Installing the Tankless Water Heater

This past weekend, in preparation for the electrician, we rough-installed the tankless water heater. As you can see in the picture it requires 120v so we installed the heater early so the electrician would know were to place the outlet.

The beauty of this heater is that when we have completed the installation of the tankless water heater, we can just plug it into the wall outlet. The installation of the heater will include:

• Cold and hot water connections
• gas connection, in this case liquid petroleum (yes - Propane)
• Exhaust vent
• Air intake
  

Still we did not just slap it up on the wall. We installed it precisely where it needs to be:

• At least 12 inches from the the ceiling - we placed it about 14 inches
• At least 12 inches from the floor - we placed it just under four feet from the floor.
• At least 1 inch from the right wall - we placed it 4 inches from the wall

The unit comes with a wall mounting bracket which they recommend be installed on a 3/4 plywood strip that is securely fastened to at least two studs. A second plywood strip is secured 30 inches below to ensure the heater rests exactly vertical on the wall.

Checking critical measurements:
It is very important that the exhaust vent and air intakes can be installed between the floor joints at the proper clearance and exit locations. So we made sure that the heater was located properly in that regard.

Don't forget the drywall!
Unless you are installing your heater in a utility room, where you tend not to finish the walls with drywall, be sure to install drywall before the heater. We installed drywall on an addition wall adjacent to the tank because, although it did not have any thing to be installed on it (yet), we believed it would be difficult to install the drywall once the heater was in place. Order of building is everything!

COMING: I will discuss and share my experiences in the installation of the tankless water heater in later posts.

Stairs make the Cottage feel more Complete

As I mentioned in a previous post, now having the stairs in place the Cottage feels ever so much closer to completion.

Not only is it a great milestone for a construction weary DIY builder it also makes lots of things go faster. Not only can we move from the main floor to the basement faster, we can move materials back and forth easier.

I now keep the majority of my tools in the workshop area in the basement, and many tools like the table saw is left setup, over night or between weekend. Less time setting up and breaking down translated in to more building time.

Illustrated here is a view of the stair well 1) first from the top of the stair well, and then 2) looking up from the bottom of the stair well.

Stair Materials: The stair materials are simple:

• 12 pre-made particle board treads ( they come in 40-inch lengths)
• 14 pre-made particle board risers (they come 8" x 40" x 1/2"
• 10 pieces of 2"x10"x8' for the stringers - which I measured and cut the typical stair cut pattern in a 7-inch rise and 10-inch run pattern

Stair Construction:

• Three stringers were used for each run of stairs - for a total of 6 stringers
  
• Two support boards, made of the 2x12 stock, were used on the outsides of each stair run - for a total of 4
• The support boards were nailed to the wall studs, and the stringers were nailed to the support boards. BTW the support boards also act to trim the drywall along the stairs so that a saw-toothed partner does not need to be cut in the drywall.
  
• The risers where nailed using a 1 1/2-inch finishing nailer
• The treads were screwed in using 2.5-inch screws after being drilled and counter sinked.
• The two platforms were constructed using 2"x6" studs and covers with 3/4-inch plywood.
• The platforms were supported on three sided by nailing in to the wall studs, and in the center using a post constructed of two 2"x4" placed at 90-degrees.
  

Bragging about Installing Soffit

Installing siding is a breeze compared to installing soffit. To be more specific, installing straight courses of soffit is reasonably easy but installing soffit at corners is a real pain in the royal butt!

The installation of soffit is particularly difficult and time consuming at the corners of the gazebo. Because the gazebo is an eight-sided structure the corners are not your standard 90-degree angle, and hence, much more difficult to measure and install soffit into.

A huge degree of patience and lots of time are required.

Therefore to actually have the soffit complete - all of it - pleases me ever so much. Here is a picture of a particularly difficult section of soffit. This picture illustrates the transition from a normal straight course of soffit under and eave to the course under the gazebo. To make things worse the section under the gazebo was not perfectly parallel to the beam. This meant each piece of soffit under this section of gazebo soffit need to be cut to a different size and on an angle.

Still it turned out well, and to the casual viewer would not look out of place at all, once a bit of strategically placed white caulking is used.

Be Warned - Insualtion takes up LOTS of Space

As I mentioned in a previous post, I received my insulation order about 4 weeks earlier than I needed most of it. Sure I needed a few bags of insulation earlier to:

• Insulate the wall behind where the electrical panel is to go
• Insulate behind the shower enclosure

I certainly did not need all of it for another week or so. But in haste and wishing to keep the delivery operation simple I choose to receive all of the insulation order.

Not a big mistake but a very inconvenient one, as now I have to keep moving the bags of insulation - and we have a lot of them - from the areas I am working in.

I have insulation all over the Cottage:

• I have insulation in the middle of the living room and dining room
• I have insulation in the middle of the great room in the basement, and
  
• I have insulation in the master bedroom closet.

And that is not the worst of it! I only received half of the insulation for the Ceiling. Fortunately, this part of the insulation order is on back order. I should receive it in about two weeks - just in time to install it.

Take-away Message: When your building schedule gets stretched be sure to adjust the delivery schedule for your materials to compensate - or you could be swimming in materials you do not quite need yet.

4 Reasons I picked Roxul over Pink Insulation

There are basically two brands of insulation on the market:

Fiberglass:
This is the insulation that we commonly known as pink insulation. It is made of fiberglass. The biggest manufacturer of pink fiberglass insulation is Owens Corning. Owens Corning has also created a second website that helps you weave your way through the various government programs to subsidize the purchase of insulation. Incidentally these programs apply to any type/manufacturer of insulation.

