After a long, wet fall and an even longer, and wetter winter here in Middle Tennessee, you may be looking at your wooden siding and thinking that it might be time for some repairs or even replacement of your siding. Wet weather can really cause damage to wooden siding over time, and that can have a negative effect on the look of your home or business. Warmer and drier weather is just around the corner, so it’s a great time to begin planning those repair and restoration projects.
Today we’re going to share some repair tips that will help you with your wooden siding.
- Prime all the new wood you’ll be using for the repair on the front, back and end grain. This process is called back-priming, and it serves to seal the wood on all sides to prevent moisture from causing your wood to deteriorate faster than you will want it to.
- Besides prying out the rotten wood, you may need to cut adjacent boards back a stud or two in either direction. You may find it necessary to remove healthy wood, as well, to make your repair job less obvious. The end seams on your siding will be staggered across the wall, and have to lap over at wall stud locations. The nails in wood lap siding sometimes go through two rows at once, so you may also need to cut the nails in the row above the one you are working on.
- When you’re ready to install the new material, create a gauge block to help make sure that the reveal of each board is identical, creating a smooth look for your home.
- Use galvanized, spiral shank nails to secure the boards.
- Caulk all the seams once the repair is complete.
When it comes to repair and renovation projects for your Nashville home or business, you can always count on Ascension General Contractors to help you get the job done right. Our staff is experienced, dependable, licensed, insured, AND fully bonded, so you can be confident that your project outcome is exactly what you want to see.
