How to: Put Up Siding

Ok, I know I haven't finished roofing, I need to get some pictures taken.  Fortunately I have found my camera so I can use that instead of being afraid of breaking my phone while working.  It will happen.  Until then, siding!

The first step is to attach this metal corner along the bottom which block rain water from getting up and under the siding and into the structure.  Caution: Be aware of the nail size you use.  Ours were pretty short which made it hard to hammer them in without getting a few fingers in the process.

Once that is in the felt can be stapled on right over the top of the metal.  It should be overlapped with the lowest sheet at the bottom, just like in the roofing.

Now we're ready for the actual siding.  It helps to have some extra hands, especially for the first sheet.  You want to set it right on the metal along the bottom and make sure the vertical lines are running level.  If you are working alone you have to come up with a way to push your body onto the sheet until you can get one screw in along the top.  Once that is done you can rotate it around that screw to get it level.  When you're ready, continue to add screws along the top of the sheet. Aim to have a screw at each corner and then 2 more evenly spaced between them.  We didn't have a board across the top of this sheeting so in the picture below you will only see screws where the posts are.  Caution: have a play with your drill's clutch to make sure you don't send the screws all the way through the siding.  You want them to be flush.  

Continue to screw the sheet down from top to bottom to avoid any bubbling.  Since these are short sheets I only had one row of screws along the middle.  Caution: pay attention and use a guide for where your middle rows are.  It can look very funny if the row of screws doesn't go straight across.  

Since I did have a bottom plate to work with, I added screws near the corners along the bottom of each sheet.

The sheets have notching on either side so the next sheet should go right over the first one.  Line up the seem and double check the vertical leveling then screw it on just as you did with the first.  Continue adding sheets until you've reached the end.

Finishing touches:

- We still need to add a line of caulking to seal along the very bottom.

- If painting, clean up the screw holes so they are clean and flush with the outside.  Ideally, they will be invisible after a coat of paint.

- If your seems and/or cuts along the top really suck they make skinny pieces of the siding to go over them.  Personally, I would use a nice custom stained piece of wood to create a nice contrast.  We may be doing this at another spot on the greenhouse so I could have a picture for you in the future. 

Please let me know if there is anything I'm missing.

Ta-Da!