Mineral Wool:
This is a less common type of material but increasing in use because of some superior attributes to the 'pink' stuff. Mineral wool is made from basalt rock and slag, and this combination results in a non-combustible product. There are no added flame retardants in mineral wool products. Combustible insulations often need to have chemicals added to make them less flammable. The biggest manufacture of mineral wool insulation is Roxul, Inc.

Roxul really plays up the fire resistance of their mineral wool insulation product. But I invite you to their website for the details.
BTW Glass wool is fiberglass. So you can see Roxul beats the pink insulation, and total blows away the spray foam insulation (polyurethane and polystyrene foam).

The five reasons I picked Roxul (rock wool) over the pick (fiberglass) insulation:

1. Roxul does not give me a rash - With fiberglass insulation you have to cover complete up - gloves, long sleeves, etc... The primary reason is that fiberglass gets on your skin and and becomes very irritable. With the sweating it just makes it worse. Using Roxul the only precautions I take is a mask and I wear gloves.
2. Roxul is easier to use: Cutting and shaping it only requires a bread knife. It is really easy to cut out little bits to shape around outlet boxes, etc.
3. Roxul is much more water resistant: Water seems to run off rock wool. I am sure you have seen what happens to fiberglass insulation when water is nearby - it acts like a sponge.
   
4. Roxul is much more fire resistant: Act the analysis given above demonstrated rock wool is much more fire resistant than any of the other popular insulations materials.
   

Caveats:
There are a few things about rock wool you should know about:

• It is more expensive -- I have found it to be 5% to 10% more expensive
• It is harder to get -- Not everyone keeps it in stock, although that seems to be changing. You can always order it from most building supply stores.
• It crumbles - When moving it around be careful not to break open the bag as the material tends to chunk and break off easier.
  

Selecting the Right Insulation

I received a shipment of insulation last Friday. It is a bit early than I really need most of it but I am at the stage where I need to start insulating a few areas. While I don't need it all now I decided to accept all the order in one lump.

I am using four sizes and two types of insulation . Each is targeted for a specific use or location in the Cottage.

R22 - 2"x6" insulation for 16" centers.
This insulation will be used everywhere we have framed 2"x6" exterior walls. This will be in all walls on the main floor and in the lakeside wall in the Basement - you will remembers from a past post that the basement is a walk-out, hence the lakeside was not concrete but framed using 2"x6" pressure-treated lumber.

R14 - 2"x4" insulation for 16" centers.
This insulation will be used everywhere we have framed 2"x4" exterior walls. Specifically this will be the walls we framed on the inside of the concrete walls of the basement in order to house the electrical and insulation.

Spray Foam:
The concrete walls in the basement is also where we used a thin, 1/2-inch spray foam coating on the concrete walls behind the 2"x4" stud wall. The use of spray foam was the subject of the following earlier posts:

Tiger Foam... Doing Spray Foam the Mike Holmes way...

Tiger Foam... The Spray Foam Kit and its set up

6+ Spray Foam Tips and Tricks

3 Reasons to Frame First then Spray Foam

Spray Foam, Petroleum Jelly and Nozzles

I will also be using spray foam insulation to seal the cracks and opening around the windows and door that were installed some time ago (See: 5 Options to include which make Installing Windows Easier )

R14 - 2"x4" insulation for 24" centers.
This insulation will be used in the ceiling as the roof trusses as framed at 24" centers. The majority of the trusses use a 2"x4" base or ceiling joist. Thus the 2"x4" insulation will fit perfectly in the 24 inch space between the trusses, and to the top of these joists. R14 is not enough insulation for the ceiling so there will be another layer of insulation placed on top of this insulation. (See the next size of insulation)

R22 - 2"x6" insulation for 24" centers.
This insulation will be used in the ceiling as the roof trusses as framed at 24" centers. This layer of insulation is placed perpendicular across the previous R14 insulation to bring the total R-value in the ceiling to R36.

NEXT: In the next post I will discuss my choice of brand of insulation.

It is going to be beautiful!

Heck! It is already beautiful!

When undertaking a large construction job like this as a do-it yourself project, there are times when, in a moment of frustration or exhaustion when you could cry...

• When it feels like it is never going to be finished...

• When you are wondering where you are going to get the energy to keep going...

• When every muscle in your body aches...

• When you just slammed your finger with a hammer for the umpteenth time...

But you keep telling yourself, it will be worth it! It will be great!

It is scenes like this one, just barely captured in this picture that prove those glimpses of what is to come. Glimpses of beautiful sunsets while relaxing in a comfy chair with a cold one in your hand...

Security & Porch Ceilings - What is Luan?

I was a bit concerned about the security of the Cottage with just vinyl soffit. Vinyl soffit does not provide much barrier to someone wishing to enter the Cottage through the attic. While the soffit under the eaves is quite narrow ranging from 14 to 16 inches, the area under the front and back porches and the gazebo are quite large. Plus the support of the vinyl soffit over long lengths would be difficult.

Our solution was to nail 1/4-inch plywood on to the bottom of the trusses. We used luan which has a nice mahogany look to it. In some locations, specifically the gazebo ceiling, we also added 3" or 4" strapping to provide additional support.

This approach worked real well for all three locations. In fact, with some molding to cover the joints between sheets of the plywood, and with the mahogany look, we are going to leave the plywood exposed in the gazebo and the back porch.

The gazebo ceiling will have an interesting octagon pattern with the mahogany look. It is difficult to get a picture of the entire gazebo roof to illustrate the pattern bu the picture to the left is an attempt...

What is Luan?
Luan is a type of plywood and typically has a solid core material sandwiched between two layers of veneer. I believe the veneer is some species of low grade mahogany. Luan is typically used in interior applications, such as an underlayment for vinyl flooring. It's also used to make hollow core interior doors.

