Home | Contact Us | Blog

Cedar Siding: Clapboard and Shingles

We're Cedar Siding Contractors in MA, RI, & NH

Reasons Why Some Choose Cedar Siding
The 7 Steps to Beautiful and Durable Exterior Siding
Historical Novelty Siding Products
Terms & Terminology

United Home Experts & United Painting Co. is your professional siding company. We offer cedar clapboards (also called beveled siding), cedar shingles, and cedar shakes (bigger, rough cut shingles). We also install many different styles and types of novelty wood siding. We believe that when maintained properly, it’s hard to beat the rich look of natural wood. A quality wood exterior should last as long as you own your home, and should improve your home's appearance and value. We use many of the best grades of red or white cedar shingles or clapboards. If you are considering replacing your siding with cedar, we can help you compare the options.Click here for a -Free Estimate-

Did you know that cedar siding can last for hundreds of years? A recent siding project of ours in N. Andover, MA, built in the early 1800s, had only a few repairs required to the original clapboard siding. This damage was due mostly to extended snow build-up near the base of the house.

Reasons why some customers choose Cedar Siding

Cedar Siding is Beautiful

Cedar Siding is, above all, a wood of exceptional beauty. In its natural, unfinished state, it has a richly textured, tactile grain combined with a palette of warm, mellow tones ranging from light amber to deep honey brown. Cedar Siding also remains subtly aromatic, and the characteristic fragrance of cedar adds another dimension to Cedar Siding's universal appeal.

Cedar Siding is Durable

Cedar Siding contains natural oils that act as preservatives to help the wood resist insect attack and decay. Cedar siding is also a dimensionally stable wood that lies flat and stays straight. Properly finished and maintained, cedar siding ages gracefully and endures for many years. When high quality cedar is chosen, it is free of pitch and resin and it finishes to a richly glowing surface that can be enhanced with transparent or full-bodied stains or with paints. If minimal maintenance is desired, James Hardie Fiber Cement Products can be a great alternative to cedar. Back to top

The 7 Steps to Beautiful and Durable Exterior Siding

1. Choosing a Contractor:

Choose a contractor you feel comfortable with.
Know how and where to contact your contractor.
Verify that your contractor is insured; ask for a “Certificate of Insurance” showing both liability (for your property) AND worker’s compensation (for their workers)
Confirm the references
Check for home improvement or appropriate contractors license, such as Mass HIC License No. United Home Experts a division of United Painting Co. Inc.’s Massachusetts HIC License number is; 130101, RI Reg # 22948

Beware of:

Someone who doesn’t use contracts or is very vague in their scope of work (time may pass from when your project is estimated and when it is actually performed. A written contract helps both the contractor and the customer get what they expect)
A contractor that competes based on price alone (If these guys even show up to do the work, you may have far more problems than the cheap price is worth)

2. Removal of old siding:

Timely contracting for delivery of a trash hopper (dumpster)
Covering & protecting delicate areas around the house
Safely removing siding and nails
Disposal of old siding and other deteriorated siding components
General area clean-up prior to re-applying siding

3. Preparation and inspection:

All sheathing and flashing under the siding is inspected
Repairs to wooden sheathing, corner boards, fascia boards and other trim not readily visible can be made with the owner’s prior permission at additional cost
Full siding areas are covered with TYVEK or similar barrier sheeting
Open cracks around doors and windows are caulked, and flashing is replaced if needed

Beware of:

Don’t try to save money by cutting out preparation. Most professionals will agree that proper prep is the single most important component in the longevity of a siding job. Conversely, improper preparation can result deterioration of siding and any subsequent paint or stain application.
Poor or ineffective flashing must be replaced. Controlling water flow will add years to the life of any siding or trim installed.
Old and new houses need a moisture barrier: Moisture movement through the siding must be controlled. A vapor barrier product (like Tyvek) provides a lifetime of protection and is even better than asphalt paper.

4. Siding:

Application of Red or White Cedar shingles or clapboards are the premium siding products offering the most value in New England today!
Only premium quality products are used such as CVG shingles (clear vertical grain), or CLEAR clapboards. Pre-primed siding is available at extra cost.
All cedar siding is attached using “ring shanked” stainless steel nails.
Exposure of the siding will be the same as previously siding or custom as agreed upon in advance.
Full runs, (long pieces of clapboards), are used as much as possible both for looks and for long life. Shingle seams are staggered again for long life and good water run-off control.

Beware of:

When it comes to siding, There are MANY different grades of cedar and other woods. The lesser grades tend to be cheaper, but often times filled with knots, blemishes, or low grade finger joints. Many contractors that compete based on price alone are quoting with a LOW grade siding product. We believe that you will get what you pay for with the materials for your home and therefore we use only top quality siding products.

5. Clean-Up:

Performed daily and upon completion of the job
All supplies and refuge are removed
Plant beds cleaned and wood chips removed
Outdoor fixtures and furniture are replaced
Several pieces of clapboards or shingles are left for future use

6. Inspection:

Before the crew leaves a job, a “walk-around” is done to ensure all contracted areas are repaired and completed properly.
Final points are noted on a Quality List and are promptly addressed.
A United Standard Inspection is performed by a Foreman or Project Leader.
The United Customer Comment Card is completed by the customer.

