Historic Drop Siding

Drop siding that could finish a wall without sheathing was ideal for temperate climates making it a favorite for the ubiquitous bungalows of the 20th century.

Historic drop siding.

Instead it is edge matched with a shiplap or less often tongue and groove so that it installs flat on wall framing even without sheathing. In addition we can match any other historical siding or molding pattern in whatever species and grade of wood specified. Historic drop wood siding can become very brittle over time so removing a damaged piece is a bit like a surgical process. Lengths 8 16 shiplap 8.

None of my local home improvement centers offer pressure treated weatherboard. If your historic house or building has drop wood siding you may occasionally find cracks or splits in the wood. Beaded ceiling 1 x4 1 x6. Drop siding is fairly common on wisconsin houses built between 1890 and 1950.

This planning process is a sequential approach to the preservation of historic wood frame buildings. Most victorians used a horizontal fancy siding design for the first or the first and second floors with a fancy shingle pattern sometimes highlighting the remaining wall space. Drop siding is made primarily of pine and occasionally fir cedar hemlock and rarely cypress. Lengths 8 16 bevel siding 6 8.

Lengths 8 16 pattern 105 drop siding 6 8. Water exposure had caused wood rot on the original siding on this home in a national historic district. Gordon bock illustrations by rob leanna. The siding is the largest visual part of any structure.

The second alternative to fixing the problem would be to purchase 105 weatherboard siding that is milled out of pressure treated lumber. Dutch lap or german siding is a type of drop siding which unlike clapboards is non beveled and not lapped in installation. Lengths 8 16. They range from hand split clapboards of short lengths with feather edged ends shown here to pit or mill sawn boards which can be beveled rabbeted or beaded.

Any pieces of drop siding that have large cracks or splits will need to be replaced. Each piece of drop siding is around 3 4 inch thick and has a deep cove running along its top edge.