"joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
I will be having my house re-sided with either cedar lap siding or
cedar shingles (currently it has cedar shakes that are poorly installed
(not sufficient overlap.) I have several questions.

#1--the sheathing underneath is shiplap (looks like 1x8 boards). Is
this significantly less strong than plywood sheathing? Would it be
worth my effort to have a layer of plywood installed over the top of
this shiplap sheathing? Also, this shiplap sheathing is installed
horizontally...I've heard its supposed to be diagonal...is this a bad
thing?


#2 When the siding people are installing the siding (and possibly
plywood), how on earth can they avoid the posibility of piercing a wire
or plumbing fixture?


If the old shiplap is in half decent shape I would not rip it out and
replace it. It is almost twice the thickness of 1/2" plywood and is a far
stronger material. A vapor barrier might or might not be called for based on
what is under the shiplap.

If your plumbing and wiring are installed as they should be no nail can
reach them. I doubt that a nail longer than 1.5" will be used for the
siding so even if wiring and plumbing are not 100% right the chance of
hitting something are very small.

Colbyt