How to Install Siding on Large Houses

Measure the width and length of the exterior wall and note it. Double check the measurements before recording them to ensure they are accurate. Determine the area of each wall by multiplying the length by the width. Also find the area of the doors and windows.

Extend a chalk line along the lower end of the wall to form a guideline for the clapboards that keeps the courses level. Hold a carpenter's level against the line to check that it is level on both sides of the wall before snapping it. Measure the span of the line and cut wood lath to match it.

Nail the horizontal wood lath to the wall, ensuring its upper edge falls below the sheathing. Position the first horizontal clapboard over the lath on the wall. Hammer nails every 12 inches along the span of the clapboard siding to affix it to the wall. Place the edge of the second clapboard flush against its edge and continue to nail it in place until you cover the wall, completing the first row or course.

Position the first clapboard for the second course against one corner of the wall, directly above the previously installed clapboard. Align this plank so its lower edge overlaps the top edge of the previous plank by 1 1/2 inches.

Insert nails every 12 inches through the upper edge of this clapboard plank, directly above the overlap, to affix it to the wall. However, stagger the joints by 12 inches for an aesthetically pleasing design. Continue to hang courses of clapboard siding this way until you reach a window or door.

Cut the clapboard planks to size to fit around a door and window, and repeat the process of installing these, and subsequent courses, until you cover the wall of the large house. Continue installing clapboard plank siding over the remaining walls of the house.