Do It Yourself: Hardie Panel House Siding

Wear work gloves and safety glasses. Prepare the wall for the installation of the Hardie siding. Measure the width of the wall with a tape measure and roll out the felt paper according to that measurement. Cut the paper with a utility knife. Staple it onto the plywood or OSB layer running up the wall. Repeat the process for another layer, and install it so that it overlaps the lower layer by at least 2 inches. Work your way up the wall, with upper layers on top of the lower.

Install a strip of siding cut down to around an inch wide – known as a kicker board – to push the first row out slightly so it angles properly outwards and down to simulate another row of siding underneath it. Nail this kicker board on the bottom of the wall across the width of your installation area, around 2 inches above the ground or deck platform.

Fasten a row of siding on top of the kicker board across the length of the wall. Overlap the siding on top of the kicker board so the bottom of the siding is angled outwards and down. Nail the siding on the wall with the nail gun along the inscribed line on the boards. Place flashing strips or strips of felt paper a couple of inches wide in between each vertical joint between siding panels. Finish the entire first row.

Overlap the second row at least 1 and one quarter inch on top of the first row. Insert your flashing strips or felt paper scraps in between the vertical sections just as you did for the first row and nail the siding panels into place. Repeat the entire process for every subsequent row, overlapping them on top of the lower rows as you work your way up.