DIY vinyl siding installation

Recommendation points

• Making a frame for siding
• Installation of accessories and vinyl mounting profiles
• We mount siding panels
• Features of fastening siding
• Cutting vinyl panels and accessories

In modern construction, vinyl siding is a very popular material for facing the facades of buildings of any purpose: residential, commercial, administrative, industrial. It is made from polymers (polyvinylchlorides) that can withstand severe temperature extremes, successfully resisting precipitation, aggressive chemicals, and mechanical stress. Siding does not support combustion, does not emit harmful substances, its outer coating is extremely durable and stable.

Manufacturers offer a lot of colors, as well as options for the shapes and textures of siding, including special panels for the basement and soffits, which are used to hem the gable and eaves of the roof. Houses faced with siding have a well-groomed, attractive appearance, but most importantly, their facades are very practical and durable, practically do not require any maintenance during operation. With all the positive aspects, siding also has a very affordable price..

Due to its low weight, the siding is mounted on fairly light frames, sometimes even over the old siding. Under vinyl panels, you can easily place a layer of insulation of almost any thickness. Siding installation works do not have wet cycles and therefore are often carried out in the winter, and in record time. Sheathing a private house on their own, without hiring builders, is within the power of many, because the technology of wall cladding with siding is quite simple and has been worked out for years.

Making a frame for siding

For wall cladding with siding, you will need to make a reliable, even crate of wood or metal, which will serve as a load-bearing basis for insulation, vapor barrier and, in fact, finishing panels.

Before starting the installation of the frame, you should prepare the surface of the walls: remove the old cladding, areas of poorly adhering plaster; dismantle shutters, ebbs, lighting devices, storm gutters and other protruding objects. Further, if necessary, you need to repair the base – seal up all kinds of holes and cracks with cement mortar or polyurethane foam, prime the metal elements.

A very important step in creating a lathing is wall hanging and marking. Holes are drilled in the upper corners of the wall and pieces of reinforcement with a length of about 200-300 mm are hammered into them. A plumb line is lowered from the upper pins and the lower rods are drilled. After installing the reinforcement, the lighthouse cords are pulled at the required distance from the base. By measuring the distance to the threads with a tape measure, you can very accurately determine how flat our wall is and, if necessary, make adjustments to the beacons with respect to the protruding sections. Now you can mark the places of the profiles and install suspensions.

Nowadays, specialized frame systems are produced from galvanized metal with a thickness of about 1 mm, they are, of course, very reliable, but they have a rather high cost. That is why the profiles used for the installation of drywall are widely used, which successfully withstand the weight of the insulation and the siding itself. They are time-tested, the main thing is to correctly install.

CD profile for plasterboard fixing

Racks made of CD-profile are placed vertically, at a distance of 400 to 500 mm along their axes. They are installed either on the blind area, or on a base, clearly extended beyond the plane of the wall. For the convenience of setting the frame along the bottom of the intended plane, a UD-profile guide is attached, into which the racks are inserted.

Particular attention must be paid to the places where the siding fittings will be installed: the outer and inner corner, the connecting strip. The fact is that the width of galvanized racks is 60 mm, which is not enough for fastening most vinyl hardware profiles. Therefore, at the corners and under the connecting H-bar, paired CD or twisted in pairs CD and UD profiles are used. Sometimes they get out of the situation by moving the profiles away from the corner under the nail holes of vinyl accessories. Some masters collect the corner from horizontal short stubs – “ladder”.

CD jumpers are installed around windows, doors, at the bottom and at the top of the walls, while it would seem that it would be more logical to apply a guide profile in these places, but a large width of the mounting area is needed – here the initial and final strips will be located. Along the edge of the slopes, additional racks are installed in the plane of the wall. To fasten the siding window strip, on or near the frame, install a UD profile.

U-shaped straight hangers are installed strictly vertically along the line of the racks. The distance between them is taken to be approximately 500-600 mm. Fastening is done with dowels to mineral bases or self-tapping screws to wooden structures. If the frame must be spaced from the base, for example, to compensate for irregularities or laying insulation, then instead of suspensions, consoles made of cut-off profiles are used, they will give additional strength to the frame and allow you to fix the racks at a great distance.

