Historic Siding And Boards

Inevitably the vinyl siding got some moisture behind it sometimes from rain seeping in and sometimes just from water vapor trying to escape the house.

Historic siding and boards.

Lap siding refers to horizontal boards that overlap the next lower board so that they shed rainfall like the overlapping feathers of a duck. Most of the time when i remove vinyl siding from a historic house i find wet spongy and rotted wood siding. Wood siding is the most common type of exterior cladding found on older historic homes and most is lap siding of some form or configuration. Again hardiboard siding is a good product and should be thought of as a second option to cedar wood siding.

Manufacturers recommend nailing modern resawn bevel siding through a single board to allow for wood movement at left. Lap board comes in a variety of profiles. The boards used for this siding style are sawed lengthwise in a pie shape to create a wide edge on one side of the board and a narrow edge on the other. The overlap is what keeps water from getting between the boards.

The rabbet on one piece will overlap the cove cut on the piece immediately below it. Bevel siding and bungalow siding are 20th century versions that are generally resawn from boards producing random grain to obtain widths of 8 and more. This is why it is important for all of the boards to have a uniform alignment. It plywood siding is an all wood exterior grade panel.

By overlapping the boards carefully when installing lap siding the contractor is able to create a type of siding that will easily shed water as there are not any edges that can hang on to the. The idea was used for other patterns double coves for example and in some places was even milled as triple ogee. Plywood siding features a rough sawn textured face for a beautiful rustic appearance. Manufacturers and contractors aggressively promote hardiboard and sometimes may neglect to mention some of the things covered in this article.

Another drop siding subset is double ogee where a single siding board is milled to mimic the shadow lines of two boards. If your building is historic then you should stick with cedar wood siding. Plywood siding is an all wood exterior grade panel. Weatherboard siding is designed to function by each piece overlapping the piece below it.

It is ideal for siding applications from new home construction utility buildings planters dog houses and other remodeling or do it yourself projects. Double ogee siding was common by 1910. Joints were usually shiplap sometimes tongue and groove. Wood siding has been ubiquitous with home construction for thousands of years.