Installing Cedar Shakes Siding

There are many different ways to install siding on a home. Vinyl, wood, board and bat, and of course cedar shakes. In the beginning of early home building, wood shakes were the normal way to cover a houses walls and roof. Splitting shakes with an ax from logs cleared from the land was the average way a home was built. Now a days with our modern factories and lumber mills, this way has gone by the wayside. There has been a reemergence of cedar shakes being used for decorative gable ends or even whole houses covered with cedar shakes. In this article, I’ll explain how to install your own cedar shakes on a wall or gable end.

Dilapidated or Flush

There are two ways you can install cedar shakes for siding on your home. One way cedar shakes are installed is flush mounted. Flush lines horizontally across the wall. This is a fairly straight forward approach to installing cedar shakes. Dilapidated shakes are when every other shake is slightly up higher than the other shakes, which are set flush. So what’s the difference? The difference is in the name. Dilapidated shakes look dilapidated. They give the cedar shakes a little more rustic look.

Installing the Shakes

Begin by either installing a row of metal flashing along the bottom of the wall or by installing two rows of cedar shakes. The metal flashing is the best method, while the two rows of shakes is the old method. When installing the two rows on top of one another, lay the second row over the first covering any spaces between shakes with an overlapping shake. Cut any shakes with a roofing hatchet by striking the shake skinny side down to the thick side. Attach the shakes 1/3 of the way down with two galvanized roofing nails. If you’re going to use the dilapidated method, leave the first row flush and on the second row, alternate every other shake by sliding it up slightly.

Once you have completed the first row, its now time to snap a few lines. Measure up from the bottom of the shake 1/3 of the way up. This way 2/3 of the shake will be covered by the next row of shakes. Attach a shake on each end of the second row. Now attach a chalk line from the top of the shakes horizontally across the wall. Snap the line and attach the tops of the shakes to this line. You may need to come off the line a little for each shake. You will want the bottom of the shakes to line up if you’re going to use the flush shake method. If you’re using the dilapidated method, then align every other shake to the line and raising the other at whatever space you want, but no more than two inches.

Continue along filling in the rows with shakes. You want to make sure each overlapping shake always covers over where two shakes butt together. This prevents water from entering behind the shakes. Cut any shakes you have to with the roofing hatchet and nail each shake with two galvanized nails. Work your way up to the top. Cut any angles with a miter saw. Once you reach the top and final row, attach the last row of cedar shakes by face nailing them with galvanized finish nails or brads. Just make sure they are galvanized. You can finish the shakes of with a coat of water sealer or let them weather naturally.