Weatherboard cladding - tips and tricks?

[Ben (TM)]

Make sure that you nail the bottom board level all round. That is the hard part, especially if you have to do more than one side and a water level comes in very handy.

Yeah - I reckon once you had the bottom board set, the rest should be pretty straight forward. I was planning on just using a string line with one of those little spirit levels (don't know what they are called) on it. Should be OK I think?

Make two measuring sticks marked at 150mm spaces. Clamp the measuring sticks against the studs on either end and hold the top of the new board against the marks and nail into the studs. Repeat until wall is done. No measuring or levels required although a regular check is wise.

That's a great idea. I had thought about making some kind of lap gauge, but this way sounds much easier. Thanks for the tip.

[echnidna]

Don't measure from the previous board. An accumulation of differences can occur and you may end up with a wall that doesn't look straight.

Always work from the bottom board.

A nailgun is dubious advantage with weatherboards as both ends of eack board needs to be cut for its particular location between the end studs.
So you are continually changing between nailing and sawing.

I used to mitre the end joins of the weatherboards which adds some time to the job.
Two main advantages are
!. Slight errors in the endcuts of the boards aren't noticeable.
2. Errors in the endcuts dont leave open gaps directly in front of a stud. So the job is much more weatherproof.

[Ben (TM)]

Don't measure from the previous board. An accumulation of differences can occur and you may end up with a wall that doesn't look straight. Always work from the bottom board.

Good call

A nailgun is dubious advantage with weatherboards as both ends of eack board needs to be cut for its particular location between the end studs. So you are continually changing between nailing and sawing.

Makes sense - especially the way I work! We'll see how we go.

I used to mitre the end joins of the weatherboards which adds some time to the job.

This is a new train of thought, which makes some sense. I have a nice 12" sliding compound saw, so should be reasonably easy to achieve. All of what I have read suggests just doing a straight butt joint, but cut the second piece slightly long and snap it into place so you get a good tight fit.

Do you use any sealer at the joint, or is just painting the newly cut ends with primer enough?

[journeyman Mick]

Ben,
I wouldn't trust one of those little string line levels, use a dumpy or a water level. If you have a helper then once you have your bottom board in all around it will go pretty quickly. Make up your story rod(s) or mark out the studs, measuring up from your bottom board.
Helper measures first board, you measure stud spacing and sing out the measurement he needs to cut to: ie square on left, bevel on right, 4855 to long point.
While he cuts you drive a nail (by hand) part way into a bottom board, 15mm (or whatever the lap is) down from the top. This will support one end of the board while you nail the other.
Support board on nail, align board and drive a couple of nails (you may need to sight along board to see if it's straight (level), you may need to tweak it up and/or down as you go along. Once you've got a couple of nails in measure the next board so your offsider can cut it.
Nail off the board completely, remove the support nail and reuse it as a support for the next board.
Repeat as required
If you need to use scaffolding, then complete everything so you don't need to come back (ie: punch any nails that need punching, stop holes, gap fill around windows etc etc)

I'd still use the nail gun, especially if you haven't hand driven a lot of nails. For an experienced chippie a gun won't make a lot of difference, speed wise on this job, but for a weeklend warrior it will. Make up a big "S" hook out of stiff wire or 6mm rod. Hook it on the noggins (or the top plate when you get that high) and hook the gun on it. Wear a nail bag and carry a tape, pencil,square, nails, nail punch, hammer etc etc in it. Try to avoid too much wandering back and forth, if you get a good rythm goping you'll fly through it.

Mick

[Ben (TM)]

Ben,
I wouldn't trust one of those little string line levels, use a dumpy or a water level.

I just keep on learning. I didn't even know what a water level was :confused: (Maybe he shouldn't be tackling this job I hear you all cry!)
But after taking a look at: http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuild...ges/hvt045.asp

it's clear as day and looks like a much better idea.

Thanks for the tips on 'workflow' too - sounds like a well oiled machine (until one of us messes up!)

[echnidna]

Its actually an easy and fast job once you get your rythm together

[Sturdee]

(Maybe he shouldn't be tackling this job I hear you all cry!)

Ofcourse not. You'l never learn until you tackle it. Just remember we expect a report on how you went and some photos of the finished master cladding.

Peter.

[grinner]

Another couple of little tips I found when putting on my weatherboards.
1. When putting the nail in at the end of each board, pre drill the hole to stop splitting.
2. When putting in the nails along the boards, first turn the nail back to front and give it just one tap on the pionted end, driving the head into the board. This leaves a little indent in the board, then turn the nail around and drive the pointed end into the board through the indentation. This also helps with stopping the boards from splitting.

You will be suprised after the first hundred odd nails how quickly you can hammer in a nail.

Grinner

[ThePope]

Also when you're working out your board overlap, take into consideration the width of the last board under the eave. Best result is a full board, worst is a very narrow piece which nearly always tapers and stands out like dog balls.

You have a fair bit of leeway in the overlap you use so you should be able to get a full or almost full board under the eave.