How to Install a Clapboard

Clapboard is a traditional form of house siding that can be seen on most older houses in New England. A clapboard is a strip of wood that might be anywhere from 6 feet to 20 feet long. Most clapboards are about 6 inches wide, with a top edge that's 1/4 of an inch thick and a bottom edge that's 5/8 of an inch thick, thus creating a wedge shape. Clapboards are designed to be hung on a wall with the narrower edge at the top, and each will be overlapped by the clapboard above it, creating a series of clapboards that shed rain and snow away from the wall.

Clapboard
Hammer
Nails
Measuring tape

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the clapboard as needed to fit the space where you will hang it. If you are putting clapboards on a new wall, begin at the bottom and work your way up. If you are hanging a single clapboard to replace one that is damaged or missing, cut your board to fit the empty space.
- 2
  Position the clapboard with the thin edge at the top and the thick edge at the bottom, so that the exterior face of the clapboard creates a steep slope away from the face of the wall. If installing the clapboard as a replacement on a wall, slide the thin edge up underneath the clapboard above it, and lay the thick, bottom edge over the top of the clapboard below it.
- 3
  Nail the clapboard onto the wall by driving nails through the face of the clapboard and into the wall studs behind it. Put a nail into every stud. If your studs are 16 inches apart, for example, put in a nail every 16 inches horizontally along the clapboard.

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