Removing exterior wood pressed panels

nestsman · Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:38 pm

I have two panels that I think will ultimately need to be replaced due to water damage. They are in the middle of the home, exterior wall. What is the best way to remove these? Don't the panels use some sore of tongue and groove? If so, I wonder if i will have problems putting the new ones in place, without having to remove all the panels for the whole exterior wall.

Thoughts?

Greg · Fri Jul 26, 2013 5:12 pm

Some use T&G joints, some use a ship lap. You may have problems matching what you have now, so I would plan on doing a larger section than just 2 panels.

The easiest way to remove the panels would be to use a circular saw. Set the blade so it just goes through the panel, and cut it in half.

Greg

JD · Sat Jul 27, 2013 11:00 am

I would use a cat's paw nail puller and flat bar. All to often I find wiring just laying up on the back side of the siding. When using a saw for demo, I set it for 1/16th less than the panel thickness and bust it out by hand. Super easy.

nestsman · Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:11 pm

Greg wrote:You may have problems matching what you have now, so I would plan on doing a larger section than just 2 panels.

You mean problems matching the simulated wood grain on the pressed wood panels?

Greg · Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:19 pm

That's what I was thinking, as well as the "spacing" of the strips on the panel.

I would make sure that you can get more of what you buy later, just in case.

Greg

nestsman · Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:20 pm

Here is some of the panel damage. The thought came to me last night that maybe I can just use some patching compound instead of removing the panels and putting new ones up. Thoughts on this?

IMG_1578.JPG

Greg · Tue Jul 30, 2013 8:42 pm

You may be able to use auto body filler. If you are REAL good you might be able to make an imprint of the grain pattern with plaster or clay and make a grain in the filler before it hardens.

Greg

HouseMedic · Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:22 pm

Looks like someone used a hammer to pull off the trim board and the back of the hammer went through the siding.
The spacing of the stripes should be 8" on center just like regular T-111. I would do like JD said and find the nails and pull them out to take off the panels. It won't matter if you damage some of the panel because you are changing it anyway. Regular T-111 should fit if the old panels are 4 x 8 sheets. Just check to see if it is 3/8" or 1/2" in thickness because T-111 comes in both thicknesses. The panels should be ship-lapped so one side at the seam will be on top and the other side will be underneath. Install the new panels with 8 penny nails then prime and paint.

Ron

nestsman · Wed Jul 31, 2013 9:08 am

Ron, you recommend nails instead of screws?

HouseMedic · Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:22 pm

If the rest of the house has nails I would just go with 8 penny nails. That way it looks the same. Make sure when you nail it to use galvanized exterior nails (they hold better)and hit the wall studs. If the groves are on 8" centers then every other grove should line up with the 16" centers of the wall studs if they were put on right the first time.

Ron

nestsman · Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:13 pm

What about this special MDF screw? This may be a good thing to fasten exterior trim in places that do not have a stud behind them.

mdf-screw_thumb.jpg

I found it on this website:

http://www.spax.us/en/mdf-hardwood-screws.html

Thoughts?

ponch37300 · Thu Aug 01, 2013 10:38 am

Spax makes some really nice fasteners for special applications. I've used them for many things, usually pretty expensive though. For trim I usually just use a 15ga finish nail gun. Goes fast and just have a little hole to fill. You should be able to hit the studs every 16" or the bottom plate so there really shouldn't be too many times you won't have something solid to nail or screw to.