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Figure 1-23: Vinyl siding nailing guidelines (C) Wiley and Sons, S Bliss Vinyl Siding FAQs

Q&A on how to install vinyl siding & trim

FAQs on how to install vinyl siding:

This article series describes how to choose & install vinyl siding on buildings, including vinyl siding materials, installation, nailing, flashing, and trim.

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Vinyl Siding: Product Choices & Proper Siding Installation Details

Vinyl siding blow off New Jersey (C) Daniel FriedmanThese questions and answers were posted originally at x - be sure to read that article and its advice.

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On 2017-05-02 by (mod) - install vinyl siding on wet housewrap?

If the house wrap is already installed and was installed correctly following the manufacturer's specifications you will be okay.

On 2017-05-02 by Teresa

My home was stripped today to prepare for vinyl siding. I'm awful nervous bout rain tonight. If the exterior gets wet, should they just proceed as usual or give it a good drying time?

On 2016-11-02 by Chuck

I will be siding my house and installing new vinyl soffit and fascia. Presently my house has a 1 X 2 frieze board that sits below the plywood soffit.

Should I remove the freeze board completely, or loosen the frieze board and place the "F" channel behind the frieze board, or wrap the frieze board then nail the "F" channel to the frieze board?

On 2016-08-20 by (mod) - building permit to install siding?

Jeff,

You'd call your local building department for the city, county, or province in which you live.

On 2016-08-20 by jeff

thanks one last question who do I see to see if I need a building permit

On 2016-08-19 by (mod) -

Jon:

Usually an inside corner is indeed protected from the weather by abutting the underside of an overhanging roof eave or soffit. If yours are open to the weather you might want to fashion a vinyl or other top seal and even a screened bottom as well (to keep out nesting insects or small critters). Use the page bottom CONTACT link to send photos for comment if you like.

On 2016-08-19 06:55:50.067137 by Jon

I have two vinyl siding inside corners that are exposed at the top where they meet the down slope of a 1-story'bumpout' roof on a 2-story house. There is no soffit above these corners. There is only a 4x1 finishing board at the top of the 'bumpout' that slightly covers part of the inside corner. Should there be additional flashing, like a kickout, or a cap at the top of these corners. The vinyl siding perpendicular to the bumpout and near the top of the these corners is also poorly cut and/or properly waterproofed on the 2-story wall, leaving about a 1/2 gap for water intrusion at the top of the inside corner where it meets this siding. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. Its a 20 year old house, but a recent purchase and the exterior was not well-maintained. Thanks!

On 2016-08-19 00:14:09.913067 by (mod) -

Plywood
Housewrap
Flashing tape - search InspectApedia for WINDOW FLASHING TAPE to read about adhesive flashing tape products.
J-channel + Al or vinyl siding if that's what you're doing.

Exact detaills, found by searching InspectApedia.com for WINDOW FLASHING are at https://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Window_Flashing.php

On 2016-08-18 20:33:19.728364 by jeff

hey guys I am back what kind of flashing do I need to put around windows before I put the vinyl siding up do I use metal flashing or tape.....question 2 I am taking the metal off, I am taking all the windows out,,,,,,,now I am putting 1/2 inch cdx plywood then I am putting house wrap on now do I put flashing before I put the house wrap on and then the house wrap then install my new windows is the flashing I use is it tape or metal. question 3 after everything is done it says to flash all corners doors and windows after I have the plywood on house wrap then put my windows in do I use metal or flashing tape for corners and around windows etc. CAN YOU TELL ME THE SEQUENCE FROM START TO FINISH BEFORE I START TO PUT VINYL UP. LIKE FROM PUTTING THE PLYWOON ON FIRST THEN SECOND AND 3RD AND SO ON QUESTION 4 do I go to the building dept. to get a permit to do this,or how do I find out if a permit is needed for this.......thanks again very much

On 2016-08-17 23:25:29.215471 by (mod) -

Well Jeff that's so nice of you to say. We work hard to make our information accurate and useful and so are really happy when you find it so. In this case your pressing the question a bit was very helpful to me in digging into the topic too. Working together makes us smarter. - Daniel

On 2016-08-17 23:18:41.245297 by jeff

hey guys thanks for answering my question,,i am glad I came here I have learned a whole lot here

On 2016-08-16 21:48:34.727721 by (mod) -

In climates where people run air conditioning a lot and heat rarely, and where outdoor air is very humid, the builder may put a vapor barrier on the exterior side of the wall rather than on the interior side.

I cannot tell for sure you why someone I don't know is doing something specific on a building when there may be technical arguments about what's correct or when someone may or may not have read the instructions on the package.

