Fiber Cement Siding

Fiber cement siding can be easily installed and requires no special finish. It comes in a variety of colors and styles of cement, wood and sand. When installing fiber cement siding you will need; a hammer, galvanized nails, a utility knife, a ladder, a saw, a level, a tape measure and asphalt felt. Firstly apply the asphalt felt ensuring that it overlaps by at least two inches, so that it avoids water damage to the wall or shingles. Starting at a bottom corner of the wall, ensure the starting shingle is level, place a nail in the top corner of the shingle. Most fiber cement siding shingles already have predrilled holes in the appropriate locations. Put the second shingle against the first, ensuring its level and nail into place. Continue this process until you reach the end of the surface or encounter an obstacle such as a window or a door. Once you reach an end, you will likely need to cut the ending shingle to the correct size, possibly eliminating the predrilled nail hole. If this happens you can either drill another or use more force. You should check the measurements of the last shingle space by measuring the width across the top and across the bottom of the area, prior to cutting the last shingle, as the area may not be square. Doing this check may save you from wasting a shingle. Additionally, once you reach the last row, you may need to cut the shingles in order for them to fit securely at the top of the wall. Keep in mind that they may not all be the same size and it may be worth the extra time to measure each shingle area across to ensure the correct size for each. Continue with each wall the same process.