Replace Damaged Siding

Tools:

workbench
saw horses and some lumber to make a work surface
ladder
pry bars
hammers
carpenter's pencil
reveal block
caulking gun
levels
staple gun and hammer stapler
utility knife
five-in-one painter's tool
file
power drill
safety glasses
paint brush
shearing tool
caulk
tar paper
fiberboard siding pieces
nails
primer
flashing

1. Remove existing siding with pry bars (figure A). Be careful to keep siding pieces intact to use as templates when cutting new siding. Lay the siding pieces out in the order they were removed to help keep track of things. Also remove any fixtures, such as vents or light fixtures, as you go (figure B). Turn the power off before removing electrical fixtures.

2. Remove any perforated paper backing and replace it with new vapor barrier. Use the hammer stapler to staple the vapor barrier paper to the frame. Staple the paper at six-inch intervals.

3. Cut the fiberboard planks using a shearing tool, which carves out a narrow groove for waste material and leaves a nice clean edge.

5. Use a power drill and make perforations in the planks to carve away circular areas to fit around fixtures (figure D). Take the painter's tool and chip away at the cut line a bit to weaken it, then break out the area with a small hammer.

6. Install flashing around openings such as vents to protect the siding. Install fixtures with galvanized screws.

7. When installing the siding pieces, stagger them so you don't have one big seam dividing the wall.

8. Seal every seam with outdoor caulk (figure E).