I can guess that an installer may figure that although aluminum siding has a perm rating of close to zero (moisture doesn't pass through it), aluminum siding is NOT a water barrier on a home: wind-driven rain can penetrate a wall at siding lap joints or up through siding bottom edge drain openings present on a lot of aluminum siding. The installer may figure that the home doesn't have an external side vapor barrier and simply adds one.

I think too there is confusion about vapor barrier versus water barrier and the use of plastic vs. housewrap. Housewrap, typically a synthetic fiber, will allow MOISTURE (water vapor, i.e. a gas) OUT of a wall but will at the same time prevent WATER (water droplets) from blowing INTO the wall cavity - provided both housewrap details and other details like flashing are also correct.

If the siders are using a housewrap they're following good practice as they're not creating a water trap in the wall and they're keeping water out.

If the siders are using plastic to wrap the house, solid plastic that does not pass moisture, then they're asking for trouble.

"I've always done it that way" is by no means an authoritative nor technically solid explanation for anything. I've known contractors who "always" put the drip edge behind the gutter. When I noted that the rain was running down the house wall rather than into the gutter, the contractor said "all my houses, they all do that".

There are other reasons you might want to remove the metal siding, as I cited earlier. But you can leave it on (and build-out your trim etc) and you can certainly use housewrap on the exterior; don't use a solid plastic vapor barrier.

Keep in mind that a contractor succeeds or fails in business on profit margin; it's clearly more profitable as it's enormously faster to simply side-over a home. In and out and get paid. Pulling off siding is more work to which we add the cost of disposal (or selling the aluminum to recyclers), the work of finding and repairing the problems that we often see when the siding is gone and that our customer would have let us not-see and thus ignore if we'd left the siding on, and the job is overall simply faster and more profitable.

On 2016-08-16 20:36:44.327966 by jeff

thanks I had this mobile home built from factory with 2x4 walls..........back to my original question, why do the vinyl installers here in central fl. put a moister barrier over the aluminum vertical siding then install the vinyl siding ,there is a vinyl installer across the street putting on moister barrier and then the vinyl siding on the mobile home so I went over and asked him and he told me that it is the way it is supposed to be done and they have been in business for years and that is the way they have always done you mean to tell me that all around this area all the installers are doing it wrong....can any one answer this question myself I am going to take the metal off.

On 2016-08-15 23:10:36.825042 by Anonymous

Ah. So. Yes a better installation would be to use plywood if you can afford it. 1/2" CDX is typical. That makes the whole structure much stronger. It's unusual to find a mobile home with 2x4 stud walls, leading me to wonder if someone re-built walls on this home previously.

Having plywood sheathing also means that your housewrap and flashing tape around windows and doors has something to staple-to and stick-to, avoiding future leaks at those points.

I'm not sure you have to pull the windows (and doors); You may be able to butt the plywood up to those openings, then after the housewrap is in place, let your flashing tape stick to both the wall surface (actually the housewrap on the walls) AND to the projecting edges of the window frames. You should be able to trim around the windows right over the flashing tape, using decorative trim then J-channel to which your siding will butt.

If you don't have one, pick up a siding installation guide from your supplier - they're free and therein you'll find some details that can help make a better, less leaky, more-durable job.

Remember to HANG not NAIL the siding to the walls at the studs. Nailing too tightly will make your siding buckle when it heats up in sunlight.

On 2016-08-15 22:48:32.675002 by jeff

when I pull off the metal there will be nothing but the studs and insulation then do I put 1/2 in. plywood then house wrap then the vinyl siding also I would think I would have to take out windows to put the plywood up the put my new windows in is this the right way to do it....thanks

On 2016-08-14 19:49:58.011036 by (mod) -

Jeff:

The reasons people want to pull off the old aluminum siding include:

1. avoid creating multiple layers of vapor barriers in the wall structure: risking condensation in wall cavities, mold, insect damage, rot

2. avoid having to install furring strips over old siding to avoid horribly-ugly wavy new siding job

3. avoid having to build out window and door trim everywhere to account for the added wall thickness.

I'd pull off the aluminum siding; install house wrap and then flashing tape around windows and doors (notoriously leaky on mobile homes), then install tnbe new vinyl siding.

On 2016-08-13 20:41:48.451317 by jeff h.

I have a 1985 mobile home in excellent shape it has a aluminum and insulation roof over with a ft. overhang and it has 2x4 studs with vertical aluminum siding I would like to install vinyl siding, do I put a moister barrier over the siding first.I am asking because on other sites they say to take off aluminum siding first. I have noticed around here in central Florida the installers put something over the vertical aluminum siding then they put up the vinyl siding. can you tell me the right way to do this job, any help I would appreciate it thanks

On 2016-04-18 02:26:27.224589 by Brad

Thanks danjoe.

On 2016-04-16 19:39:21.325309 by (mod) -

I agree about the concern. Use housewrap. That let's moisture vapor out. I also use flashing tape around all wall openings.

