Cedar lap siding - questions

[seamlyne]

Still, yes STILL working on replacing all of the windows in my house with Pella ProLines. The replacements always go well, it's the cleanup and finishing afterward that's causing me the challenges. The house is sided with 6" cedar lap siding. I prime all the boards front and back before I put them up.

Three questions.

1. I've heard about cement board siding, lower maintenance among other issues. Everything on the house so far is cedar, and I'm pretty sure it'd be bad form to mix, but anyone have any thoughts there?

2. I don't know where the original siding came from (1950's), but it seems like all of the runs are extremely long. I'd rather not have to replace an entire stick of siding, but can't seem to remove the nails effectively to preserve the boards I'm taking down - every other one is doubled up, with one nail driven right next to another - and often as not I end up cracking the board. Is there a powertool that operates in similar fashion to the ol' tried and true "hacksaw blade in a handle"?

3. Is it possible to cut a board in the middle of a run, so I don't have to remove the entire stick down to a corner?

Thanks!

- Bill

[HayZee518]

my dad used to make repairs on regular clapboards by using two flat bars. if there was "punky" wood in the middle of a run, he'd find the nails and adjacent to the location, drive a bar up underneath the clapboard and pry outward. the nails were about 1/2" from the bottom of the board and apply a pair of wire snips and hang on to the nail and hammer the board down a bit enough to bare the head and removed the nail. done at several places, he was able to free up a length in the middle of a run. Then apply the bar on the piece you wanted out and use an angled jab saw or an electric saw "sawz-all" with a short blade backwards in the chuck and cut it out - both ends. Measure the new piece to fit, slide it into place and re-nail.

[seamlyne]

Then apply the bar on the piece you wanted out and use an angled jab saw or an electric saw "sawz-all" with a short blade backwards in the chuck and cut it out - both ends. Measure the new piece to fit, slide it into place and re-nail.

Backwards! Check that out...I hadn't even thought of it. Nice one, thanks! (Now to see if the blade will actually flip on my recip-saw...and it probably will...)