How to Install Cedar Clapboard Siding Without an Air Space

Calculate the total area to be covered in clapboard: Multiply the width of each outer wall by its height, then add the square footage of each wall together. Then multiply the width of each door and window by the height and add the total area of each door and window together. Subtract the total area of the doors and windows from the total area of the walls. This will tell you how much square footage will need to be covered in clapboard. Take this number to the local lumber yard when you buy the clapboard. The experts at the lumber yard should be able to calculate the appropriate amount of clapboard for your job.

Staple 12-inch-wide strips of construction felt on the side of each corner board on the house.

Locate the studs in the wall with a stud finder and snap chalk lines over each stud.

Attach flashing to the side of the house 1 inch above the water table, which is the wider trim at the base of the wall. Bend the flashing over the curve of the water table. Nail the flashing to the studs with 4d nails. The ends of the flashing should overlap with the adjoining flashing by 3 inches.

Staple 12-inch strips of construction felt over the flashing on the wall.

Staple 2-inch strips of felt over the studs in the walls.

Rip a 1.5-inch strip off a piece of clapboard and nail it to the wall 1/8 inch above the water table. Secure it to every other stud with a 7d nail. Do this all the way around the house. This is your starter strip.

Nail the first course of clapboard to the starter strip. Position the clapboard just 1/16-inch above the water table, and secure the clapboard by hammering 7d nails through the clapboard and into every other stud, 1 inch above the bottom edge of of the clapboard. Apply a bead of sealant to the corner boards and leave a 1/16-inch gap between corner board and the adjoining clapboard. Boards that meet together in the middle of the wall should be spliced together with a 45 degree scarf joint and sealed with a bead of sealant.

Place the second piece of clapboard over the first clapboard leaving the appropriate amount of board exposed on the first course, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Make a mark on the wall at the top of the second board. Remove the first board, then measure the distance between the top of the first board and the mark you made on the wall. Make marks at intervals of this distance all the way up the side of the house and nail the proceeding clapboard pieces to the house in the same way that you nailed the first course to the starter strip.

Continue to nail clapboard to the house. Trim the clapboard to fit around windows. Leave a 1/16-inch gap between the clapboard and the trim around the windows. Place a bead of sealant around the trim on the windows to secure the clapboard to the window trim.