How to Install Siding the Right Way

Snap a level chalk line at the bottom of the walls, all the way around the house or at least on every wall that will be sided. Use a tape measure or level to mark starting spots to snap the line level at least 6 inches above ground level. Install metal flashing around windows, doors and other openings. Snap vertical chalk lines at corners to mark siding ends.

Nail a metal starter strip at the bottom of the wall with galvanized nails and a hammer if you're using vinyl siding. Fasten J channel and similar fastening trim at wall ends, around doors and windows and at the soffit at the top of the wall. Use corner and soffit material supplied with the vinyl; these vary by use and by manufacturer.

Slide a vinyl panel end into the corner trim at the back of the house wall and snap it in place under the starter strip. Make sure it is attached firmly. Fasten it with galvanized nails through the slotted openings in the top of the panel. Put nails in the center of the slots to allow for expansion movement and don't overdrive them; keep the nail heads snug to the vinyl but a bit loose to allow for movement.

Overlap the next panel from the front, 3 or 4 inches over the end of the first panel. Fit the end into the corner trim at the end of the wall, snap the panel into the starter strip and nail it in place. Leave space at the corner trim so it can move a bit. Start a second row of vinyl siding with a panel that is shorter than the first, so the seams will not align vertically. Cut vinyl panels with a table or miter saw as needed.

Snap the second panel into the slotted space at the top of the first panel; make sure it is locked securely. Nail it in place, overlap the next piece from the front and work your way to the top with panels. Fasten the last top panel into the soffit trim by punching the top of the panel with a special punch and pushing the piece into the trim to lock it.

Install wood siding in similar fashion. Nail the first strip into the wall studs with galvanized nails long enough to penetrate the siding, sheathing and 1 1/4-inch into the stud. Nail the first panel in place along the bottom line with nails at the top of the strip; nailing patterns will vary with the siding, whether tongue and groove or overlapped, so check specific recommendations with the siding supplier.

Nail additional panels in place, allowing 1/8-inch expansion gaps between the top and bottom of each layer except on tongue and groove, with a top groove slipping over a tongue on the one below. "Blind-nail" most wood siding, driving nails in the top of a panel, which will be covered by the bottom of the next panel; "face-nail" with nails through the panel, with the nail heads visible where recommended, usually on tongue and groove styles to secure the bottom of each board.

Butt horizontal joints of panels tightly together. Use a table or miter saw to cut boards to fit as needed. Dab primer paint on cut ends to seal them. Finish wood siding with trim boards at corners, around doors and windows and under soffits at the top of each wall. Use 1-by-4-inch or 1-by-6-inch trim in most cases, nailed through the siding into the corner wall studs.

Put up fiber cement siding in a fashion similar to wood, which it closely resembles. Fasten a starter strip, usually a 1-by-2-inch board, along the horizontal level line. Nail the first strip in place through the top of the plank, 3/4 to 1 inch down. Use galvanized or stainless steel nails and drive them with heads snug to the panel but not overdriven to dent it.

Overlap panels by 3/4 to 1 inch working up the wall so the bottom of a panel covers the nails in the underlying panel. Cut panels to fit using a saw with a carbide-tipped blade; support the panels securely when cutting to avoid cracking or breaking. Work to the top of the wall, just like wood siding. Butt panel joints horizontally and avoid having joints aligned. Finish with wood or fiber cement trim.