Siding install too high to do full length at a time??

[raul segura]

I have a 40ft wide by 37ft high wall to install Hardy. Is there any way of installing sections vertical... (half way) then move over and do the other parts... as my walking board is only 20ft. Wide and can't do a full 40 feet stretch at a time. I'm thinking blind nailing is a no go. But perhaps bottom nailing will do if I attend to it like laing bricks.. staggering. Possible? Any suggestions for a one man crew, Thanks!!

[Lee Schierer]

I believe you are going to need to rent or buy another set of pump jacks and stages for your job. They would give you access to the full width at each course of siding. A mobile man lift would also work.

[Bill George]

I agree, rent scaffolding otherwise the job will end up being a big hassle.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Hanging 12 foot pieces by yourself is tricky. I use ladder jacks and an 18 foot walk board. There is always a lot of moving the ladders and planks around and a whole lot of going up and down.
James Hardi has several options for vertical siding. I think the board and batten and Hardi panels are more of a challenge than the lap siding to hang solo. My last project was 12 inch smooth lap, blind nailed. Thank goodness it was a small job and not too high.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Lee, etc...you need to borrow or rent a setup that gives you full width access to do your siding project. It's way too easy to get things off "just a hair" that can mess up the whole very expensive job if you break it up in sections like you describe.

[Jack Frederick]

Not sure I am following you on this. Is it board and batten or lap siding? Handling 4x8 sheets alone is tough on the ground. Airborne it is a real challenge. If it is lap siding get a set of Geeko Gauges and single man install is simple. The GG’s allow you to adjust for different siding exposures. Drop the siding inot the gauge and you are able to then go back and nail it off. I use a Bostitch coil nailer and it is pretty easy other than the up and down. Doing half and half as you suggest is going to have a pretty consistent joint pattern as you go up in the center of the wall and it will be pretty obvious from the ground. You will be happier and i suspect safer with full span staging

[Jim Becker]

Jack, I took it as Hardy lap siding which installs horizontal and he was asking if he could install one side of the wall first and then do the other size after moving his existing scaffold/walk board laterally.

[Tom M King]

What scaffolding system are you using for your one plank? I would stage the whole wall with Alum-A-Pole including workbenches, install it on the way up, and paint it on your way down.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Not sure I am following you on this. Is it board and batten or lap siding? Handling 4x8 sheets alone is tough on the ground. Airborne it is a real challenge. If it is lap siding get a set of Geeko Gauges and single man install is simple. The GG’s allow you to adjust for different siding exposures. Drop the siding inot the gauge and you are able to then go back and nail it off. I use a Bostitch coil nailer and it is pretty easy other than the up and down. Doing half and half as you suggest is going to have a pretty consistent joint pattern as you go up in the center of the wall and it will be pretty obvious from the ground. You will be happier and i suspect safer with full span staging

Thats my bad making it confusing. I was suggesting B&B or sheets as something that could be done a section at a time.

[Tom M King]

Once the scaffolding is up, the biggest job is lifting it up in place. It's quite an ambitious job for one person.

[Bill George]

Once the scaffolding is up, the biggest job is lifting it up in place. It's quite an ambitious job for one person.

Not understanding what you mean? Scaffolding is built from the ground up, the planks could be hoisted up with a winch a bundle at a time. In any event 37 feet is a tall building to do.

[Tom M King]

I meant physically getting the siding up there. A lot of steps in the process for one person. A ground person would save a lot of work.

Picture shows a 43 foot tall chimney I was redoing the top of. The peak of that roof is 37' off the ground. Once you get up in the air that much, everything gets slowed down just getting stuff up there. No way would I have attempted that job with no ground help.

[Tom M King]

I did the front of this building mostly by myself. The peak of this roof is 18'. I'm going to say that's my limit by myself, and don't want to do such a job again by myself. I ended up going up and down off that scaffolding to get something Way more numbers of times that I thought I would. I set the Alum-A-Pole setup by myself with the help of a tractor loader to move the 32' long plank, but my BIL helped me take it down.

[Jim Becker]

And with Hardy board, you have to be very careful to not break it...it can only flex so much before that happens.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Instead of Hardy, look at LP's Smart Plank siding. Weighs half as much, comes in 16' lengths instead of 12' lengths. Fifty year warranty, vs 30 warranty, and isn't brittle. When doing siding, we always first coated it while it was on the bench. With any siding to meet manufacturer's specs, you need to prime and first coat end cuts. Unless this is a LONG TERM PROJECT, as in months, you WILL NEED a ground person, plus a up on the wall helper. I have sided (ceder siding) a house mostly by myself, but was a slow process, plus I was A LOT YOUNGER then.