How To Repair Rotted Or Broken Wood Siding

How to Replace and Repair Wood Siding

Updated: Mar. 31, 2022

Refresh your house's exterior by replacing damaged siding

FH98SEP_REPROT_01-2 how to repair wood siding Family Handyman

Has some of your siding begun to rot while the rest is still good? Don't supervene upon all the boards. Follow these piece of cake steps and only replace the boards that are rotted.

How to Repair Wood Siding: Supplant rotted siding

Evaluate the boards

Decide which boards need replacing and where to make your cuts. Stagger barrel joints if you lot're replacing multiple courses. Use a square to mark the cutting lines, centered on a stud. The nailheads on existing siding will indicate stud positions.

Cut the nails

Cut the nails at the lesser of the row higher up the boards you're replacing. Utilise a small hacksaw with a precipitous blade. Cutting the nails will permit you remove rotted boards without damaging those your'due east saving. To get at the nails, advisedly wedge out the bottom of the siding 1/8 to 3/16 in. with wooden shims.

Make the get-go cut with a circular saw

Cut out bad sections with a circular saw or fifty-fifty a sharp utility knife. Be certain to stagger the joints (see Photo 1). About hardboard siding is 7/sixteen in. thick, and then ready your blade depth carefully to avoid cutting into other courses. Employ shims to elevator the boards so you can easily go at the one you're cutting.

Finish the cut with a sharp utility knife

You won't be able to consummate the cuts with the circular saw, so finish the cuts with a sharp utility knife or a keyhole saw.

how to repair wood siding

Pry off the rotted boards

To acquire how to repair wood siding, remove rotted boards with a flat pry bar. Protect audio siding with a scrap slice of 1/4-in. plywood. After you remove the rotted courses, use a small hacksaw to cutting any protruding nail shanks, or if you have a very strong grip, use a adept pair of wire cutters.

how to repair wood siding

Install the new boards

When you supercede the boards, use a homemade "reveal set" jig to match the reveal of the existing siding. The courses should overlap by at to the lowest degree 1 in. Replace siding by working from the lesser up (you might need a helper hither). Attach the siding with 10d galvanized box nails driven into the overlap at least one/2 in. above the bottom edge. If you have insulated sheathing, predrill the nail holes to avert crushing the insulation.

How to Repair Wood Siding

When hardboard siding is installed and maintained correctly, it can hold up for thirty or 40 years. But without proper attention, isolated areas can begin rotting in only a few years, especially about the foundation. Water splashes upward from the ground, frequently soaking the vulnerable bottom edges. The newspaper face then flakes off, exposing the dark dark-brown inner layers, and each soaking accelerates the rotting.

Replacing these rotted areas takes only a few basic tools and a few materials, but it can make a huge comeback in your home'south appearance. Hardboard siding doesn't cost that much, so it's often worth it to replace an entire course. Doing this helps you avoid unnecessary butt joints.

Make your repair last

Painting wood siding helps it final. Prime number the back and edges of the new siding. Thoroughly paint all exposed edges and grooves.
Do not bulldoze the nails affluent or countersink them. The heads will break the paper face up, assuasive water to soak in and deteriorate the siding. Caulk any nailheads that break the paper face.
Leave a 1/8-in. gap at corner and butt joints. Seal these joints with a 35-year, paintable acrylic caulk.
Forestall water from splashing on the siding by installing gutters or repairing leaky ones. Also, conform backyard sprinklers and so they don't hitting the siding.
Where siding meets a roof, it will rot if the siding touches the shingles. When yous supercede these boards, make sure you have good flashing along the joint. Install the new siding and then at that place'southward a 1-in. gap between siding and shingles.
Consider replacing rotted areas with fiber-cement siding. It'due south ane/8 in. thinner than most hardboard, but it works in many cases, has a comparable cost, is highly rot resistant, and carries a 50-year warranty. For aid finding a dealer in your area, telephone call James Hardie Products (888-542-7343 or jameshardie.com) or ABTco (800-265-9829 or abtco.com).

Required Tools for this Projection

Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined up before you beginning—you'll relieve time and frustration.

Required Materials for this Project

Avert final-minute shopping trips past having all your materials gear up ahead of time. Here's a listing.

Originally Published: May 06, 2022