# A good day laying cedar shakes.



## Morris P. Kins (Jan 16, 2008)

How may squares of cedar shingle siding is a good day for an average carpenter on a pretty straight forward ranch style house? A really good sider should be able to throw up 8 squares I hear. What about the average Joe? 4-6?


----------



## A W Smith (Oct 14, 2007)

Morris P. Kins said:


> How may squares of cedar shingle siding is a good day for an average carpenter on a pretty straight forward ranch style house? A really good sider should be able to throw up 8 squares I hear. What about the *average Joe? 4-6*?


on my best day even in my twenties and thirties I never had even an *average Joe* day. But all my jobs were hand nailed additions with lots of repair type tie ins weaves and all cut up. I never had a call to cedar shake an entire house. I suppose an entire house New England style 5 inch exposure with a gun I could approach 5 square on a new house. haven't tried it though.


----------



## Morris P. Kins (Jan 16, 2008)

Yeah, I was averaging that on four cottages I did last winter. Pretty straight forward, nothing crazy. I do general light carpentry, my experience is frame to finish but trying to get away from the heavy stuff. I'm not a sider per say but I can do it. And during our slow months I'll do stuff that I would normally sub.


----------



## A W Smith (Oct 14, 2007)

Is that with a gun? what i was doing was setting my undercourse with a hammer tacker and half inch staples. then setting an arms length of shingles with a hammer tacker. And then going back and hand nailing them with AT hot dipped shake nails.


----------



## philner (Dec 27, 2007)

Never saw anyone use the hammer tacker trick sounds like a good Idea. What Hieght do you staple them at? near the top? I use a pnumatic stapler but, I can only put a couple on the ledger before having to grab the gun if it's windy ,even with the chaulk line on the next course. Phil


----------



## A W Smith (Oct 14, 2007)

philner said:


> Never saw anyone use the hammer tacker trick sounds like a good Idea. What Hieght do you staple them at? near the top? I use a pnumatic stapler but, I can only put a couple on the ledger before having to grab the gun if it's windy ,even with the chaulk line on the next course. Phil


Yes I staple up at the top. But not so close to the top as to damage or mash them with the stapler or cause them to fan out over your ledger. I staple the undercourse and then the shakes. then nail through them both. I saw this trick when i was 14 years old watching a pair of Italian guys siding tract houses. Striated cedar shakes were as popular then as Vinyl is today back in 1969


----------



## Morris P. Kins (Jan 16, 2008)

Yes Al, with a gun. I'd get my first two courses done, snap a line, set my strapping, run a string line to holed my shingles, drop a hand full of shingles on my line and shoot.


----------