Looks Matter!
We deemed that the look under the front porch still needs to conform to the Blue and White colour scheme - and that the mahogany look does not fit. So rather than paint the luan white, thus creating potentially for future maintenance, we are going to install the white soffit to this luan structure. With that we will get get looks and lots of security.

An Aside:
The little white botches on the pictures above are actually tags to indicate to the electrician where the pot lights will be going. There will be two pot lights in the front porch ceiling and four in the gazebo ceiling.

Siding Installation is Complete

Well Almost...

Two weekends ago the installation of the soffit was definitely completed, and most of the siding. Yet to be finished on the siding is the basement wall facing the lake... and the last course just below the soffit under the gazebo.

Finishing this last bit of siding can and will wait until more pressing tasks of completing the inside are completed.

The only this not yet 'finished' in this view of the Cottage is the posts and beams of the porch. The posts will eventually be clad in 6"x6" vinyl post cladding and the beams will likely be covered with aluminum flashing. Both will be white - to keep with the blue/white colour scheme.

I am curious how this post clading material works and will be sure to let you know how it works.

PEX wins Hands Down!

From my point of view PEX piping wins hands down on two accounts: Price and ease of installation.

Price:
The price of copper today is roughly $1.66 per foot compared to 35 cents per foot for PEX. That makes copper more than four times the cost of PEX pipe. I roughly need about 600 feet of PEX pipe so th cost difference is substantial. PEX ~ $250 versus Copper at $1009. That is compelling!

Ease of installation:
While I have soldered copper pipe the thought of all the cutting and soldering needed makes me shake in my boots. The installation of copper will simply take forever! So while ease of installation is easier with PEX that real benefit is much less time to install.

I start the plumbing installation over tha next few weeks - I will share my experiences - so stay tuned!

PEX versus Copper Piping: Pros & Cons

If you are like the rest of us non-plumbers then there is a good chance that you don't know which plumbing pipe is better. You may not even know what PEX pipe is.

What is PEX pipe? PEX is cross-linked polyethylene pipe. After several processes that the material must go through, it becomes durable for extreme temperatures (hot or cold), creep deformation which happens from long term exposure to stress, and chemical attack from acids, alkalis, and the like. All of this makes PEX an excellent piping substance for hot and cold water systems, especially since PEX is flexible and well adapted for temperatures below freezing all the way up to two hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

As mentioned above, PEX is a good plumbing material because it is flexible and that makes is easy to install. PEX is also resistant to breaks in cold weather, has fewer joints, and is easy to install bringing your costs down.

What about Copper? Since we all know what copper piping is because it has been around for decades, we know that the metal is durable and flexible which makes it easy to install, especially compared to iron pipes. Copper piping also provides a biostatic atmosphere making bacteria difficult to grow inside of it; an important health decision.

Copper also resists corrosion and is unaffected by ultraviolet rays, unlike PEX that cannot be used outside, so that it can be used for outside uses. However, be aware that copper can corrode of the pH of the water is too acidic or too basic for the pipes. But just because it corrodes, doesn't mean that the water is bad for you. Try to think of it like this; the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. and, of course, Canada, has some of the best drinking water in the world but that very same water has a corrosive effect on the pipes.

Which is Better? So the choice between PEX and Cooper is solely yours, but keep in mind a few of the advantages and disadvantages of choosing which system to install into your home or business.

Some advantages for PEX are:

1. Adaptable and easy to use plumbing system.
2. Can be used with hot and cold water.
3. Can also be used with metal and PVC piping.
4. PEX has fewer fittings making it faster to install and has less of a chance to leak.
5. PEX is more burst resistant due to its flexibility to expand and contract.
6. It has a shut off valve at each supply line making it more convenient for you when you have to get repairs done.
7. PEX can be a pressure balanced system.
8. Since it is flexible, the pipes can be bent around most corners and usually won't need a coupling or fitting.

PEX has some disadvantages that you should be aware of and they are:

1. It cannot be used outside.
2. Cannot be recycled due to its shorter life use.
3. It provides an impermeable membrane that can allow the possibility of contaminating your water.
4. The pipes may be damaged if left outside for a long period of time.

The advantages of copper are:

1. Durable and flexible making it easy to install.
2. Safer in natural disasters.
3. Weather and bacteria resistant.
4. Resists corrosion, more so than other metals.
5. Unaffected by ultraviolet rays so it can be used outside.
6. Copper in a fire, does not release toxic gases because it resists burning.
7. In earthquakes, pipes flex due to being slightly elastic so that they don�t snap causing more damage.
8. Copper is recyclable making it a more sound environmental choice.

Copper piping also has disadvantages that should be considered:

1. Can corrode.
2. Has become expensive.
3. At higher levels of copper from corrosion, the water can have a metallic taste.
4. It can also freeze and break during cold water.

If cost is one factor in determining which piping system you want to install be sure to visit our post tomorrow!

We have Stairs! Another Milestone reached!

Another milestone was also reached this weekend!

...and that was being able to travel from the main floor to the basement without using stepladders or walking out the front door on the main level and walking around the cottage to the back patio doors to reach the basement.

This milestone was reached when the stairs from the main floor to the basement was completed.

The stairs in our case swing around in a U-shape using a landing about half way down. There are in total, including two landings that act as stairs, 14 steps. I used a close stair approach with a cut-out stair stringer and purchased treads (with a pre-finished rounds front) and risers. The steps are 11 inches in width and come in 40-inch lengths. The risers are 8 inches wide and again come 40 inches in length.

I already knew how to build stairs through previous experience building the 104 steps down the cottage lot to the lake but I purchased a stair building book just to make sure I wasn't missing something. I wasn't disappointed in the book when I discovered that it didn't tell me much more than I already knew.

