Soon, I will start framing a new garage in my backyard. It will be 16 x 16 feet and I plan to use the most durable and most appealing materials for a good look that will hopefully last a long time. For my siding, I have selected James Hardie shingles. For my trim, I will also use james hardie cementitious boards for my corners and openings. Conventionally, corner boards and window trim are always installed first. Then, the siding is butted to them with an 1/8 gap from top to bottom to leave room for expansion and contraction. After the siding is installed, the 1/8 gaps on the corners and around all the openings is caulked. However, I am not pleased with this method because unlike siding and trim, caulking does not last a very long time and could disintegrate as it repeatedly gets exposed to weather. I tried coming up with better methods of installing siding against trim, such as making small rabbit joints in the trim boards to place the siding in. But, I thought it would be better to consult experts first to find the best solution. Any thoughts?
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Please refer to manufacturers instructions. ;)
I’m sorry if this is totally wrong, but I’ve looked through the other posts you’ve made and it seems like you’re either a fictional bot or you’re just posting random things. Sorry if I’m wrong, but does anyone else see this?
No, I'm a real person who's mainly a diy'er. I'm trying to build my own home, but before I start building it, I wanted to construct a garage on my lot to get some experience before starting construction on the main house. I ask questions related to complex finishing details, and durability of materials. This is necessary in order to build a solid low-maintenance house that will hopefully last a lifetime. If you still think I'm a bot, just look at some of the replies on my previous posts, especially on my post related to high-end finishing. Those replies are human-like because I don't think we have artificial intelligence that is advanced enough to read and analyze other people's comments that well.
I think a dovetail joint would work best for this application.
I will definitely use dovetail joints when I assemble my window and door trim, and I will use a good quality wood glue to make sure the wood joints never open up from expansion and contraction.
you’re going to dovetail your window and door trim? Now I also think you’re a bot.
Actually yes, a rabbit joint likely wont stop the joint from opening due to expansion and contraction. A dovetail, unlike a rabbit joint, will perform much better because it allows two adjacent pieces of trim to interlock with each other, which doubles the protection. The only problem is that it is difficult to make those cuts with precision. I think I'm going to opt for pocket holes instead, I just need to buy a pocket hole jig. Sorry if I'm confusing you, I'm not a professional carpenter so some of the things I do are unconventional to standard methods.
If you have the money (it sounds like you might), you should consider getting a Festool Domino. The flexibility, ease of use, and strength of these joints is awesome. And if you get into woodworking/furniture making, it makes building things 100 times easier.
Make sure you use rattlesnake blood as well, I find that it really seals nicely dovetailed door casing.
No thanks, I don't want to risk my life trying to take it from a rattlesnake. I'll opt for Titebond III wood glue, which is designed for exterior use. Damn it I'm not a bot lol. I just want some advice from experienced carpenters because I'm not a professional.
Matty, I don't think you're a bot, but I do think you're way overthinking this whole process. All siding leaks. Don't think of the siding as the weather proof layer on the outside of your walls. That's the housewrap or Zip sheathing and the flashings around your windows and doors. Get that right. Think of the siding as the layer that protects the waterproof layer below. Caulk the joints like the manufacturer says to. Read the instructions and follow them - You won't get better installation advice than from the manufacturer.
Hello Andy, thanks for your advice. I would like to say that I never thought of siding as the main protector of any structure. Every component that is installed on the sheathing of the walls of any structure has its own unique role in keeping the building dry. For example, the building wrap is designed to keep any moisture and/or humidity out, even if its built into Zip sheathing. That is why it is commonly referred to as a "vapor barrier". The siding's job is to block every water droplet from coming in contact with the vapor barrier behind it. If the siding doesn't do a good job at keeping the water droplets out, the building will start rotting and growing mold in a very short amount of time. No matter what, I just don't think the manufacturer's primary installation method is able to keep the building dry for a long period of time, since it relies too heavily on caulking.
Thanks for the primer on vapor barriers…… but it’s wrong. Building wrap, including the Zip system, is not “commonly referred to as ‘a vapor barrier’. With a couple of specific exceptions building wrap is not impermeable to vapor. Tyvek for example has a “vapor open” rating, with a permeability of 56 (5-10 is considered open, not a barrier), CetainTeed’s wrap is 11.7, Zip’s coating (alone, not counting the OSB) is 10-12.
You point out that the 1/8th gap is there for expansion and contraction of the materials but then you want to make the trim to siding join tight and solid? What happens when the materials expand and contract?
A number of companies make rabbeted PVC corner trim for fiber cement and other clapboards. https://www.elitetrimworks.com/en/PVC-Corner-Trims/corner-board-rabbeted-4.html