Repairing Wood Lap Siding

If you have woodworking skills you can tackle small repairs by duplicating the way the siding is.

Repairing wood lap siding.

Expert advice on how to repair and replace wood siding including how to fix holes repairing warped wood and replacing wood siding shingles and boards. When crosscutting the existing siding be sure to stagger the end joints so they aren t aligned above each other. Water splashes up from the ground frequently soaking the vulnerable bottom edges. Many people delay getting new wood siding when one or two boards are rotted out because it can be hard to match new materials to the wood species and the same look of the existing siding.

But without proper attention isolated areas can begin rotting in only a few years especially near the foundation. However by waiting to replace the one or two rotten boards this problem can lead to more significant damage in time. How to remove and replace wood siding. Besides prying out the rotten wood you may need to cut adjacent boards back a stud or two in either direction.

If the damaged area is large you ll have to replace the board or a part of the board. Wood siding comes in many forms including several types of boards shingles and sheets. Remove the nails on the lap board then use the claw of the hammer to split the board down the center image 1. Forget the tape measure tom says.

Power tools are out for this job. Once all the nails are removed from the adjoining board the damaged one should just pull out. That s because the end seams on wood lap siding are staggered across the wall and have to be made at wall stud locations. When hardboard siding is installed and maintained correctly it can hold up for 30 or 40 years.

Siding repair is best done with hand tools with one exception. Remove the wood then the nails. How to repair wood siding. Instead you can size the replacement using the old clapboard as a template a simple technique that virtually guarantees a tight fit on the first try.

If the siding doesn t have wood or plywood sheathing behind it be sure to crosscut the damaged siding over a stud. Score down the damaged lap siding with a utility knife.