wood shingles around a replacement window
hello all,
i’m going to replace a window on my second floor. the window is surrounded by painted cedar shakes. it is my intention to replace the existing trim with wider trim, and a better flashing setup than previous. i was going to precisely trim back the shingles to allow for the wider trim, and caulk the seam between the trim and the shingles. i wondered:
1) should i remove the shingles further away from the window to preserve the existing felt/housewrap?
2) if i don’t “peel” them back and just trim to fit, how concerned should i be with percing the felt with the trim saw/knife that i’ll use to cut back the shingles?
3) if i just trim the shingles to fit, can i slide a “spline” of felt halfway behing the shingles and the trim?
any other things i’m not thinking of?
thanks for everything,
john
Replies
easiest way to spline behind the cut line is with slips and scraps of AL flashing metal - before you use the new trim molding.
Correctly installed, wood shingles have two nails, extra wide ones may have a third in the center. The nails are blind, covered by the next shingle. You may run into a nail when cutting the shingles back. Don't worry about cutting the felt paper. After the cut back, you can get behind the shingles with dykes, a sawzall, straight hacksaw, etc. and cut off any nails that would prevent you from sliding some fresh rips of felt in behind. Use some galvanized, aluminum or stainless 4d finish nails, depending on the type of shingles, placed right under the butt of the shingles to secure them next to the new trim. Caulk. The caulk won't hold if the shingles aren't tight to the wall, the shingles will move, breaking the caulk joint. Tucking the finish nails right tight under the butts will keep them from showing.
Trim around window, cedar shingle home
Hello,
We are starting the same project as you described, cutting back the existing shingles to accomodate wider trim around the windows. Any advise? Any photos?
Thanks.
To make a nice straight, clean cut on the existing shingles, use a router. You can use a 1/4" straight bit with a template guide on the router. Tack a straight 3/4" board on the shingles for the router to ride on with the template guide running against the edge of the board. Run a sample to know how far the bit will cut from the board edge and set the board to account for this difference of where you want the cut. You can set the depth of the bit so it leaves a paper thin amount of the shingles uncut. The board will give a pretty even surface for the router to sit on and compensate for the irregular surface of the shingles. Finish off the cut with a few light swipes with a utility knife. Have an extra bit or two, just in case you hit a nail.