If you love the look, follow our step-by-step guide to mimic this stunning coastal style—no matter if you’re hundreds of miles from the shore. Although cedar shingles are more time-consuming to install than most other types of siding, the extra effort is worth it for the rich, textured aesthetic they’ll give your home. Before you dive in, make sure your house’s sheathing—the exterior material covering the framing—is made from boards, plywood, or oriental strand board (OSB); otherwise, you won’t be able to install cedar shingle siding. When you’re calculating how much material to buy, consider these factors: First, cedar shake siding should be installed to provide triple coverage, meaning three layers of shingles are covering the wall. To achieve this, the exposures—the part of each piece you can see—should be slightly less than one-third the length of the shingle. For example, 16-inch-long shingles should be installed with about five-inch exposures. Second, it’s sometimes recommended that you leave ⅛-inch gaps between shingles, since cedar shingles can swell slightly. However, as long as the shingles are not completely dried out, they’ll shrink slightly after installation, so gapping is usually unnecessary. Check with your supplier to be sure. Although this project requires advanced DIY skills, the hard work will pay off with loads of curb appeal and an exterior look that only gets better with age. So grab an assistant and start installing cedar shake siding. You can also use the swing-stick method to keep the layout consistent. To make a swing stick, select a narrow board that’s several feet long, and mark out the spacing of the shingles. Select a window as your starting place, and snap a chalk line on the house, using the line created by the windowsill’s bottom edge as your guide. Prop up the swing stick so that its bottom edge aligns with what will be the bottom edge of the starter course. Do any of the pencil marks on the swing stick align with the windowsill chalk line? If so, mark the wall to correspond with the rest of the swing stick’s marks. If not, angle the swing stick toward the window; when one of its marks aligns with the chalk line, you can begin transferring the marks to the wall. Editor’s tip: If needed, cut shingles with a table saw, chop saw, or radial-arm saw. Use a miter gauge to cut corner pieces at a slight angle, eliminating the need to knife-trim (perhaps even planing them smooth). If you use a circular saw, clamp the shingle first to keep your fingers away from the blade. If the grain is straight and knot-free, use a utility knife to make simple cuts. Editor’s tip: You can hand-nail shingles, but the job will go faster with a pneumatic nailer or stapler. A stapler is used most often since it’s less likely to split the shingles. Even if you’re only shingling a single wall, it’s worth the expense to rent power equipment for the task. Adjust the stapler so it drives the staples just flush and does not indent them. When you hit a stud, the staple may not sink in completely; drive the staple flush with a hammer. You can use galvanized nails or staples for most of the job, but switch to stainless-steel nails wherever the heads will show.