I did learn a few useful tips:

1. Use the framing bolts ( I can' remember what they are really called) on your carpenter's square to lock in the rise and run for your stairs. This way you get the same and exact measurement for the stairs
2. A rise of 7 inches and a run of 10 inches works quite well.
3. Always remember to include the height of any finishing materials for your floors and landings when calculating the rise of the beginning and ending steps at the top, each landing and the bottom of the stairs.
4. Be sure to take in consideration how you intend to finish the walls in the building of the stairs. I added a second 'stringer' on the outside of each side of the stairs. With this spacer you will not have to cut a piece of drywall with a zig zag pattern...

Here are a few websites that provide the basics of building stairs:

• How to build Stairs

• How to Build Your Own Stairs in 3 Easy Steps

Here is the book I purchased:

• Basic Stairbuilding by Scott Schuttner.
  

ASIDE: When the stairs were finally complete, while the rest of the cottage was in various stages of construction and completeness, it just felt like a major milestone was reached - the cottage just felt more like a cottage then a construction site!

The Cottage is closed! A Milestone Reached

This past weekend was a weekend of milestones reached. The first is that the cottage is now completely closed. What does that mean you say... I thought you have had the doors and windows in for a month now!

Yes! The windows and doors were installed more than a month ago, however, the cottage was still technically open to the birds. What I mean is that the both birds, bugs and curious human could still easily get into the cottage by simply climbing a wall or flying though the open eaves and the ceilings of the front and back porch or the ceiling of the gazebo.

Those avenues of egress to the Cottage were all closed in this weekend. The eaves were closed in with soffit, and the ceilings over the front porch, back porch and gazebo were all enclosed with 1/4 inch plywood.

Both projects, the soffit and plywood installation took much longer than expected. The primary reason is that both of these tasks have a high degree of fine cutting and measuring which just simply takes lots of time. This is exacerbated by those wonderful architectural features that we all want - in our case it was the eight-sided gazebo - eight corners and lots of measuring!

TIP: Based on my experience double the amount of time you think it will take to do your soffit!

Installing Vinyl Siding: Hang it don't Nail it!

Vinyl expands and contracts with changes in temperature, so how the vinyl is secured to the house is important. It can't be secured firmly—it has to be able to move. So you don't really attach the vinyl to the house—essentially, you hang it.

You generally need galvanized roofing nails, at least 1-¼" long (or long enough to penetrate ¾" into solid wood studs.

All vinyl siding and accessories come with slots to nail through. When you nail, you don't drive the nail tight. Some manuals specify that there should be a 1/32" between the head of the nail and the siding, but there's no need to check each nail with a micrometer. If, after you've nailed it, the piece of vinyl will slide back and forth, then you're OK. If not, you've pinned it too tight to the house.

For more information on installation see the siding instructions at HomeTime.com. The site has a series of pages devoted to various aspects of vinyl siding:

• Vinyl Siding Basics
• Installing Vinyl Siding
• Soffits, Fascia and Trim

Installing Vinyl Soffit: To Vent or not to Vent

Soffit is the material that covers the underside of the eaves of the roof or the rake under a gable.
Each location provides its own unique challenges for installation of soffit and the trim to support it. In both cases there are a number of choices to make.

Do Vent or Not to Vent - ...and I don't mean steam!
The choice of venting is a bit moot. You absolutely require venting for the roof - or attic. Roof venting is a total system consisting of that big vent (or more) sticking out of the roof - typically as high as you can get it - PLUS a means to get the air flowing from as low on the roof as possible. As low as you can go is under the eaves, hence, the use of vented soffit is the best way to go. And besides, most building codes require vented soffit at least on part of the eaves. I suggest for a consistent look just do it all in vented soffit.

ASIDE: It is the flow of air from the lowest part of the attic up through the highest stop on the roof that will keep your attic, and the cottage, nice and cool and take away any nasty moisture.

Illustrated at the right are 1) a vented and an un-vented soffit, and two potential profiles - 2 and 3 pane. There are many more profiles to choose from. We choose a 4-pane vented soffit profile. This gave a wide 16-inch soffit so that I did not need to cut as many pieces as each covered a lot of territory.

We used vented soffit for all the soffit we have around the exterior of the roof. This maintained a consistent look and feel tot he soffit. The recommendation from the roof vent manufacturer was that we do not install any vents in the gables - so we did not install any.

The vent manufacture also suggests that the air flow pattern is kept even across the entire eaves area by not having any air entrances higher than the eaves. Given that we installed vented soffit in the rake areas of the gables we technically have broken this rule so I may insulate or otherwise restrict the flow from the soffit in the rake area. Furthermore, we are installing 1/4-inch plywood for the ceilings of the from and back porch and the gazebo. This will eliminate huge air entrance that these ceiling area represent in respect to the other eaves. PLUS the plywood provides a much stronger surface in which to install the pot lights.

Square or Mixed
Another choice you need to make is whether to have a square or angled joint when the soffit changed direction under the eaves. (In the illustration below square is on the left and angled on the right.)
Either works satisfactorily and really is based on your personal preference. We choose the square version for all of the 90-degree corners. For the eaves on the gazebo there are no 90-degree corners so we used a modified version of the angled version. In either you need to install two J-Channels back to back to support the soffit at the joint.

TIP: I have to say that I severely underestimated the time it would take to install the soffit. Soffit, or rather the supporting trim for the soffit is very tedious to install. I would double or even triple your estimates.

Installing Vinyl Siding: What are the Trim Options?

I listed in an earlier post the trim types we used. Here are some pictures and diagrams of them plus some addition options:



Dip Cap





F-Channel





Inside Corner Post







Siding Starter Strip






J-Channel







Outside Corner Post






Siding Finishing Trim

Installing Vinyl Siding: What Kind to Buy?

