Installing the Vinyl Siding

They started installing the vinyl siding while we were at the beach.

We drove to the house before we drove home. Everything was set up. Were they working after 7:00 on a Sunday? There were no trucks. We called and no one answered. Did something happen and they had to drop everything and rush off the job? No. This crew just leaves at the end of the day. They drop everything and drive away. They say they have never had anything stolen. Maybe people see everything and think they must be there somewhere. We did.

We researched a lot of options before we decided on vinyl siding. Even after we were sure this was the most low maintenance practical choice, I was still not sure.  We love it!

The post on how we chose vinyl siding over lots of other options is here: Choosing the Siding >

The crew that installed the siding was the most cheerful bunch of guys I’ve ever seen. They sang and laughed every time I was there.

“They’re gonna put me in the movies. They’re gonna make a big star out of me” is still going through my head. They started singing it every time they saw me taking pictures.

One guy was new and they kept telling him what a good job he was doing. They all just really seemed to be enjoying working together.

They were very conscientious. One place had a slightly crooked cut to it. The supervisor checked everything and marked it to be replaced. Gotta say, we are really impressed with their work.

How Vinyl Siding Is Installed

Here is what they did. First, they nailed down this starter strip along the bottom.

Then they nail these pieces, corner posts on the sides. The corner posts start just below the starter strip and run to just under the eaves. They made sure the corner pieces were perfectly square and straight.

J-Channel

They put J-channel around windows and doors. It was flush against the window casing.

Guys worked from the ground up. There was a crew on every wall of the house working up as high as they could. They would call out their numbers and there was a guy on either end of the house cutting the vinyl for them.

These guys were working on each side of the house.

They call out their numbers and he cuts the vinyl. In a lot of places he figures and cuts angles.

Then a guy runs the vinyl to the guy nailing it to the wall.

They leave a little bit of a gap. This is because vinyl siding expands and contracts with the temperature. The pieces are overlapped a little bit. There are slots in the vinyl siding for the nails.

Once they got higher than they could reach, they set up ladder jacks and scaffolds. They install the siding from the platform.

The guy attaches the piece of vinyl to a bungee to pull up.

Soffit

This is the soffit. Some areas have vent holes, other areas are solid. The soffit is cut, then fitted into J-channels.

They nailed J-channel under the fascia. Then they installed these white pieces. It looks like they just popped it between the channel pieces. They are vented for some areas. They followed the house plans to know what went where.

Fascia

There are lots of little pieces that have to be measured, cut, bent and fitted together.

The fascia is made of aluminum. The aluminum came in a flat coiled strip.  They took the measurements and bent the fascia pieces to fit perfectly with this machine.

This machine bends the aluminum.

Ceilings

Here the vinyl is finished on the front porch.

First they nailed up wood.

The porches and carport are made out of the same vinyl as the soffit.

Then they put in white vinyl pieces.

These vents aren’t real. They are just for looks.

These vents aren’t real. They are just for looks. If they opened them up and they were real vents, they would interfere with attic ventilation system.

At first I thought they put the vent on the front in the wrong place. It looked too low.

But once they got the corbels on, it looked right. You would think as much as I have stared at the photo, I would remember.

Almost everything is Dutch Lap. The front of the house has Board & Batten above a trim board over the windows.

Next: The Back Porch >