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cedar shake siding-DIY?

16 years ago

How easy is it to install cedar shake siding? Any tricks I should know? I am having a new garage built and a small addition onto the house. I will be putting in my own hardwood floors and doing the finish trim on the interior and thought I might also be able to keep costs down by putting up the cedar shake siding on the outside. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (3)

User
16 years ago
Norm Abrams---The New Yankee Workshop and This Old House fella did a tutorial on that in a TOH show. You can buy a video of that episode. It was the most comprehensive guide I have seen to date.
misstheatre
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you. I like Norm and his shows when I catch them on PBS. Any idea where I can find the video? I've tried the "This Old House" site and Amazon, but don't see anything like that. Maybe I'm just missing it?
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Thanks RES2. I want the elegance of sawn shingles and not the rustic look of split shakes. My neighbors all have sawn shingles. I have ordered five samples, Nantucket grade, which I think is the best grade but I don’t know how it compares to the red/blue grading system. Have you used Malbec shingles on a project? What do you think of the durability of the finish on the factory-stained singles? I posted a photo of the house when its brown shingles, I don’t find it appealing at all. Since we’re biting the bullet and putting in all Bea windows, I think it makes sense to put up all new shingles. I need to know how they’re going to wrap the house for moisture shedding. The devil is on the details, it seems to me.
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sue36
16 years ago
You probably mean shingles, not shakes. You can DIY, but it will take a long time. Use stainless fasteners only. Also, use a small board under the shingles to keep the rows straight. Avoid woven outside corners, it will take you too long to do them.

Try to plan the rows so that you get a full row under the windows (impossible if windows are at different heights on the same floor).

Are you doing red or white cedar? Stained or treated? If you get them kiln dried (as the treated or stained ones are) make sure you allow space between them for them to expand when they get wet. Make a spacer so the space is consistent.

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