Beware of:

You are missing out as a customer if you don’t get a chance to walk through the job at the time of completion. Our foreman and project managers try to estimate at what point in the day they will be finishing the work, so that our customers can have ask questions and feel comfortable with the finished project. Many customers have told us time and time again, that “It’s the little things that count.” We hear you.

7. Warrantee:

United offers a written 5 year limited warrantee on all siding and carpentry services.
We also offer a Follow-up Maintenance “check-up” Program unique to our industry

By choosing United Home Experts you are selecting the services of a professional contracting and painting company.

Over the years, many home and property owners have realized the benefits of our company and have allowed us to fill up our exterior schedule early in the spring. So please let us know as soon as possible so that we may make time to schedule your project! Back to top

Historical Novelty Siding Products

Board Available surfaced or saw textured. Recommended 1" minimum overlap. Widths 8" and over use 2 nails 3-4" apart.	E.W.P - 18 Available in smooth face. Reversible pattern usually used for interior applications.	E.W.P - 11 Available in smooth face. Pattern used for interior ceilings or sidings.
Bevel (clapboard) Plain Bevel may be used with smooth face exposed or sawn face exposed for textured effect. Recommended 1" minimum overlap on plain bevel siding	E.W.P - 2 & 4 Combination of #2 & #4 patterns. Can be used on either side.	E.W.P Channel Rustic 7/8" reveal Available in saw face. Used as siding.
Dolly Varden Thicker than Bevel Siding. Rabbeted edge.	E.W.P - E & CB Available in smooth face. Reversible pattern. Usually used for porch ceilings.	E.W.P Channel Rustic 1/2" reveal Available in saw face. Used as siding.
Log Cabin 1 1/2" at thickest point. Nail 1 1/2" up from lower edge of piece.	E.W.P 106 drop siding Available in smooth face. Used as siding, resembles clapboard from a distance.	E.W.P 105 drop siding Same as pattern 106 in appearance. Milled with a ship lap edge.
E.W.P - 2 Available in smooth face. Usually used in interior applications. Use single finish nail and angle into tongue.	E.W.P double clapboard T&G Available in smooth face. Looks like bevel when installed.	E.W.P double clapboard S/2 Available in smooth face. Looks like bevel when installed.
E.W.P - 4 Available in smooth face. Reversible pattern. Usually used for porch ceilings or interior applications	E.W.P 1" center match Available in smooth face. Pattern used for flooring or siding applications.	E.W.P 1" shiplap Available in saw or smooth face. Usually used as siding.

Terms & Terminology

Battens: narrow strips of wood placed over joints in vertical wood plank siding to seal the joints
Beveled: clapboards that are tapered rather than cut perfectly rectangular
Brick veneer: a wall construction method in which a layer of bricks is attached to the wood framework of a house using brick ties
Carpenter ants: large black ants that make may make their nests in walls, behind siding, or in insulation; carpenter ants don't eat wood they excavate wood to build their homes in the cavities left behind
Caulking: waterproof material used to seal joints at intersections of building components, used with some types of siding
Checking: a crack or split along the grain in wood plank siding as a result of cupping
Clapboard: overlapping, horizontal wood plank siding made from either rectangular planks or taped planks
Composition board: planks or sheets of weather resistant compressed wood fibers used as siding
Course: each row of siding material
Cupping: a warp across the board in wood plank siding
Detachment: separation of the siding material-veneer or stucco- from its attachment to the house
Double course: an undercourse of shingles or shakes, not exposed to the weather, is covered completely by a top course
Dust mites: virtually walking stomachs
Flashing: a type of sheet metal used at intersections of building components to prevent water penetration, flashings are commonly used above doors and windows in exterior walls and are used under the siding to prohibit water penetration
Lintel: a steel angle iron or beam over window and door openings that spans the opening and transfers the weight of the masonry to the sides of the opening
Milled planks: various cuts of plank siding, including V-groove, channel, rabbeted bevel, shiplap and drop
Model Building Code: these building codes vary by area of the country and are considered the standard for that area
Moisture permeable: a surface that allows moisture to pass through it
Scarfed joint: joint used in plywood siding where edges of abutting sheets are angle cut to fit snugly and prevent water penetration
Shiplap: a style of milled plank, used in siding, that is laid close enough so as to appear to be butted
Single course: wood shingles or shakes applied where each course is exposed to the weather
Spalling: crumbling and falling away of bricks, concrete or blocks
Stucco: a type of water resistant, plaster like siding material made of cement, sand and water; it may have an acrylic finish
T & G: tongue and groove, a connection system between components, like wood, in which the tab or tongue of one board is placed into the grove at the end of another board
Termites: social insects that live either in the ground or in wood and eat wood, they can cause serious structural damage to a home
Veneer: veneer is one ply or one thickness of something; in siding there are brick and stone veneers; there are also veneers of one wood bonded to another
Wall cladding: another term for siding
Wall sheathing: sheets of plywood or wood planking used to cover the wall framework of the house
Windload Pressure: is a measurement of how well a panel might perform in high wind areas
Wire mesh: a mesh attached to the wall sheathing and studs used to anchor a stucco base coat to the wall
Wood plank siding: rectangular wood planks, installed horizontally or vertically
Wood shakes: thick, rough, uneven shingles that hand split, split and sawn on one side, or sawn on both sides, used as siding
Wood shingles: sawn shingles that are of uniform thickness