Siding comes in various 'profiles'. A profile is the shape of the siding or what the shape of the face of the siding is. The profile also determines the potential uses of the siding. Some siding can be used both horizontally and vertically while others really only look good in a horizontal aspect.

Here is a list of some of the profiles of siding available. Your choice is really a personal one - how do you want your cottage to look - more traditional, modern, or classic?

Beaded: Authentic 17th century horizontal Colonial beaded ridge in a 6.5" design with graceful shadow lines.





Double 4 Clapboard: Classic horizontal 8" wide design with stepped 4" beveled boards and bold shadow lines. (NOTE: This is the profile we are using for our Cottage.)




Double 5 Clapboard: Similar to Double 4 Clapboard profile, but wider 10" face exposure with stepped 5" beveled boards.






Double 4 Dutch Lap: Traditional horizontal 8" design with stepped 4" sculpted boards to maximize horizontal shadow lines.





Double 4.5 Dutch Lap: Similar to Double 4 Dutch Lap, but wider 9" face exposure with stepped 4.5" sculpted boards.





Double 5 Dutch Lap: Similar to Double 4 Dutch Lap, but 10" face exposure with stepped 5" sculpted boards.





Single 8 Clapboard: Traditional horizontal 8" wide design, beveled from top to bottom.





Triple 3 Clapboard: Victorian-style horizontal 9" wide design with three stepped-down 3" beveled boards.





Vertical Board & Batten: Vertical siding with deep shadow lines created with raised batten strips.





Vertical V: 7" vertical siding replicating tongue-and-groove construction.

Installing Vinyl Siding: J-Channel - the Universal Trim

Just back from installing yet again more siding and soffit up at the Cottage - it is seeming to take forever! Perhaps because of my attention to detail or lack of skill - although I dispute that now... ;-), the siding is by far taking more time than I expected. This past weekend is the fourth weekend devoted primarily to installing siding or soffit.

It looks like this upcoming weekend will put the siding to bed.

As I look back at the various trim operations, I amazed at how versatile the lowly J-Channel is. I find that it is the go-to trim when I need to get out of a trim jam.

I have found it to be great for:

• Trim around the beams that hang of the walls
• Trim around the deck ledger
• Trim the change in direction of the soffit at corners
• Trim around the jogs in the siding that are caused by the change in level of the cottage
• Trim just about anything that sticks out of a wall

I find that I am constantly running out of J-Channel as I underestimated the amount I would require.

TIP: Get lots of J-Channel. You will find it used in many more locations than expected. Not having it will mean the work stops dead in its tracks!

Installing Vinyl Siding: Great How-To Sites

In my search for the best advice on installing vinyl siding I found a wonderful site on HomeTime.com. The site has a series of pages devoted to various aspects of vinyl siding:

• Vinyl Siding Basics
• Installing Vinyl Siding
• Soffits, Fascia and Trim

These three pages are packed with pictures and descriptions of the key elements of installing siding. If you wish a basic, unbiased overview of the installation of vinyl siding this is the first site to visit.

Another source of great information on installing vinyl siding is from the manufacturers themselves. I used a siding product made by Kaycan, and I have to say I am impressed with their installation manual. The manual is very complete, and provides tips on doing it right. The siding installation manual can be found here.

Other Great Siding Installation Guides:

• by Gentek
  

Installing Vinyl Siding: 4 Planning Ahead Tips

Installing vinyl siding is a deceptively difficult job. On one level the mind says " hey what's so difficult about this - just nail on some corner posts and then nail the siding between them...." It ain't that simple!

But a bit of forward planning can avoid mistakes, not paint you into a corner, and actually make it easier to install the siding.

Here are 5 tips to plan ahead:

1. Have the J-Channel Built right into the doors and windows: This eliminates the need to install J-Channel, the time and makes a much cleaner installation.
2. Plan the first course of siding: And then review your plans. Once the first couple of courses or walls of siding are on it is very difficult to changes the starting point. The critical issue here is making sure you take into account starting on the first wall where you wish the siding to start AND to line up on all 4 or more walls. This can be particularly difficult when some walls start on a basement or first story and flow to a second story while other walls don't.
3. Plan for interruptions in the siding: On our front wall the the siding flows from under a porch deck and around and over the deck. It was important to understand what finish is going to be on that deck and take that into account when trimming the siding. This is a lesson a learned too late and now will have to live with a less than prefer trimming approach. Fortunately, most people they will not notice...
4. Take Aesthetics in to consideration: Unless your cottage is less than 12.5 feet square (the length of a siding board) each course of siding will require than one siding board - hence, require joints. Joints are ugly! But I discovered that there is a way to make them disappear when viewing from one primary direction. One cool observation is that the joint is not noticeable from one direction - so make sure you lap the siding such that that direction is facing what you deem as the primary viewing angle.
   

Installing Vinyl Siding: 8 Simple Steps

Although a bit of forward thinking (hey that's planning) is required - and this is the subject of the next post - the process of installing siding, fascia board and soffit goes something like:

1. Install the corner posts: These need to go first. There are two kinds: inside and outside corners.
   
2. Install the Starter strip: This is installed between two corner posts. Use a level and place the strip as low as you can go.
   
3. Install the siding (part 1) : The first piece is locked into the starter strip. TIP 1: Remember to Hang rather than nail the siding (a future post provides details). TIP 2: When cutting a second piece to complete a course I found it easier to cut it so the cut end goes into the corner post or the J-Channel - that way the overlap tab of the two pieces will be facing each other. TIP 3: The second piece in a course much overlap the previous piece - so measure accordingly.
   