On 2016-04-16 19:15:00.000017 by Brad

When installing vinyl siding over existing wood siding (good and reasonably condition)should you first install window flashing etc, wrap with tar paper then hang the siding? Could this create inside wall moisture issues as now there would be 2 layers of WRB? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

When Does the Siding Go On? Building Construction Sequence

Reader Question: Working With the Local Building Code Officials, Building Inspectors, & Building Code Compliance

Can I install the vinyl siding on my garage apartment project before I install drywall. - M.A. 9/21/2013

Reply:

Your question is worrisome - as I'm not sure what you are worried about.

Exterior siding has nothing to do with interior wall finish materials, except that it would be foolish to install interior drywall, vapor barriers, or insulation in wall cavities before the building exterior is finished sufficient to be completely weather tight.

Reader follow-up:

The building inspector is concerned that weight of drywall will cause siding to buckle.  9/22/2013

Thank you for the information on vinyl siding installation.  I was not worried about installing the siding it was the building inspectors  concern  that if  the siding was installed prior to hanging the drywall  that the weight of the drywall would cause the siding to buckle. M.A. 9/23/2013

Reply:

I'm sorry, but with respect, I can't make any sense whatsoever out of the concern you describe.

Drywall is attached to and supported by the building structure not by the vinyl siding.

In proper construction we complete the building shell at least far enough along to make the building waterproof before we would ever consider interior work such as installing insulation and then drywall on walls and ceilings.

The building may be dry - weatherproof, once the roof is on, wall sheathing is on, house-wrap is on, windows and doors are in place, and probably most exterior trim is in place; at that point the shell should be dry and weatherproof (unless an idiot installed the building housewrap improperly) and both exterior siding and interior work (wiring, plumbing, insulation, drywall) can proceed.

I suspect there is a serious miscommunication going on here.

Reader Follow-up:

As I am very limited with computers please excuse my inexperience.

I thank you for all the information regarding my 2 story garage apartment project. I have never thought it was a problem to install the vinyl siding prior to installing the dry wall. It was the building inspectors concern.

I would love to get my home sided before winter so that I could start the inside. Can building inspector force me to wait or can I move forward with my vinyl siding installation. Thank you again. - M.A. 10/17/2013

Reply: how to get along with the building code inspector: comply with the building codes

Can the building inspector stop a construction project?

If by building inspector you mean the local town or city building department's inspector: yes absolutely that person can stop a construction project.

But in the case we have been discussing it sounds to me more as if there may have been some confusion about just what the problem is.

In my experience, building department officials are sick and tired of people who are trying to evade proper construction codes and practices and not very friendly to people who they think are trying to do something cheap, stupid, or similar.

But if the inspector understands that you want to do what is correct and proper and you fully intend and want to comply with the building codes and officials, you can usually expect the building inspector to be "on your side" and even to help you out by making clear exactly what they think is required.

If then you think what the inspector has said makes no sense, you need to get the requirement clarified; on occasion the building inspector may agree to a variation from what she or he has specified if the variation in turn has been signed-off-on by a licensed building professional such as an architect or engineer. In that case they are passing responsibility for correctness and safety on to that person.

It might help sort out some of the confusion about when you can hang vinyl siding and when you should or should not hang drywall by reviewing the concerns listed

at DRY-IN, DEFINITION. There you will see that weight of the outside or inside wall claddings is not listed.

Frankly I cannot imagine that a knowledgeable building professional would want the (insulation and) drywall installed before the building exterior shell is dry - which would normally include the steps I described above. Installing drywall presumes that we have already installed wiring, plumbing, and building insulation first.

If those were installed before the building exterior were fully sealed against the weather we are inviting a catastrophe: leaks into the building walls, wet insulation, mold, rot, insects, a disaster.

That's why I said earlier I thought there must be a misunderstanding. In general in construction we frame the structure, then install roof sheathing and roof covering and wall sheathing, then house wrap, then windows, doors, and exterior trim; When those components are in place it is perfectly fine to install the finish siding outside, even if the walls have not been insulated;

In fact the more complete that we make the exterior shell of the building the more we are assured that the building is "dry" - which makes the installation of wiring, plumbing, and then insulation safe - in that we don't want wiring or insulation to be wet.

Watch out: some building departments permit drywall to be installed before the building dry-in has been completed provided that moisture-resistant board (presumably greenboard or cement board) is used on the building interior surfaces.

In my OPINION this is very risky - wind-blown rain or any other leaks entering enclosed (and worse, insulated) building wall or ceiling cavities is an engraved invitation to possibly dangerous and certainly costly mold contamination that may not be discovered until later. Such problems can be initiated in as little as 24-48 hours after a wetting event.

Longer term problems may ensue such as insect infestation or even rot.

Keep me posted and send along photos of your project if you can - that may allow further comment.


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