How to Measure For New Siding
Measuring for new siding is critical to accurately quoting a job. PFT Installation expert Jared explains how to correctly measure a home for new siding, using our Estimate Worksheet to help make the process easier.
Measuring Walls
Start with all square and rectangular walls, measuring height and width. Siding is ordered in “squares”. One square equals 100 square feet, so multiply height x width, then divide by 100 for total “squares".
If you are using different materials on different walls, you will want to keep these separate. Do not subtract window area, unless there is a very large picture window. You will subtract the garage door area.
Measuring Gables
When measuring gables, measure height and width, then multiply by .75.
If a gable is hard to reach, measure the height of the current siding profile, then multiply by the number of courses on the wall section. For dormers, take width by height by 1.5. This gives you enough material for both sides.
Calculating Accessories
Corner Posts: Avoid seams in corner posts when possible and plan on one full post per corner.
Starter Strip: For starter strip and starter adapter insulation, measure the base of all walls. If the siding meets brick, you will also need Z-flashing here. You do not need a starter strip if the wall meets at a deck, you will use j-channel here.
J-Channel: For all other j-channel, plan on 2 pieces per window, and one-and-a-half pieces for each regular size door. You also need j-channel where the tops of the walls meet the soffit.
Above Windows & Doors: Measure the top of each window & door for drip caps. If undersill trim is required, simply use the same measurement as for drip cap.
Other Related Topics
PFT Installation Expert Jared shares a quick tip on how to measure gables for a siding job. First, measure the height and width, then multiply by .75. If a gable is hard to reach, measure the height of the current siding profile then multiply by the number of courses on the wall section. For instance, if the course is 10” tall, and there are 12 courses, that wall is 10 feet high.
Progressive Foam Celebrates 25 Years of Siding Insulation Manufacturing
Beach City, OH – April 11th, 2017 marks the 25 year anniversary for Progressive Foam Technologies, Inc. (PFT), a locally-based manufacturer of foam insulation products for home exterior applications.
Company Founder and President, Pat Culpepper, remarked: “We are proud to be celebrating 25 years of business in the Tuscarawas Valley. It is with overwhelming gratitude for our employees and customers that I think back on where we started, to where we are today, and everything in between.”
Culpepper got his start in the foam business early in life, working at his father’s Michigan-based company in the 1970’s and 80’s. The business produced just about anything you think that can be made from foam. There he learned everything from how to fix machinery to how to manufacture and sell finished products.
His father’s company eventually shut down, and Culpepper decided to take the lessons he learned and forge a new path in the foam insulation business. PFT was started on April 11th, 1992, with $200,000 borrowed from a few friends on a handshake, and an idea for a new, innovative product, which would become known as insulated siding.
“From the beginning, we envisioned PFT would become a company focused on developing new products, and new markets for those products”, says Culpepper. “It was a little hard for most people to believe at the time, when we were working out of a small pole barn with a Porta-John.”
Over the last 25 years, PFT has grown to be 27 million dollar company, with over 150 employees and 35 patents in the United States and Canada. Headquarters have remained in Tuscarawas County throughout the course of the business, and are currently located in a 110,000 square foot facility in Beach City, Ohio.
In 2016, PFT expanded its operations by acquiring a second facility in Gnadenhutten, Ohio. The 220,000-square-foot building sits on 16 acres, features 23 loading docks, overhead crane rails, rail siding, and interior truck access. “Expanding to this second facility has allowed us to better service our current customers, and positions us well for growth in the future.”
To celebrate their 25 year milestone, PFT will be hosting an open house at their Gnadenhutten facility, with tours open to the public in late August. Light refreshments will be provided.
About Progressive Foam: Progressive Foam Technologies, Inc. is a manufacturer of foam insulation products for home exterior siding applications and is the inventor of insulated vinyl siding. The company develops premium insulation products that are energy-efficient, durable and long-lasting, and can be applied to any siding type.
PFT Installation Expert Jared shares a quick tip on how to keep your corner post insert in place during installation. First, mark up an inch from the end of the post on both sides. Use a square and draw two straight lines for cutting. Cut up both sides of the post leaving a 1″ tab on each side. Place a cut in between the tabs to create two individual tabs. Bend both on the tabs downward so they overlap. Once you insert your corner post you will see the tabs keep the insert in place.
After you have selected your j-channel, built out the window, and capped with coil if necessary, you’re ready to install the j-channel around the window frame. Follow these simple steps to complete the window trim installation.
PFT Installation Expert Jared explains when installing Fullback V with vinyl siding it is easiest to work from the corners toward the middle, installing the middle piece last.
Watch Progressive Foam Mold Insulation Made
The traditional way to make siding insulation is to mold large, rectangular blocks, then use hot wires to cut the insulation into the contoured shape needed for the specific vinyl siding it will be paired with. This “wire cutting” process provides manufacturing flexibility, because many shapes can be cut from the same block, but it also produces scrap material. Thanks to manufacturing improvements, all of the scrap generated at PFT is now recycled back into other products. In 2003 that was not the case, so PFT began looking for other ways to produce the same pieces that could eliminate the scrap.
The process of shape molding not only produces zero scrap, but it also makes a finished product that is the most durable and flexible. In addition, it allows the manufacturing of parts with three dimensional properties, such as built in water management grooves, interlocking edges, etc.
Watch this video with Pat Culpepper, President of Progressive Foam, as he walks through the process of shape molding contoured insulation for use with vinyl siding.
PFT Installation Expert Jared explains how a j-channel notching tool can make your life on the job site a little easier. For a drip edge slide the notching tool into the j-channel and squeeze until you hear the tool click once and release. For a complete notch slide the tool into the j-channel and squeeze until it clicks twice. As you can see this tool provides a clean notch and is very easy to use.
After you have selected which j-channel you will use when installing insulated siding or vinyl with Fullback insulation, you may want to build the window out to accommodate the additional thickness of the insulation. This can easily be done with wood 2x4s and aluminum coil cap to create a beautiful, premium look.
When installing Fullback siding insulation with vinyl siding, you have to accommodate for the additional thickness of the foam. If you do not have access to the wider, recommended j-channel, you can use a standard j-channel with a foam shim underneath to accommodate the thickness of the insulation.
To install the foam shim, simply nail it up around your window, then place your j-channel overtop. When installing the siding, push the Fullback against the foam shim, and slide the siding into the pocket of the j-channel.