4. Install J-Channel (where needed): The primary function of J-Channel is to hold and trim the exposed ends of siding where there is no other means to do so such as a corner post. It is a versatile trim that can be use just about anywhere. If the windows and door have built-in J-Channel then there will not be much need for it but typical uses are to trim around beams and basement windows or steps in your external wall. TIP 1: Use J-Channel to provide the trim where the direction of the soffit changes such as at the corners of a roof. I found this works well as a tab can be created so that it can be nailed to the top of the wall.
   
5. Install the Fascia Board: The fascia board is the trim that covers the fascia framing that was nailed to the end of the rafters. TIP 1: Be sure to have your roofer install roofing starter strip on the edge of the roof, under the first row of shingles. The roofing starter strip makes installing the fascia board easy - just slip the top edge of it under the starter strip. Vinyl fascia board usually comes in a standard 8" width. Thus means you will likely, if you have framed the fascia using 2x6, have to trim the fascia board to something around 5.5 inches - but measure to be sure the correct width. TIP2: Use Fascia board with a built-in F-Channel. TIP 3: I found that the Channel portion of the Fascia board made it such that the nailing strip did could not be used to nail in to the fascia frame so I nailed either a 2x2 or 2x4 (horizontally) against the inside of the fascia. In this way i had a nice nailing location for both the fascia board and the soffit latter. (I am sure that the professionals use another approach but this worked quite nicely for me.
   
6. Install the F-Channel: Like the starter strip this is installed between the corner posts. I was fortunate that I could install the F-Channel, with the 'F' standing upright, where the top of the trim was flush with he top of my wall. This lined up perfectly with the F-Channel in the Fascia board. You may not be as lucky - so using a level may be required to find the right line on which to install the F-Channel on the wall.
   
7. Install the Siding Finish trim and the final siding course (part 2) : The siding finish trim is also installed between the corner posts. The last course of siding needs to be secured at the top. Almost always the last course will be a narrower piece having the top portion, including the nailing strip, cut off. The finishing trip acts to hold the modified siding course in place. This is done by simultaneously slipping the top of the siding in to the finish trim as you click it in to the lower siding.
8. Install the Soffit: These are installed horizontally between the channel in the fascia board and the F-Channel. Most soffit is more structurally strong in one direction than the other. It is important that the soffit be installed so the strength is between the two channels. The soffit I used came in 10-foot lengths that were 16-inches wide. I cut lengths of this to fit the space framed by the two 'channels' less 1/4 inch for expansion. Once in the slot the soffit pieces 'snap' together much like sliding. One nail was used to secure the soffit on the 2x4 installed in step 5 - Tip 3. The last piece of soffit is always difficult to install - all I can say is it just takes a bit of elbow grease...
   

While this order is generally true for straight courses of siding, installing siding on special areas like Gable ends require a few modifications. Because the siding slopes up to the peak in the gable ends you need the support the siding on an angle from the bottom corner to the peak. This is generally accomplished using J-Channel.

Installing Vinyl Siding: Use the Right Trim Options

There are a whole plethora of trim options that can be used for siding. Two key tricks kept the amount and number of types of trim to a simple few.

TIP 1:
Have the J-Channel built into your windows and doors. Wow! This one simple option saved so much time and energy. With this built in there was virtually no requirement for trimming around the windows and doors.

Our list of trim types was very simple:

1. Starting strip
2. Outside corner post
3. Inside Corner post
4. F-Channel
5. J-Channel
6. Fascia with built in F-Channel
7. Drip Cap

With these seven trim accessories plus the siding and soffit the process went very quickly - which is the subject of the next post.

Installing Vinyl Siding: The Tools You Need!

There are a lot of tools you could get. Some very specialized for installing siding. This is what we used:

1. Hammer: My favorite hammer is a framing hammer but I found it to be a bit awkward to use for nailing the siding. It was too long and heavy. You need to have a light hand when nailing siding - as will be revealed in a later post. So a standard 16 ounce hammer is just fine. Everyone in the team needs a hammer.
   
2. Circular saw with fine tooth blade: When you are doing a massive amount of siding having a faster way to cut siding is imperative. Cutting all the siding by using tin snips will make you hands very powerful but take forever... The way to do this is to install a fine toothed blade, like that for plywood, in the reverse direction in a circular saw. Why reverse? Because it cuts a smooth edge through the siding.
   
3. Tin Snips: The circular saw will not cut everything. Much of the fine work and cutting of the trim pieces has to be done by hand. I found that tin snips provide the most versatile cutting tool and a nice smooth cut edge on the siding.
   
4. Tape Measure (and Pencil): You will be doing lots of measuring and marking for cutting. Everyone in the working party should have a pencil and a tape measure. Sharing one will just slow you down.
   
5. Work Table(s): Just about every piece of siding, fascia and trim material comes in 12-foot lengths. Measuring and cutting this material is a real pain unless you have a flat surface at waist height to do it on. I found that those portable work tables that have an adjustable opening in the table were great for supporting both sides of the siding material when cutting them with a circular saw. I used 2 such tables - a third would have been a bit more helpful.
   
6. Level: This is a key tool right at the first when you are installing the starter strip. Once the starter strip is level and nailed in the level waits for the next wall.
   
7. Nail Pouch: Having something to hold a couple hundred roofing nails (that's what you nail the siding on with) plus holding the tin snips, measuring tape and pencil is obvious...
   
8. Safety Glasses: You should always use safety glasses when sawing and nailing. I actually have safety sun glasses - and they stay on my head (and over my eyes) all day long.
   
9. Ladder: There will always be a need for a ladder - even if you have scaffolding.
   
10. Scaffolding: We have covered this ground already - scaffolding is critical for safety and rapid installation.

The specialized siding tools. I found that I just did not need them. In fact I did not purchase them. The possible exception is the siding removal tool. While not critical having this tool would have made removing a siding board much easier - we were able to struggle along without it. The issue is that once a piece of siding is locked in to the one below it getting it unlocked in order to remove it is a bit difficult - but doable with a bit of elbow grease.

