Can vinyl siding go right over 8″ wood clapboards? Should I remove the claps first? Seems like if I don’t, the wall will get mighty thick and will have problems around all the windows and doors. This is a house owned by my church and rented out (currently to the janitor at the church). We were supposed to paint it (volunteers) but they just did it a couple years ago and the paint is all flaking off (looks like a lot of moisture coming through from the inside–I don’t think the walls are insulated). No one wants to scrape and paint again because they are sure it will all flake off again in a short time.
I tried to do a search of past discussions, but couldn’t come up with any that quite answered this question.
Replies
Around here they use 1/4" fanfold over siding, then put siding up. That gives you a flat surface to work with.
Thanks. I'm sure I have actually put vinyl over claps when working with Marc, and don't remember any horrible problems and don't theink we had to extend the window frames or anything. The one I vaguely remember, we didn't use fan-fold, but nailed tighter or looser depending on where the vinyl fell on the claps (near top, nail loose, near bottom, nail tight).
I think I can convince them to blow in insulation before we side. Seems to need it.
Putting up vinyl and fanfold in this case is likely to rot the house. I'd fix the moisture issue first. Anything else is a Band-Aid on an arterial bleed.
Andy
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein
"Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom
It's done all the time. Which is not to say it's a good idea.
It's done often here, but most will tell you that the preferred method is to rip off the claps, house wrap/TP, sheet insulation if you want, then side. I've been the beneficiary of a lot of work from poorly installed vinyl siding, but that's not necessarily condeming the side-over method, but rather a result of poor installation practices of the person doing the siding (no flashing, incorrect use of J-channel, etc.)
Someone who knows how to correctly install and detail would probably do a fine job. A bunch of guys with big hearts in the right place but lacking in the finer points of installation might create more problems over the long term.
If it was my church (and I've done this before), send a call out for all able-bodied members of the congregation willing to get dirty for a specified date. Have plenty of claw hammers and wonderbars available, and someone achknowledged as the leader, then rip off the claps. Have a dumpster on hand and rules about nails (bend them over or carry the board directly to the dumpster.)
Claps come off fairly easily; start at the top and rip them down. Several guys working on the same row will make it go even faster.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Thanks to all who replied. Good point about volunteers with hearts in the right place, but no skills or knowledge. We followed a group pretty much like that in Laurel, and then again in Gulf Springs. Like Nick said, create more problems than they solve. I know there are some experienced construction people in our church, so I'll put a call out and see what happens. I prefer the method of stripping the claps because I always like to see what's going on "behind the scenes."
Like when I went up on the roof yesterday because the wife wasn't sure how good the roof repair was that her husband had done. There were some spots around the chimney where shingles had cracked and where the flashing could have conceivably allowed water in, so I used a whole tube of "tar" on those spots. But the chimney itself is in bad shape--needs badly to be repointed and the flues are eroding away and one is more or less just a loose pile of rubble where it protrudes above the chimney top.
Later, when we plugged in a vacuum to clean up the circuit breaker kicked out every time we turned it on and ran the sweeper more than a few seconds. But I think the house is worth salvaging. It bothers me that this church doesn't seem to have long range plans or budgets for repair and maintenance and everything seems to come as a surprise that most people would see as routine maintenance. (Of course, if you let something go and don't maintain it, then when it lets go enough to be noticed, it is a surprise!) They used to have "boards" but decided to do away with them before I joined, so....
Ah!! Faith-based building maintenance!Not unusual, really, for a church. No one wants to make hard decisions about where to cut program spending (and, of course, no one wants to contribute more money), so "discretionary" spending is put off.You need that board, filled with hard-nosed businessmen. And there needs to be a budgeted maintenance fund for maintaining the house.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
yeah, I agree about needing boards. They own something like three houses--two for pastors and this one, plus they have a youth center. Last year they had to take up a collection to re-roof the sanctuary because it was leaking. They also raided a fund set aside to pay down the principal on the morgage and used it to make regular mortgage payments during the summer because people don't pay their pledges during the summer.
I'm new there, but made myself well known by protesting this IMO smelly "accounting" practice. This year's budget had an increase, despite a shortfall last year. When I questioned this I was told that they are trusting in God to provide. Well, yeah, but...I still have problems with lack of planning and then laying it at God's feet for Him/Her to cough up the money when poor planning produces p. poor performance. That's the way my ex did it and it didn't work so well. Having to return bottles on the way to work to get a few dollars to put gas in my car to make it to work to collect my paycheck was kind of stressful!
Sorry, guess I should post this in the Tavern!