Vinyl Siding Question...

[Richard]

Wife wants to add some "Cedar Shakes" to the end of the house. She's found them in vinyl....which if we use, would have a benefit of not being wood and needing maintenance issues 35 feet up in the air. (I currently have full time access to a bucket lift which is more than enough to get me there)

We currently have some T-111 siding on this end of the house. I'm wondering (and fearing) we'd be better off yanking the T-111 down and replacing it with something more smooth so we have a flat surface for the vinyl.

Couple questions...

1. Is that correct that I should pull the T-111 down and replace it with something like chipboard or maybe CDX??
2. The vendor doesn't seem too helpful... so, I called the manufacturer (Foundry Vinyl Shakes) and THEY have been non-existent so far with help. They only have a single person company wide that can answer a technical question.... I pressed her on that and she dug her heels in....they only have ONE person.... HE has no boss or anyone he reports to.... and he's got to call me back. (I'm already waiting near 2-weeks for his FIRST return call....but I left another message)
3. Are there any trim pieces that we'd need to use as a base or cap or edging to fit in around a window?


This section of house is let's call it... 20x20 however in truth it goes to the roof so you have the narrowing of the roof line on it as you reach the peak. Point being, it is NOT a large area....the issue is it's so high but again, I've got a lift right now....so would like to get ALL the pieces before we start.

Wife also wanted to know about TYVEC. Would/should that be installed (none currently) If so, would that go over the T-111/new substrate or, would it go UNDER the T-111/new substrate? In other words, is it studs, Tyvek, exterior plywood then shakes or is it studs, exterior plywood, Tyvek then shakes?

We tend to do these type things ourselves.... as we look at some of the work that has been done prior, we know that we'll put much more detail into the work.... but we don't know all of our needs and so far, been tough finding someone to help which I find amazing. Well....on second thought, maybe I'm not as surprised as thought I'd be.

 

[MossRoad]

I just got done doing three 24x8 walls of regular vinyl siding on our garage addition. I watched a couple hours of installation videos before attempting it, as it was my first venture. I'd say it was a piece of cake - if you take your time and do your homework. However, with something like cedar shake look, I'd guess there's a pattern to it, so you'd have to be sure and follow the pattern, figure centers accurately so the ends come out evenly spaced, watch joints, etc....

I've read you can install vinyl over t1-11 as long as it's in good condition. You'd put tyvek over the t1-11, under the vinyl. However, you have to remember that the windows, doors, etc... will be trimmed to the t1-11, and when you go to put the j-channel around the windows, it might stick past the windows and doors, etc... so then you'd either have to live with that, or extend the window and door trim, or remove the t1-11 and put in something thinner, etc...

As I did ours, the steps were putting in all the trim work first, J-channel, corner posts, F-channel, utility trim, etc... that took the most time. The siding itself went pretty quickly after that.

I used the videos on the manufacturer's site first, then went to u-tube and watched a bunch of contractors and do-it-yourselfers to get a large range of experiences and opinions.

 

[MossRoad]

Videos like these are really helpful to get a start on your thinking...

Installing Cedar Impressions(R) Double 7" Straight Edge Perfection Shingles 3G - YouTube

How To Install Vinyl Shakes (Siding) - YouTube

 

[Rustyiron]

The flatter your wall the better your shakes will look.
I'd find a Certainteed dealer and use their material. A long standing nationwide company with a great website. They have several "shake" options. I've seen vinyl/plastic shakes for 30+ years by specialty plastic companies, and a lot of them are painted and- or fading badly. Certainteed is a major siding manufacturer that has introduced a line of shakes about 10-15 years ago and it's a solid product backed by a big company.
(we used to "side" 500 homes a year, for 20 years. Certainteed was one of the better products we sold to our builders)

 

[cdaigle430]

I just did this on my whole house and garage last month. We had CertainTeed monogram arbor blend vinyl siding installed and they recommended we leave the T1-11 siding. My house and garage had T1-11 all the way around. We also put half inch rigid foam board over the T1-11 before the siding went on. I cant say if its the same for the shakes though-which was something we originally thought about doing.

Yes-as long as the T1-11 is not rotted or warped its better to leave it on. Vinyl siding is considered for aesthetics and less maintenance but by itself doesn't add to the structure. '

I was planning on doing this myself but the biggest pain is the aluminum trim work that goes around doors and windows....that does require skill and a brake. So glad I hired someone-would have taken me months vs two weels.

 

[Richard]

or fading badly.

Never thought of that aspect. Oh well.... in 30 years, I'll be dead.... well... unless I've got my fathers gene... (just turned 91)

 

[MF243RedTop]

My parents place has had vinyl siding over T1-11 for 20+ years now.. no issues.

