David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 12/17/2010 11:28 AM dpb spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

Problem: homeowner's house has a large unclad section of exposed
concrete foundation/wall at bottom. He'd like it covered with
siding.
...

Siding is 1x8, what the local yards call "V-rustic", shiplap with
chamfered edges to form V-grooves between adjacent boards. (Stuff is
expen$ive, I can tell you that. And forget about redwood: ain't
available any more.)

What d'you think?
...

Pichurs'd be nice...what kind of wall--block, poured, ???

Shouldn't be necessary. Poured concrete. See below for dimensions.

Furring it out would be first choice methinks; I'd really investigate
what was done already if it really is directly on concrete/block...

How big an area needs covering?

One wall: approx. 18' by one board or less (height of exposed area
varies from about 7" to about 10", and I want to leave at least 2-3"
between bottom of bottom board and the ground). This wall could be
furred, because as I said there's already a "bulge" at the top which
requires covering with a cap or some such, so the siding could sit 3/4"
out from the wall. Probably best to run furring horizontally here?

The other wall is really the problem: area to be covered is about 5'
wide by about 4' high at the highest point (ground is sloped and makes
an approximate triangle of uncovered concrete). Problem here is that the
existing siding is flush with the concrete: no furring. So if I furred
the new siding, I'd have a lot of patching and filling to do, and it'd
probably look funky.

I'd like to attach the siding directly to the concrete here. Another
poster mentioned Remington rounds for fastening; that's one way. Other
way would seem to be drilling lots and lots of holes (with hammer
drill/rotary hammer) and sticking in screw anchors, then using deck
screws to attach boards.

I have no experience with the gunpowder approach, and would have to buy
the equipment. Comments on the above attachment methods?

The one side that's only got a minimum of space already I'd suggest
better to leave. Paint a matching or contrasting color instead. That's
too close to the ground when add another for two reasons--termites and
ground water and rain splash.

The other, I'd strongly consider just construction adhesive or similar
w/ an occasional fastener.

The powder loads won't work well w/ siding--they would require a washer
to prevent driving thru the siding in all likelihood.

As another said, a contrasting treatment would be simpler given the
description as I envision it.

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