Revamp Your Home's Exterior with Our How-to Guide to Installing Siding Shingles
Upgrade your curb appeal with this siding option that's worth the hard work. With our step-by-step instructions, you can install siding shingles to gain a richly textured home exterior.
For curb appeal that will make your house stand out in the neighborhood, consider installing shingle siding. Although cedar shingles take more time to install than most other types of siding, they lend a rich, textured look to your exterior. If you're thinking of installing shingle siding, it's important to note that this option can be used only if the sheathing is boards, plywood, or OSB. The shingles should also be installed to provide triple coverage, with three layers of shingles covering the wall. To achieve this, the exposures should be slightly less than one-third the length of the shingle. For example, 16-inch-long shingles should be installed with about 5-inch exposures.
You could first install outside corner trim made of 1x boards and then butt the shingles up to the trim, but a woven corner is more attractive. A woven inside corner is much more difficult to achieve, so the usual practice is to install inside corner trim prior to shingling. Because shingles can swell slightly, it is sometimes recommended that you provide 1/8-inch gaps between the shingles. However, as long as the shingles are not completely dried out, they will shrink slightly after installation, so gapping is usually not needed. Check with your supplier to be sure. If you decide to trim outside corners, you may choose to install corner trim pieces and simply butt the shingles up to the trim boards.
Although this project can be hard work, if you're determined and have a helping hand, it will be done before you know it! Check out our step-by-step guide to siding shingles below.
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