Third Saturday — Siding

"The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists." - Charles Dickens

"Siding is so easy," Gary said Saturday, "that I'm going to let women do it."

A chorus of "boo" rose up from the gathering of women at Lowe's. A pair of work gloves flew over the top of everyone's heads and struck Gary's chest.

We were installing siding over a solid wall but were told if there was a door or window, the brick molding surrounding them would have to be installed before any siding. But when that is taken care of, a "J channel" is used to surround doors and windows. A J channel is called such because when you sight down the strip, it curves like the letter "J."

So, we got right down to it. We measured and snapped a chalk line towards the bottom of our wall to properly install the starter strip. A starter strip anchors the first piece of siding in place. After that, siding hooks onto the strip below it. The starter strip was nailed in place then came the outdoor corner molding. The corner molding was measured one-fourth of an inch away from the top of the wall because siding "breathes," Gary said. It expands and contracts with the weather and the extra space allows for that.

The first nail hammered in has to go at the top of the nailing grooves so the siding can hang from the nails. Additionally, the nails must not be nailed flush with the siding in another step that allows it to breathe. Nails were hammered in every six to eight inches to code.

We weren't using the 16 penny nails as we had in previous classes. We were using roofing nails, which are much more pliant.

I was one of the first ones to take up a hammer and try to nail one in. I couldn't seem to hit the nail right on its head maybe because it was so close to a rise in siding, but the nail wasn't going in at a straight angle. And a woman standing above me kept reminding me every few seconds.

I finally turned to her and asked nicely, "Do you want to hammer it?"

I ended up pulling the nail out.

Robin with Lowe's did mention in the first class that a Women Build house has more nails in it than others. That doesn't surprise me in the least.

Unfortunately there will not be a blog on the fourth Women Build class Oct. 6 on installing roof shingles. I will be at the Clemson v. Virginia Tech football game. Go Tigers!