 2002 08:36pm | #4

   Joints should be off-set about 1 1/2 inches (min) and no joints should line up on 3 consecutive courses.    I imagine in your neck of the woods your using west.red cedar  which, I believe , usually are larger than whites.   The white cedar around here is generally 16" long.  The reds I've seen are 18 - 24 ".    I'm using a 6" exposure on my job, which gives double coverage.   5" exposure would give me triple coverage but I thought that was a little overkill for a sidewall in my area.  You may want to consider triple coverage in your climate.     Around window and door casings I lay a bead of caulk where the casing meets the felted sidewall, set the shingle and then run another bead from your exposure line for the next course up to the top of where that shingle will fall (about 16" for  my material).  In other words, each successive "course" of caulk overlaps the next, much like the shingles themselves.  hope thats not to confusing.  That way the water never has a chance to get behind the siding.  If you use a good quality caulk it should last indefinitely as it is not exposed to any sunlight.

   Its also much more aesthetically pleasing.  Why use beautiful natural materials  and take time to do a nice looking job  and then run a big ugly bead of caulk aroung all doors and windows.  The sun will make it useless in a few years and you'll have to scrape it out and do it again.  Put the caulk where you can't see it .Just my opinion Bruce, lots of guys out there with more know-how than me.   I hope others will add their opinions and we'll all keep learning.  Also check Maibec.com  for install info etc.  Thats where I purchased my shingles

2. 
   Piffin | Jun 25, 2002 02:52am | #5

   When I'm working alone, I just do the dinosaur thing and use my hatchet gauge and knuckles while hand nailing. I can hit two to six squares a day like that, depending...

   But when we work together, here's the trick we use to align shingle butts and not show nail damage to the face of the shingle (it's more obvious on predipped coloured ones) We use a straight board of appropriate lenghth for the wall section, just like anybody else. But instead of stitching it to the wall, we cut out scraps of aluminum flashing about 2" x 8" and attach them firmly to the board so that tabs, two or three depending on the length of the board, are sticking up from the back of the board when it is held to the wall at the right location. We then drive a nail to each of these right at the top edge of the aluminum tab. You shingle right over those tabs and then when it's time to move it up to the next course, you drive it down with your hammer. The edge of the aluminum tab tears out easily to free the board for the next course. By the time the wall is finished, the tabs arre ragged and shorter but the wall is clean.

   Excellence is its own reward!
1. 
   jimblodgett | Jun 25, 2002 08:12am | #6

   That's a good tip, Piffin, sort of like roof jacks, huh?

   Another thing you can do to speed things up is stretch a dry line, paralell to the straight board, about a foot above it.  Then you can set a bunch of shingles up on the straight board without nailing them because the dry line holds them upright.  Then you can come along and nail a bunch of them off at once, instead of nailing them one at a time. 

   Another thing I like to do is shingle a few feet up both corners, then fill the coarses between them, breaks the monotony and seems to go better.  Plus, if I have a helper, I can focus on the corners and let them learn in the straight sections where I can keep an eye on them and they feel like they're kicking ####.

   There was a cover article on sidewall shingles a few years back; I'll see if I can dig the issue out.  I'm sure there have been several articles through the years on the subject.

   I still haven't switched to pneumatic fasteners for exterior trim, but I probably should.

   I like to rabbet the back of the bottom piece of window trim to slide the top of the coarse directly below the window into.  I try to plan ahead and alter the exposure so the I have close to the same exposure above and below doors, windows, last coarse below the soffit, other interuptions in the wall. 

   If the building doesn't have outside corner boards, I alternate which shingle runs long and plane it off with a block plane.  I try to always use inside corner boards...

   lots of felt splines around windows and on all corners...

   what else...?

1. 
   crawdad12 | Jun 26, 2002 04:33am | #7

   May 1996 issue #102 had article on siding w/ cedar shingles .   Thanks for all the good pointers there fellas.

   .

   Edited 6/25/2002 9:37:59 PM ET by craw