CertainTeed, a manufacturer of vinyl siding, provides a complete installation manual of vinyl siding and is viewable in PDF format on the website Certainteed.com.
"The manual has everything from the basics to complex designs," says Walt Hoyt who is the director of marketing and communications for CertainTeed Siding Products. CertainTeed is the number one manufacturer of building materials from a brand awareness and usage standpoint. He states that homeowners should always read the instructions and manuals before attempting a project that has never been done before. It is possible to complete this project alone, but to have vinyl siding installed professionally is economical. "If the project seems too daunting to a homeowner, then they should hire a contractor to help and show the homeowner how it is done for future reference," he says.
According to the Doityourself.com website, before installing the panels you need to nail furring strips around all windows, doors, and fixtures. Install corner posts inside and outside and install siding panels to create a smooth, flat surface. The tools a homeowner needs to install vinyl siding are a snap lock punch and an unlocking tool to separate the panels. Since vinyl siding contains PVC, it expands and contracts making the installation tricky if it has never been attempted before.
One hundred percent of vinyl siding is installed from the bottom up, says Hoyt. Siding panels come in 12'-6" lengths and have a J-shaped interlocking flange at the bottom. A starter strip, which is the very first vinyl siding panel to be installed, should be nailed at the bottom of the wall. Make sure each panel installed is leveled. Then the bottom edge of the panel snaps into the starter strip. Nail the first course, and then snap the next one. "There is a built in level lock at the top of the panel, so then snap the next panel in, nail that, and snap the next one in," he says. Keep going up the wall until it is covered.
"Vinyl siding is highly resistant to most things," he says. "But let's say there is a damaged panel, there is a tool called a zip tool that basically unlocks the siding."
Place that tool under the siding panel, pull the bottom edge down, and unzip it. Then remove the panel that is damaged, install another panel by locking it to the one below it, nail it in, and then use the zip tool to zip the panel back in. Don't pull the siding panels tight when installing; they should hang loose once locked in. Also, don't nail the vinyl siding panel itself, because it will break. There should be a slot for the nail to fit through on each panel.
