How To Nail Tongue And Groove Siding

Common gauges for nails used in tongue and groove installation include 15 16 17 and 18.

How to nail tongue and groove siding.

If you can t pull them out carefully pry the board away from the building paper beneath and cut the nails from the underside with a small hacksaw. Tongue groove installation tongue and groove siding can be installed horizontally or vertically. The tongue section of the board should be at the top with the groove section at the bottom. When blind nailing the nail is sent into the groove at roughly a 45 degree angle.

To install tongue and groove paneling vertically begin by nailing 1 by 3 furring strips horizontally either directly to the wall studs on a new wall or over the drywall on a finished wall. Nail up the first panel at a corner of the room with the tongue side facing out. To ensure that the nail gets into the groove where it will be hidden it must be inserted at an angle. Use a nail puller to yank out the nails that anchor the boards to be removed.

One of the cool things about tongue and groove walls is that you can use a technique called blind nailing if you do it properly you won t have any nail heads showing or holes to fill. Tongue and groove or lapped sidings generally have a rustic cabinlike appearance. If the siding is up to 6 inches wide it can be nailed with one siding nail per bearing but siding any wider should use two nails per bearing. Drive the nails through the shoulder of the tongues into the framing at about a 45 degree angle.

Nails should penetrate 1 1 4 inch into solid wood behind the siding. The gauge of a nail has nothing to do with its length. Siding up to 6 inches wide can be blind nailed with one siding nail per bearing toe nailed through the base of each tongue. A variety of siding types fit together by means of tongues and grooves or over and underlapping edges.

As the gauge of a nail increases the nail is smaller. On the side of the building the roof angle was three pitch so we knew we had to cut our tongue and groove cedar boards at a 15. Because the overlap is less than on other types of siding these provide somewhat less protection from the elements. The paneling will be nailed directly to these furring strips.

Tongue and groove siding tool list. Because the nail goes in at an angle and needs to be sunk a nail gun is a better option than a hammer. As such it s possible to use 15 gauge nails with lengths of 1 inch 1 5 inches or 2 inches. In horizontal application start at the bottom and work up with the groove edges facing downwards.

This is part 1 of a 3 part series. A nail s gauge represents its diameter. The next grooved edge will hide the nail holes.