Replace Wood PLANK Siding

[Richard Argentieri]

A friend of mine has asked me to help him replace some sections of his tongue and groove plank siding that has rotted in this God forsaken South Florida climate.

Evidently he has done it before a few years back, and by the sound of it he'll probably be doing it again in a few years. He told me that he used a circular saw and some wood filler last time, but that it was very slow and he kept over cutting the boards (hence the wood filler). I can't imagine a circular saw being the best way to remove the rotted sections, but I can't think of another way either.

I would also imagine that you would want to cut the seams at 45s like shoe or crown mold since there will be a lot of movement in this humidity. It looks like he butted flat ends together on the sections he replaced last time and you can see where the caulk he used is pulling away.

As you can tell, I've never had to do this before so I'd like to hear some suggestions and experiences before going down the wrong path. What tools would you use? Does anyone have some tips/tricks for easier removal and installation? Is there anything we should do to prolong the life of these new sections?

I really appreciate any help!

Rich

[Chris Padilla]

Do you happen to have any pictures to help us help you out, Rich?

[Joe Scharle]

If it were mine, I'd tear it all off and redo with Hardiplank.

I've used my Roto-zip to cut out rot, but from the way it sounds, there's a lot of it!

[Richard Argentieri]

Unfortunately I don't have a photo, but I've asked him to send me one. He and the wife have decided that they will probably be looking for a new home in the next 6-12 mos, so I don't think they want to go to all the trouble of replacing everything with Herdiplank.

I thought of the roto-zip as well, but that would produce a straight edge along the seams instead of a 45. Is that even an issue?

[Steve Schoene]

If he is going to put the house on the market, doing a shoddy looking job is going to be a big problem. Home inspectors would pick up on it, and prospective buyers would either just walk, or would negotiate the price down by about twice what it would cost him to repair in right. In this market--and don't expect the market to have fully turned around in 12 months, let alone 6 months--buyers can call the tune.

[Richard Argentieri]

Agreed. I didn't mean to give the impression that anyone was looking to do shoddy work just to put this on the market.

I think their possible move is only a factor in when discussing replacement of ALL the siding on the entire house with a composite like Hardiplank vs. keeping the wood and replacing the dozen or so questionable planks that have some rot or softness.

You can do a quality job, replace them with new wood planks and not upgrade the entire home's siding. Personally, I would have replaced all the wood siding years ago with a lower maintenance composite. Of course, it's not my house (or money) so it's really up to them.