Through the perforation of the straight hangers, the frame profiles are easily installed in a strictly vertical position. First, the extreme racks are mounted along a plumb line, then along the threads stretched between them – in turn all the other intermediate profiles. CD fastening to hangers or consoles is made using galvanized self-tapping screws with a 9.5 mm drill.

For facing the gables, vertical siding is sometimes used, therefore, metal profiles are fixed horizontally with a certain number of jumpers located perpendicularly through 500 mm, which prevent the bending of the supporting frame elements. According to the same scheme, a frame for basement siding is mounted, a distinctive feature here will be the distance between the profiles, which is equal to the height of the siding panel – usually 460 mm.

Sometimes for the installation of the frame, a dry (up to 15% moisture) wooden beam is used, which is also fixed perpendicular to the location of the siding strips. The cross-section of wooden racks is taken from the calculation of the thickness of the insulation layer and is usually not less than 50×50 mm. As a rule, the plane of the wooden lathing is exposed by using substrates and planing beams mounted to the base through the body. However, the use of consoles or direct suspensions and, consequently, a spaced frame is not excluded. Before installation, all racks should be treated with special compounds that protect wooden structural elements from moisture, mold, and insect pests. Double-width lumber is used at the corners and joints of siding strips. The main advantage of wooden lathing is its affordable price compared to metal, but it is more difficult to level the wall with wood, therefore, they often work with it on an even, steep base..

Sometimes the siding is installed on a solid sheathing of a wooden or brick wall, which is moisture-resistant plywood or OSB, at least 20 mm thick. By the way, this type of base is most often recommended by manufacturers.

Installation of accessories and vinyl mounting profiles

Accessories and fittings for installation help to give the facade an attractive appearance, they create a sense of completeness, sometimes they perform the function of decoration (for example, if they are of a different color than siding). Some of them are fasteners. Siding manufacturers produce the following profiles, using which you can clad a facade of any configuration:

• Internal corner;
• Outside corner;
• Starting strip;
• Ending strip;
• F-profile;
• G-profile, end plate;
• H-profile, connecting strip;
• Chamfer, cornice panel;
• Platband;
• Drain;
• Window plank.

After assembling the frames using the water level, determine the lowest point of the facade, which will be covered with cladding panels. Next, you need to put marks from the most clamped place along one horizontal line at all corners of the building, then step back from them up to the width of the starting strip and pull the threads at this level, or mark with a chopping cord. This will be the reference line along which the upper edge of the starting bar is attached..

1. Vinyl siding. 2. Frame made of CD-profile or timber. 3. Window strip.
4. Outside corner or inside corner for corresponding corners. 5. Soffit panel.
6. Initial profile. 7. Finish bar. 8. H-profile connector. 9. Drain bar. 10. J-profile.

The starting strip is attached with self-tapping screws every 200 mm along an already defined line, which is why frame jumpers are horizontally placed along the lower border of the working plane. A temperature gap of 6-10 mm must be left between two joining starting profiles, the same distance is maintained to the outer / inner corners and other accessories. When siding is mounted from a protruding basement, a drain bar is often screwed on before installing the starting strip.

Now we install the corner strips, external and internal. They are placed 5-6 mm below the upper edge of the wall and the same distance lower than the lower edge of the starting strip. First, the angle is screwed through the very edge of the upper mounting hole, after which the vertical is carefully set using a level or plumb line and the profile is fixed every 200 mm, already placing screws or nails in the centers of the mounting holes.

If it is necessary to connect two corner strips along the length, then they are mounted with an overlap of 20 mm. To do this, a 25 mm nail edge is cut out from the upper part, 5 mm of the difference is the expansion gap. The overlap joint will prevent water infiltration under the tiled surface.

Near windows and doors located in deep openings, a window strip is used, which simultaneously forms the outer corner and closes the plane of the slopes. A finishing strip is installed directly next to the frames and sutures. If the windows are in the plane of the frame, then the adjoining of the siding to the windows is carried out by means of platbands.

Sometimes, if space permits, the slopes are made out using the outer corner profile located in the plane of the wall, and the G-profile adjacent to the frame. In this case, the body of the slope is covered with siding scraps..