Installing Vinyl Siding: 3 Reasons Scaffolding is a Must!

As I have commented before, a critical tool in installing siding particularly for multi-story cottages is scaffolding.

I recommend it highly for the following reasons:

1. Safety: Standing on a ladder 20 or more feet off the ground is dangerous, particularly when the ground is uneven, and you are at the same time trying to juggle a 12 foot piece of siding, a nail and a hammer. Scaffolding removes at least one of those balls.
2. Faster Installation: Picture trying to install a 12-foot piece of siding, 20 feet up... It requires two people and two ladders. It means constantly climbing up and down the two ladders. With a scaffold that is set up the whole length of the surface you are putting siding on, it can be done with one person. That person can simply walk from one end to the other at the height needed.
3. Increases the Quality: We found the perfect setup was one person up on the scaffolding doing the installation and measuring for the next piece while a second person on the ground did all the cutting and otherwise feeding siding and trim materials up to them.

In the picture you can see one-half of the scaffold we eventually built so that we could work on the gable end. We installed the other half to the right side so that the scaffold person could walk from one end of the gable to the other. It turned out that while the scaffold person could install all the siding and soffit, getting set up - that is installing all the trim pieces such as the F-Channel, J-Channel, and starting strip - really required two people on the scaffold. Again, having the scaffold made the job safer and faster. We just carried up all the pieces we needed and installed them all at once - not once did we have to return tot he ground.

I was concerned about the cost of renting scaffolding but in the end it was very inexpensive. For the scaffolding we rented to create a platform 20 feet long and 15 feet high, the cost to rent for roughly 1 month was a little over $100. Well worth the investment!

Installing Vinyl Siding: Terminology

There is a whole bunch of new terminology I had to get my head around. Here are the key items:

Backer Tab: Provides support for non-insulated 8" siding at panel overlaps (joints), and behind panels at corners to ensure a smooth installation.

Butt Edge: Bottom edge of siding/soffit panel or accessory piece opposite the nailing slots. Locks onto the preceding panel.

Channel: Area of accessory trim or corner post where siding/soffit panels are inserted. Also refers to trim itself, and named according to letter of alphabet it resembles (i.e., J-channel, F-channel, etc.).

Course: A row of panels, one panel wide, running the length of the house from one side to the other or, in the case of vertical siding, from top to bottom.

D4 Profile: Two four-inch wide horizontal traditional planks per single panel of siding.

D5 Profile: Two five-inch wide horizontal traditional planks per single panel of siding.

Drip Cap/Head Flashing: An accessory installed with vertical siding to ensure that water drips away from panels and does not infiltrate them; it is also used as a vertical base.

Dutchlap or Shiplap: A more decorative variation on the clapboard style where the face (or width) of the board is beveled for added dimension.

Eaves: The lower, level part of a roof overhanging a wall.

F Molding (or Trim): Molding used for trim that is in the shape of the letter F, used to trim the edge soffit just above the vinyl siding, on the wall side.

Face: The part of the vinyl panel that is visible once the vinyl is installed

Face Nailing: Action of fastening directly onto the face of panel, rather than using the nail hem slot. Generally not used in siding installation.

Fascia: The trim piece nailed to the ends of a series of rafters or trusses to tie them together at the lower, level end of a roof. The fascia supports the sheathing on the edge of the roof as well as the front edge of the soffit.

Fascia Board: The exterior finish nailed to the fascia that is nailed to the rafter or truss ends that runs horizontally around the roof on which the gutters are mounted. The fascia board forms a drip edge for rain water, as well as hides the end of the roof sheathing and soffits.

Flashing: a type of sheet, usually a metal like aluminum, used at intersections of building components to prevent water penetration, flashings are commonly used above doors and windows in exterior walls and are used under the siding to prohibit water penetration

F-channel: A manufacturing component of vinyl or aluminum siding systems which have a channel that the planks fit into, used around windows and doors to make a weathertight seal

Furring/Furring Strip: A wooden or steel framing material, usually 1" x 3", used to provide an even nailing base. To “fur” a surface means to apply these strips.

Gable: The upper triangular-shaped portion of the end wall of a house.

Inside Corner Post: Provides a means of joining at inside corners where siding butts both sides.

J-Channel: Also J Molding (or Trim): Molding used for trim that is in the shape of the letter J, used to trim the edge of siding on all sides of windows and doors, at rake edges of gables and in other miscellaneous situations.

Lap: To overlap ends of two siding panels to allow for expansion and contraction of siding product.

Lap Siding: Technique for installing horizontal siding boards. Each piece of siding is 'lapped' over the piece below it to provide a waterproof covering for the house.

Nailing Hem (or Flange): The section of siding or accessories where the nailing slots are located.

Outside Corner Post: Provides neat appearance outside corners for vertical and horizontal sidings. Receives siding from both sides. Deeper post is used with insulated siding, and narrower post with non-insulated siding.

Positive Lock: ensures that the panels can be locked together, but can also easily slide back and forth for ease in installation. This ensures that the panels stay permanently affixed during adverse weather.

Plumb: A position or measurement that is truly and exactly vertical, 90° from a level surface.

Profiles: The actual siding panels are called profiles. Some commonly sized profiles are D4, D5 and Dutchlap.

PVC: Polyvinyl chloride is the material used to create most vinyl siding.

Rake: The edge of a sloped roof forming the overhang beyond the wall of a gable roof or other sloped roof.

Soffit: The underside of elements of a building, such as overhangs, staircases and beams. Also referes to the material used to enclose the horizontal underside of an eave, cornice, or overhang. Some soffit panels may also be used as vertical siding.

