Installation of basement siding with your own hands

Recommendation points

• The specifics of working with siding panels
• Installing the carrier subsystem
• Decorative and additional fittings
• Cladding sequence
• Key installation features

To give a complete look to the facade finish, it is necessary to veneer the basement of the building. For these purposes, a special basement siding is well suited: the material is easy to install, does not require maintenance, qualitatively protects the foundation and is characterized by a long service life.

The specifics of working with siding panels

Siding, which is conventionally called basement, is successfully used for finishing all parts of the facade up to the gables. Its main difference is the form factor: unlike the usual planks, the “basement” cladding is performed with panels, which brings a number of nuances to the installation process.

Firstly, due to the increased width, the panel acquires a tendency to thermal expansion not only in the horizontal but also in the vertical direction. This problem is partly solved by the presence on the seamy side of high-quality panels of stiffeners, and sometimes a reinforcing system.

On the sunny side of the building, it is required to ensure not only free movement of the panel with horizontal displacement, but also at least a minimum gap between the rows. It is characteristic that some manufacturers of basement siding have such a feature provided technologically, due to which the difference in the thickness of the horizontal seams at the junction of the panels is not so noticeable.

On the other hand, the large area of ​​the panel obliges to carry out a preliminary calculation and establish an accurate layout. At the vertical joints, the panels have a breakdown of decorative elements for connection into a tooth. To lead the edge into the secret groove of the corner strip, the siding has to be trimmed. This should be done in such a way that:

• the length of the outer panels was not less than the value set by the manufacturer (20–30 cm);
• in each row, the vertical joints were displaced relative to adjacent ones by the width of two or three decorative elements;
• the bottom row was close to the ground or the foundation area.

Installing the carrier subsystem

The frame for plinth siding cladding can be equipped with both wooden beams and galvanized profiles. The massiveness and protective treatment of materials must ensure their service life, comparable to that of the panels. The newest word in siding installation systems is plastic sheathing. Unlike lamellas, for basement siding, the horizontal direction of the lathing or a cross-type frame is considered optimal.

The need for horizontal elements is due to the insufficiently high rigidity of the panels. To withstand shock loads, a fairly frequent step of installing the racks is required – 35–40 cm. At the same time, not every manufacturer has a sufficiently frequent step and a well-thought-out layout of the mounting holes. Because of this, it often happens that there is no fixing hole opposite the post, it either has to be made with a hand mill, or the fixing point is skipped. The horizontal elements of the frame are much simpler to calculate: the center-to-center pitch of their installation is equal to the height of the panels themselves.

Regardless of the presence of the insulation circuit and its type, siding remains a ventilated facade system. Therefore, the presence of a gap under it is strictly necessary, another question is how thick it should be. The ventilation intensity under the cladding should increase in proportion to the thickness of the insulation. If no insulation is used, the minimum air gap is 25–30 mm. The elements of the bearing subsystem of this thickness provide the optimal fastening strength and the depth of immersion of fasteners recommended by most manufacturers.

The most characteristic feature of the frame for siding is the lack of attachment to the blind area. The lower horizontal crossbar is supported by short inserts, which are fixed on a guide rail, tightly pressed against the supporting wall layer by the weight of the entire structure.

Decorative and additional fittings

Together with the basement siding, the same wide range of accessories is used as when installing lamellas. For each manufacturer of siding panels, the shape, dimensions and other features of the fittings are designed for the use of a specific ordinary material, although within the framework of the products of one brand, special elements are unified for use with all existing collections.

The most significant differences are typical for those components that are used in the formation of slopes, openings and specific abutments. Such components include platbands, corner elements and slope extensions – these products help to avoid the difficulties of corner trimming, but at the same time they are characterized by very specific differences in the shape of the profile. The inner and outer corners have a slightly greater degree of unification – despite the rather large contrast in appearance, the thickness, depth of the groove and the fastening system remain practically unchanged.

The most standardized are the main mounting accessories such as starter strips, J-profiles and top row end strips. Although additional elements from different manufacturers can be interchangeable, it makes no sense to use such diverse sets in the facade cladding. At the same time, knowledge of this feature can be useful when siding bypasses non-standard architectural elements and complex junctions..

Cladding sequence

Installation of basement siding is carried out after the complete installation of the blind area. The best connection along the bottom contour is when the siding hangs over the blind area, making it difficult for water to flow down the wall. If the sheathing rises under the roof overhang, the soffits should be sewn up last..

Cladding installation begins with the installation of external and internal corners, as well as platbands and frames of openings. J-profiles are also installed, separating the cladding areas of different colors or textures. Ultimately, flat areas remain for finishing with basement siding, bounded on the sides by elements with a hidden groove.

One of the most specific installation conditions is when the blind area is located at a slope. In this case, instead of the starting strip, a J-profile or a starting row with an ebb is attached to the bottom of the crate. Subsequently, the panels must be trimmed so that their upper lock is aligned in a strictly horizontal line.

The installation of the siding begins with screwing the starting strip onto the lower crossbar, replacing the upper lock of the lower row panel. The strip should be located strictly horizontally, the height of its installation should provide a gap from the blind area of ​​the order of 10-15 mm.

After that, the sections of the walls are filled with panels. They are fixed strictly in rows, starting from the lower left corner of each section. If the layout scheme is known in advance, the first panel is cut into two halves, resulting in the left and right extreme extensions..

At the end of the installation, the top panel is cut in height and brought out into the soffit sheathing plane or slightly higher. For its fastening, a final strip is used, which allows you to trim the panel with a lack of height, hide the cut edge or top lock and fix the soffit crate.

Key installation features

When working independently with basement siding, you should adhere to several rules to ensure the safety and appearance of the facade finish. The main subtlety lies in the free fastening by analogy with the siding strip: after tightening the self-tapping screw is released so that a gap of at least 1 mm remains between the panel lock and the head. In this case, the fixation must be carried out exactly in the center of the hole. And if with ordinary siding, just a free fastening is enough, then in the case of panels, a screw that is too much unscrewed will simply not allow the horizontal seam lock to snap into place.

Cutting of plastic panels should not be carried out using angle grinders with a circular disc for wood – cut edges are too “shaggy”. It is better for this purpose to use discs for metal with a fine tooth, a hand-held circular saw or a jigsaw. Also, some types of siding cut well with metal scissors..

Shaped facade elements do not always require separation of adjacent wall sections using a docking or J-profile. A classic example is a bay window with gentle angles. For the most aesthetic cladding, the siding panel is laid on the edge of the table and heated with a building hair dryer along the bend line on the side that will experience tension when bent. The better the siding, the easier it is to bend it, although even cheap samples do not experience color and shape distortions with a fairly accurate approach. It should be noted that each panel can only be folded in one place.