How To Replace Damaged Cedar Siding

by Grace Motley

While cedar siding is great for giving a home a more rustic look, you do not want your siding to cause your home to look old or run down. When cedar siding breaks by cracking, fading, or curling, it can become contagious and eventually spread to nearby pieces of siding. It is important to replace these damaged sections immediately, as problems with the cedar siding will only get worse if they are ignored.

Aging Your Siding

The biggest issue you will have with repairing cedar siding is getting the new piece to blend in with the old pieces. Cedar siding does age over time, and the overall appearance will change by becoming darker. That is why it is important to purchase extra cedar siding when it is installed, and let those extra pieces age with the siding on your home.

If you do age your siding, when it comes time to replace damaged pieces, you will have new sections of siding that will blend in perfectly. If not, there will be a mismatch in color. You might be able to buy aged wood, from a contractor like Classic Remodeling Corporation, that will be a close match to your siding.

Removing the Damaged Siding

You will need to be extra careful to remove the damaged piece of siding so that it is still in one piece. This is because cedar siding does not come in a standard size, so you will need to use the damaged siding as a guide for creating your new piece of siding.

All you should need is a crowbar to remove the nails that hold the siding in place. The old piece will come right off using a little bit of pressure.

Sizing the New Siding

Your new piece of siding will need to be cut down in terms of width to fit into the existing space of the old piece of siding. Due to the natural look of cedar siding, the height is not as important; it just needs to be close.

Take a larger piece of aged siding, and lay the damaged piece on top of it. Mark where the ends of the siding fall, and use these lines as a guide for cutting with your chop saw.

Installing The New Siding

With the new piece of cedar siding properly cut to size, it should fit right into place without having to force it. There is no need to use previous nail holes, but you will want to use nails that are the same depth as the previous ones. A couple nails across the width of the piece of siding is all you need.

Now that you know how to replace cedar siding on your home, you will be able to keep it looking good throughout the years by replacing damaged siding as soon as you notice the problem.

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