Square: Unit of measure for siding equal to 100 square feet (or a 10-foot by 10-foot wall section).

Square Feet: (also known as: Exterior Square Feet) Exterior Square Feet is a term used to denote the total amount of siding material needed for a particular siding job including material waste.

Starter Strip: Baseline accessory which secures the first course of siding to the wall. Used with horizontal and vertical siding.

Tounge and Groove (T&G): Tongue and groove, a connection system between components, like wood, in which the tab or tongue of one board is placed into the grove at the end of another board

Wall Cladding : Another term for siding

Wall Sheathing: Sheets of plywood or wood planking used to cover the wall framework of the house. This is the material that the siding is nailed to.

Weep Holes: A small hole in the bottom butt edge of the vinyl siding panel, or other accessories, allowing condensation to escape.

Windload Pressure: Is a measurement of how well a panel might perform in high wind areas

Window Head Flashing: Possible alternative to J-channel to receive siding over doors and windows and as a base flashing on vertical siding installations.

So now you will understand some of the terms I use in later posts. Over time I will also drop in pictures and diagrams of the above components.

Installing Vinyl Siding: Why Vinyl? versus Wood or Alluminum

The three basic choices for siding material are aluminum, vinyl and wood. Choosing vinyl was a very easy choice for me. Here are some of the pros and cons of each type:

Wood:
Pros:

• Strong material - long use
  
• Adds insulation R-value
• Takes lots of abuse
• Can be any colour, stain, or varnish

Cons:

• Requires maintenance - mostly periodic painting
• Can rot, mildew if subjected to water in a shady area
• Expensive
  

Aluminum:
Pros:

• Strong material - in that it is metal
• Aluminum siding maintains the same properties year round despite the temperature.
  
• Aluminum siding takes paint better if you ever decide to re-paint.
  

Cons:

• Aluminum is a rigid material with little flexibility. You bend it, and it's damaged.
• Easy to damage, bend, and scratch while installing and when installed
  
• Can require special tools
• Aluminum is a painted metal, and the paint can fade with time.
• Aluminum siding can be dented. If a piece of aluminum siding is damaged, it is difficult to replace.
  

Vinyl:
Pros:

• Takes lots of abuse before it is damaged
• Very easy to cut and install
• Not damaged by water or moisture
• Vinyl's color goes all the way through the plastic, so there is no fading. Scratches would be barely noticeable.
• Vinyl resists denting. A section of vinyl siding can be replaced in minutes using a tool that looks something like a bottle opener.

Cons:

• Vinyl siding does become slightly brittle during the winter time.
• Vinyl siding also expands and contracts in greater fluctuation than aluminum siding.
• It is not recommended to paint vinyl.

Aluminum siding has lost tremendous market share since the release of vinyl siding. Some statistics report as much as 80% of all sidings installed are vinyl. Aluminum siding is still very common for trim pieces because of its flexible properties. It is very easy to custom bend an aluminum trim piece.

In most situations it is recommended to install vinyl siding with aluminum trim pieces. Overall vinyl is more durable, has solid color and is cheaper than aluminum.

Vinyl was the obvious choice for our cottage because it met the following criteria:

• Very easy to install with tools I already had
• Takes a lot of physical abuse before it is damaged. With all the banging, dragging on the ground, falling, etc. I can't imagine that Aluminum siding would stand up to our installation.
• Near zero maintenance - I have absolutely no interest in painting so wood siding was out.

What has been you experience with installing siding? What choices did you make and why?

4 Tips for Installing Vinyl Siding

The siding is almost completed!

This past weekend we almost completed the siding and the soffet.

It was wickedly hot, way over 30 degrees C, and almost no clouds in the sky. With the humidity it was sweltering working under the sun. At times I was worried about sun stroke for my son and myself, as we were feeling woozy a few times.

With the sun frying our brains the work just took longer. Anyway... I am not complaining. This weather is much better than the constant rain this summer. At least we were able to work!

I had done a bit of siding in a previous building project, but we learned much about installing siding, fascia and soffet in this much bigger and more sophisticated building project. I'll share it with you over the next few posts. But first a few key points:

1. Get scaffolding - it will make the work go faster and much safer. The key is to get enough scaffolding so that you can do an entire wall from end to end in one go. Using a ladder to extend the reach horizontally is simply a pain.
   
2. Get the right tools - more on that coming but included in the set of tools you need are a skill saw, two kinds of 'scissors', measuring tools, a level, a hammer and a siding remover tool.
   
3. Get the right siding accessories: There is a huge number of various accessories for holding, securing, and covering the siding. It is important to use the right accessory in the right place. There are different accessories for the top, sides and bottom of the siding. There are different methods for installing around windows. And that is just for the siding. There is a whole other set of accessories for installing both fascia and soffet. We will explore these over the next few posts.
4. Plan Way in Advance: There is an important order in putting up the siding that starts as far back as ordering the windows. yes! even before you have picked out the colour of the siding you could be building into the design of the windows an important element for installing siding. Stay tuned for more in latter posts.

Project Status:
In the above picture you can see all the siding, fascia and soffet is now complete on the east and south sides of the cottage. There is a bit uncompleted just under the porch because we needed to install plywood as the ceiling which I had not yet received. [That is part of the planning tip... understand what you need and when you will needed it - of course in this case it wouldn't have mattered as we changed our minds on how to handle this area.]

The other two sides are about 90% complete - the siding is installed but not the fascia and soffet.

Labour Day... Chill'n with a Beer on the Deck

If you read this on September 1st, that is Labour Day, and I will be relaxing, if only for a moment, sitting in a comfy chair enjoying a cold beer.

Try to picture me sitting in this picture... about where the pile of cedar deck boards as that pile is now gone as they have been installed on the deck.