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Install Base Rows of Cedar Siding

3:43
20:11
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At 3:43 in

Installing Cedar Siding Is Easier Than you Think

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What happens here

Begin installing the cedar tongue and groove siding, starting with the first row directly above the siding vent. Traditionally, the tongue and groove design allows for concealed fastening by nailing through the tongue, which is then covered by the groove of the subsequent board. For the initial row, it's recommended to face-nail the bottom edge in addition to nailing through the tongue to prevent the board from 'kicking out' from the wall. For all subsequent rows, only nail through the tongue at an angle to secure the board and conceal the fasteners. Consistently use a level throughout the installation to ensure each row remains perfectly straight, as even small deviations can accumulate and affect the overall appearance.

Goal: Securely install the initial rows of cedar siding, ensuring proper concealment of fasteners.

Tools and materials

  • 15-Gauge DA Nailer Ryobi — Fastening the cedar siding boards
  • Cedar Tongue and Groove Siding — The primary material for the exterior cladding
  • Exterior-Grade DA Nails — Securing the cedar siding
  • Level — Ensuring the siding rows are perfectly horizontal

What they say

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fine. Here's something that I didn't consider when doing this. Every guy will recommend to install the siding tongue and groove using an actual siding gun. What does it do? It does really good job holding the pieces on. But the problem that it does is doesn't create a really good job concealing the actual nail head. So, what I mean by it is traditionally when you use brad nails, you shoot them right in the tongue and so the groove sits right over it and then you won't see anything. Moisture is not going to get in there or anything like that. The siding guns, the problem with them, just for illustration purposes, if we shot it like say as close to the center as we can, anything more than that will rip that tongue off. When you put it on, there's still a reveal. So, you would have to silicone that up and that's just an ugly look. Second method of installing them some guys are using is actual really like narrow screws like cabinet screws that have a very small head on top of them. They work great. They're actually pretty concealable. They hold really tight. The problem is is it's going to take you an eternity to actually install them all. The third best, which actually is probably the number one best solution here that I found after talking to all these guys is using a 15 gauge DA nailer. 15 gauge, that's the thickness of that nail. The DA, the D is for the head of that nail. It's shaped like a D. The A means it's an angled exterior grade nails. Here's the great thing about it. Uh, it's concealable. As you can see, I shot a bunch of them in here. And just for demonstration purposes, we'll throw in another one. It's beautiful. It's thin enough. And then on top of it, it conceals it. Well, that's a terrible example, isn't it? There we go. It conceals it perfectly. Here's the only kicker. Uh, you could still use them all, but it's helpful if you actually put two DA nails per fur strip. That'll allow for you to actually have extra binding in there. So, you're playing with essentially 30 gauge worth of steel in there. And to make it even better, shoot your nails at an angle. One at this angle, one at that angle, and allow for it to have so much more strength so this stuff doesn't start popping off like it's regular old brad nails. All right, guys. Over the past few years, we've been transforming our house with major home improvements from inside out. Well, that is why I'm excited to talk to you about the sponsors of today's video, Figure Helock. Whether you're…

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