Any planks over windows and doors should have cutouts in the inner part and folds of the cut parts into side profiles. The corners of horizontal and lateral vinyl profiles are trimmed at 45 ° only on the front surface, the rear nail edges overlap. Such an operation plan allows you to create reliable drainage channels..

A drainage profile is often installed under the window opening to drain rainwater. Inside the horizontal accessories framing windows and doors, a final strip is previously inserted, it will securely fix the cut parts of the siding strips.

In addition to the previously listed cases, the final profile is installed at the very top of the wall, at the point of its abutment to the hemmed roof box (soffit).

If the wall adjoins the enclosing structures or there is a need to arrange the end part of the facing panels, then a G-profile is used for this purpose. Most often it can be seen on the gables, near doors and windows that are pushed into the facing plane, on the side ends of the walls, when filing a soffit.

We mount siding panels

When all the auxiliary elements are in place, you can proceed to the most enjoyable part of the work – directly to the installation of the cladding panels. The lowest panel is installed first. It is inserted into the start strip lock and fixed on the frame racks, starting from the middle, moving to the edges. Next, we insert each subsequent panel into the lock of the previous one, make sure that the strips are tightly connected along the entire length of the lower edge, we fasten.

Attention! When installing the panels, they must not be pulled upwards so as not to distort the horizontal line of the seams and overload the locks.

The length of the siding strips should be 7-10 mm short of the accessories to ensure unhindered thermal expansion. When working in the cold season, this gap should be increased to 13 mm.

The siding can be connected not only through the H-profile, but also with an overlap. To do this, the strips are wound one on top of the other by 25 mm, having previously cut out the nail edges at a distance that allows for a temperature gap of 15-20 mm from each panel. The joints are displaced relative to each other by at least 600-1000 mm. Typically, such connections are made on the rarely viewed back walls of the house, using siding leftovers / trimmings that are at least 600 mm in length..

The last panel is cut in width so that it fits into the final strip, but does not reach the 5-7 mm stop. Further, using a “punch” (a device for extruding latch ears), holes are punched 6-10 mm from the edge every 150-200 mm. We put the strip prepared in this way into the lock of the previous panel and push its already perforated top into the final profile. The same is done with the cut-off horizontal parts of the panels, which are mounted using the final profiles above or below the window..

Attention! Manufacturers prohibit the use of any sealants when installing siding.

Features of fastening siding

As fasteners, use galvanized self-tapping screws with a wide head (at least 8 mm), nails or long staples for a construction stapler. It is impossible for the diameter of screws and nails to exceed 3.2 mm.

The fasteners must pass strictly through the middle of the nail hole. Sometimes you have to expand it, for this they use a special tool – a perforator that punches longitudinal holes in the siding.

It is imperative that the nails and screws enter the frame strictly perpendicular to the plane, this will prevent the panels from warping and cracking.

Fasteners must not be pressed tightly to the vinyl; a gap of about 1 mm must be left between the caps and the siding.

Attention! It is strictly forbidden to nail panels through vinyl. The only exception is the installation of the cornice chamfer..

A properly mounted strip should have some side-to-side movement, this is due to the fact that vinyl siding expands and contracts under the influence of temperature changes, it needs free space for this.

Cutting vinyl panels and accessories

Vinyl siding and profiles are very convenient to cut with an electric radial saw, for this they use a plywood disc with fine teeth, set in the opposite direction. Also, vinyl is cut well with a grinder with a metal or abrasive disc. Some builders use hacksaws for metal. In any case, the panels need to be cut off under a square, carefully and slowly, starting with a strong fastening edge..

You can trim and adjust the panels, making small cuts, with a sharp knife, when working with which it is not necessary to completely cut through the vinyl, but simply make an incision on the front side and break the material.

When cutting complex lines, sharp metal scissors can come in handy. A clean cut is obtained when scissor blades are used on? their length.

Attention! Wear protective goggles and respirators when operating a power tool, as fine vinyl debris and dust may form.

Getting started with vinyl siding, you need to familiarize yourself with the installation recommendations from a particular manufacturer.