Archives: Siding & Trim

Hanging Christmas Lights From Gutters

By Todd Fratzel on Electrical, Siding & Trim

Christmas Lights Attached To Gutters Attaching Christmas lights to your home can be quite simple if you use the correct approach. There are quite a few light holders on the market that make it very easy to attach your Christmas lights to gutters, roof shingles, siding and even fences. Most of the Christmas Light Clips…

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Mixed HardiePlank Colors Hightlight School Addition

By Todd Fratzel on Siding & Trim

HardiePlank ColorPlus® Technology Featured On School Addition We recently built a three story wood framed addition for a local Montessori School which featured HardiePlank® Lap Siding with ColorPlus® Technology. Over the years we’ve become huge fans of HardiePlank® Lap Siding for both residential and light commercial projects. In this article I wanted to point out…

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Pump Jacks For Siding Installation

By Todd Fratzel on Safety, Siding & Trim

Pump Jacks Make Siding Installation Safer Pump jacks make siding installation much safer and productive. One of our crews recently installed James HardiPlank Lap Siding on a three story addition for a private school with the assistance of pump jacks. You can buy pump jacks from most building supply companies and some online specialty stores.…

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HardiPlank Lap Siding Butt Joint Flashing

By Todd Fratzel on Siding & Trim

HardiPlank Lap Siding Field Butt Joint Treatment HardiPlank Lap Siding is a fantastic siding material that we’ve been using for years on both residential and light commercial building projects. HardiPlank Lap Siding is a fiber cement siding product that looks like wood clapboards but outperforms it when it comes to weather resistance and finish performance.…

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Porch Skirt for Farmers Porch

By Todd Fratzel on Decks & Porches, Finish Carpentry, Siding & Trim

Farmers Porch With Lattice Skirt The farmer’s porch in the adjacent photo has a complete pvc lattice skirt around the bottom of the porch framing. Raised porches look best with some sort of skirt to hide the framing and keep small animals and children out of the space. Materials The entire porch skirt is built…

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Vinyl Beadboard Soffit for Porch Ceilings

By Todd Fratzel on Siding & Trim

This article has been updated with additional photos and details at the request of readers. Vinyl Beadboard Porch Ceiling Our new home has almost all vinyl products on the outside of it. We have vinyl windows, siding, trim, shutters, porch posts, railing, vented soffit, solid soffit and beadboard soffit. Vinyl siding products can actually look…

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FastenMaster Cortex System for PVC Trim

By Todd Fratzel on Siding & Trim

Cortex Concealed Fastening System Last week I had the pleasure of attending another building trade show. One of the products that really caught my eye was the Cortex Concealed Fastening System for PVC Trim from FastenMaster. Anyone that’s been following this site knows that we’re huge fans of PVC trim on both residential and commercial…

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Warped/Buckled Vinyl Siding

By Todd Fratzel on Siding & Trim

Vinyl Siding – Causes of Warping and Buckling We’ve received several emails recently asking why their vinyl siding is warping and buckling. Warped and buckled vinyl siding is one of the most common results of improper installation. If you’re vinyl siding looks like the sample photo then you need to read this article. What Causes…

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