 

[MossRoad]

We have vinyl siding on our house. I had them put it on over the original wood shake shingles, which were high maintenance. They repaired any damaged shingles, then put 1/4" foam and moisture barrier (can't remember the order). Then they spent about 10-12 days with a sheet metal bend/brake making aluminum casing for all of the wooden windows and the doors and putting up the vinyl trim work. It only took them 2 days to put up the siding. The money is in the details, as they say. That was around 1997. Still looks good. I'm happy with it. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

You might want to look into the wait time on the product. Ours that I just put up last month was in-stock product and color and it still took 7 weeks to get it.

Also, you don't want to put it up when it's cold. It expands and contracts quite a bit (not sure about the shingle style though), so when it's cold, you may not leave enough room at installation time. Then, when it warms up, it'll look wrinkly if it doesn't have enough expansion room. Also,it also cracks if you whack it with a hammer when it's cold. And it's a lot harder to cut with shears/snips when it's cold.

 

[Oldpath05]

Option 2>> ckshingle.com

 

[ovrszd]

Don't buy cheap vinyl anything.

Don't buy from a company that only has one person that can answer a question.

Ask about mold/mildew protection. Good quality siding will have that protection built into the product. Cheap siding won't.

As Moss mentioned, install loosely. This prevents bulging and buckling from temp change. Depresses me to drive by a "high dollar" house and see bulging siding or mold growing on the North side. Wouldn't that be depressing as He**.

I put vinyl siding on our previous house in 1995. It's still straight, no fading, no mold. Can't remember the brand. Builder friend of mine got it for me.

 

[TractorGuy]

My house was done in OSB with roofing felt over then the vinyl siding. Id the current siding isn't rotten you might just cover with tar paper.

 

[Pixguy]

Although we built new, garage at old home and now new home has Certainteed shingles. Top quality product and low maintenance. Do it and enjoy your free time!

 

[MAD777]

I built a house a couple of year ago in the mountains of NH and everyone recommended CertainTeed Monogram siding. Very happy I went that route.

 

[i7win7]

Vinyl may not survive a hail storm. Fire prone areas - vinyl melts before it burns

 

[MossRoad]

Vinyl may not survive a hail storm. Fire prone areas - vinyl melts before it burns

It won't survive a tornado either. That's why you have insurance.

 

[dodge man]

The shakes work better on a flat straight wall better than in a peak. Sometimes you end up with some awkward pieces when using the shakes, you kind of end up with some small slivers. It does work though and it looks good as accents in those areas. We had our house done roughly 10 years ago and used the vinyl shakes in several places.

 

[Pixguy]

In this pic you can see the 3 different vinyls we used. Is still like the look of natural shakes and clapboard but as I get older I am trying to make the days of 20 gallons of Sikkens a thing of the past.

 

[3Ts]

Leave the T 1-11 on if in good condition, then Tyvek, then the vinyl. The trim is not hard to do, but can take some time to get it right. The rest of it is easy and should go quickly. Be sure you get enough! I chose to do the vertical "boards" on a 9' wall, the boards are 12' long so a lot of waste. My neighbor owns the siding company and did the estimating and used a square foot figure, but didn't account for 30% waste since they'd only done horizontal before. I did the installation under his direction and had access to his tools, including his 12' sheet metal bender. The vinyl was from a reputable national company (I forget which one) but the brown wood grain vinyl planks had changed color and started to turn a moldy green after 2 years and all of it had changed within 5 years (this was 25 years ago) and it was not mold. It was an actual color change. We ended up taking the vinyl siding off and putting Hardi Planks on. They held up much better and the paint lasted a long time. I'm much more in favor of Hardi Plank boards than vinyl or many of the other siding materials.

 

[Richard]

Good comments and I appreciate them.

I don't know her reasoning....but the shakes are already here. Wife already picked them up. I verified yesterday that I will need some kind of starter strip to hold the bottom/starter row... interesting to me that the salesman didn't ask about it....then again, they deal with contractors (only) and might have presumed we knew exactly what we wanted/needed....when in fact, we didn't.

That said, I think I've also figured out that I don't HAVE to necessarily go back there (35 miles away) to buy some starter strips....I might be able to go to local box store and buy some in similar color.

Foundry Siding


As for other brands....I know nothing about the above nor others. (neither does the wife) She is a very visual person and as long as "item x" meets her visual needs, she doesn't really care or put effort into any mechanical/technical aspects of it. (marrying me is a perfect example!! HAR, I kill myself!)

She was at a yard sale or something.... they had a belt sander, so she bought it. Granted, she only spent something like $20 on it but to be blunt, it's a piece of junk that I'll probably toss into the garbage or take to recycling center one day... I'm not saying it's junk.... it is J.U.N.K. I'm not sure I would have taken it if given to me because it's not worth the effort to get rid of... Oh, and by the way.... it currently doesn't work either. (sigh)


So this siding is a totally blind/ignorant purchase. Fortunately the area it's covering is small... this side of house gets hit with sun about 90% of the day.