OK, back to the house. So these first few photos are just the front of the house, so you can see how awful it looks with the old-timey asphalt siding and beat down canopy.

Note the corner siding leaning against the house in this photo.

Putting up siding isn’t really a complex type of operation. It’s just time consuming with just 2 people. This job is being done by me, Dave Rosenthal, and my very knowledgeable and experienced friend Hank. We using his 10 foot ladder and my expandable 20 foot ladder. We SHOULD have a scaffold for this job, and we’re going to have to figure out what to do for the last upper parts and the soffit job I’ve got in mind.

 

To start the job, you start at the bottom with “start strips.” It’s a good idea to have a level handy.

You’re also going to attach to the wood sheathing of the house, through whatever siding is already there. But plan on pulling off or cutting that last inch or so of exposed old siding.

Go along the whole length of the house. We’re just doing one side at a time, but I supposed you could do the whole circumference of the house at once.

This is Chicago, so obviously insulation of some kind is a must. Although I house in warm environments need it too in order to keep the cool air in. We could go into great long discussions about insulation. It is a science unto itself. As you can see here, we’re using quarter inch pink stuff.

 

You may notice that white corner piece is now attached. Again pull out the level before you hammer or screw it in. Speaking of that; initially I had the screwgun and a bunch of screws, but Hank brought roofing nails and its much faster to hammer.

 

After the starter strip is attached and the corner piece is up you can start locking in the siding. Starting from the bottom up, you’ll hear a nice “click” when it’s in there. Nail or screw it to the wall, but come up with some sort of staggered pattern when you’re attaching though or it will look weird.

And then things get a little repetitive.

It’s a little like having to hang a hundred pictures on your wall, but as you can see the difference in appearance is staggering.

 

This job can be done by the inexperienced, but I recommend having at least ONE person who’s done it a few times on board.

 

 

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Tags: Chicago, Home Renovation //