Peter the proper way to hang the last course of any vinyl siding is to first nail a spline at the top of the wall under the soffits the use a special tool to punch a nail slot in the last course of siding then most siding companies certainteed included make a trim piece that snaps into the spline and covers the nail.
Face nailing siding.
Last time i used a bostich coil siding nailer with 2 ring shanks this time would be the same.
What are face nails replacements.
Loosen the tight nail or cut it with a hacksaw.
Hardieplank is fastened to the home by either blind nailing or face nailing.
Siding nail face nailing face nailing is applicable where dictated by building code in high wind areas and when fastening is to osb or equivalent sheathing without penetrating into studs.
I was considering using the tyvek rain screen stuff i dunno what it s called it s somewhat light green in color and has surface grooves and face nailing the hardie to avoid the waves.
Fiberboard cement siding can be hand nailed but because it s so much harder and more brittle than wood you have to predrill holes near any edge.
Face nailing can be imprecise.
Any lower and you might see a few nail heads poking through the bottom of the next board any higher and your siding is likely to be loose and could even rattle in the wind.
Face nailing exposes the fastener head to the elements and allows for the fastener to penetrate through two sheets of overlapped plank.
Hardie plank siding has a nail line across the top of the board that is 1 down from the top and nails are supposed to fall between and 1 from the top of the board to give the best hold.
Lift the siding up and look for nails that have been hammered in too tightly.
The nails are covered by the board overlap in the blind nailing method while the nails are left exposed on the exterior of the boards in the face nailing method.
Nails do not need to be predrilled except near the ends.
Suppose one of your boards gets damaged in a hail storm.
You need to take that board off to replace it.
Center joints over studs unless special metal off stud joiners are used.
Loose siding can leave your home unprotected from weather and insects.
You can save yourself a bunch of time by using a pneumatic coil siding nail gun.
Next nail the first row of siding into the studs leaving 1 8 gaps at the corner boards to allow for caulking.
Nailing in the wrong places.
Learn how to nail hardieplank lap siding with this instructional video from james hardie.