Choose and plan shed siding

Choose the finish for the work it involves

Start with the appearance you want, the maintenance you will actually do and the installation detail you can build. Our comparison below is a planning recommendation: compare complete quotes, including trim, backing, finishing and labour, rather than assuming one material is always cheapest.

The four planner choices describe different systems. In particular, Board & batten counts individual boards and separate battens. A moulded vinyl board-and-batten panel or a sheet with applied battens needs its own product takeoff.

Plan drainage and backing before the finish

Draw the route water will take around the wall, past openings and back outside. Coordinate the water-resistive barrier with window and door flashing and the cladding detail. Head flashing diverts water out above trim; sealant does not replace that flashing. Leave the drainage openings specified by the system.

Backing must support the selected fasteners. A rainscreen adds a drainage space, but its furring layout also has to suit the siding direction and fastening detail. Vertical boards need horizontal support; where furring is used, detail it so that support does not block the intended downward drainage path. Ask the product supplier for the applicable wall assembly rather than assuming sheathing or foam alone is an adequate fixing base.

• Set the finished grade, roof and deck levels before fixing the siding start height.
• Record the product's required gaps above flashing, roofs and horizontal surfaces.
• Coordinate sill drainage, jamb flashing, head flashing and trim with the window or door instructions.

Real Cedar: flashing and opening details

Real Cedar: backing, fasteners and moisture control

Horizontal wood: preserve the overlap and allow movement

Choose wood when its grain, texture or finishing options are part of the design. Allow time for storage, acclimation and the chosen coating system. Real Cedar recommends bringing cedar into moisture balance and coating the appropriate surfaces before installation; a wet delivery and a dry delivery should not be treated alike.

Set a level starting course and check the course heights at window heads and the soffit. With bevel siding, maintain the prescribed overlap while keeping the courses consistent. Do not stretch the exposure simply to avoid a narrow final piece. Stagger end joints onto suitable support.

For cedar bevel, the Real Cedar detail places the fastener above the overlap so it does not pin both courses together. Use the supplier's nail material, penetration and spacing for the exact profile and backing. Bevel, rabbeted lap and tongue-and-groove do not share one fastening detail.

• Planner entry: use installed exposure, not nominal board width.
• End lap means a lengthwise joint allowance; it is separate from the overlap between courses.
• Include the coating and cut-end treatment required by the selected wood and finish.

Real Cedar: bevel siding installation

Real Cedar: storage, acclimation and prefinishing

Board & batten: lay out the vertical rhythm first

Choose this layout when you want strong vertical lines and control over the spacing of separate boards and battens. Dry-layout the main elevation before fastening: compare a batten or board centred on the door, then check the pieces left beside windows and corners. This is an appearance decision; it does not change the required board gaps or batten overlap.

Provide the horizontal blocking or furring required to support the vertical boards. In Real Cedar's board-and-batten detail, the batten fastener passes through the gap between boards. Board fastening varies with width. Pinning the adjoining board edges beneath a batten can restrict their movement.

Use stock that reaches the required height where practical. If a vertical run needs a joint, get a supported, flashed transition detail; entering an end lap in the planner does not design that joint.

• Board / batten module is the installed repeat from one board position to the next, including the specified gap. It is not automatically the nominal board width.
• Batten face width controls the separate batten allowance. Select it to cover the joint as required after wood movement.
• The planner starts the pattern at the modelled wall edge. It does not centre battens on openings or design board gaps and fasteners.

Real Cedar: board-and-batten installation

Vinyl lap: let the panels move

Vinyl suits a project where factory colour and avoiding routine repainting matter. Choose the profile together with its starter, corner posts, opening receivers and top termination. Compare the whole accessory package as well as panel cost.

For horizontal vinyl, follow the manufacturer's slotted fastening detail: locate fasteners correctly, leave the specified head clearance and check that locked panels can slide. Do not pull panels tight while fastening. Required end clearance changes with the product and installation temperature; use that manual's figures.

Stagger laps and orient them for the main sightlines. Around openings and gables, preserve the receiver engagement, expansion room and cut-edge retention specified for the system. Utility trim or another approved termination retains a cut panel edge. J-channel is a receiver; it does not replace the opening's flashing.

• Enter the installed coverage of one complete stock panel. A double-profile panel covers more than one visible siding course.
• Enter the specified end overlap separately from coverage. Expansion clearances are checked during installation, not calculated by this field.
• The 3D view shows the coverage spacing; it does not reproduce every moulded reveal.

Gentek: vinyl finish and maintenance considerations

Gentek: vinyl installation manual (PDF)

Gentek: installation and maintenance resources

Fibre cement lap: specify the joint and clearance details

Consider fibre cement when a painted lap appearance fits the shed and the installation can accommodate the required cutting and fixing methods. Identify the actual product, finish and applicable regional instructions before choosing exposure or fasteners. Hardie is one manufacturer; a generic fibre-cement selection is not a product specification.

James Hardie's lap-siding guidance uses a starter beneath the first course, supported staggered butt joints and joint flashing. A lengthwise butt joint is different from the overlap between courses. Do not enter the course overlap as an end lap or assume caulking a joint supplies the specified water-management detail.

Check the chosen instructions for fastening into your backing, edge distances, permitted fastening method, cut-edge treatment and gaps at trim. Ground, roof, deck and flashing clearances can differ; transferring one gap to every location is a mistake.

Plan the cutting station before work begins. Fibre-cement cutting can release respirable silica: use the manufacturer's cutting and dust-control guidance, together with the applicable workplace requirements.

• Use the approved installed exposure and supplied plank length.
• Use zero end lap for a butt-jointed plank; follow the product's actual joint treatment on site.
• The planner does not select a HardieZone, fastener schedule, joint-flashing detail or clearance.

James Hardie: select the product and regional installation documents

James Hardie: starter strips, stagger and butt-joint flashing

James Hardie: cutting and silica safety resources

Check openings, corners and gables as one layout

For horizontal work, mark a common course reference around the shed and check what remains above doors, below windows and at the eaves. For vertical work, compare the repeat against the main opening and the two ends of the wall. Use those checks to decide the starting position before cutting.

At a gable, mark the slope on the actual board or panel with its installed overlap and receiver engagement accounted for. Check both ends of the piece. A roof angle alone does not give the cut length, and a short offcut is useful only if its profile, fastening and joint location still work.

The planner locates openings by rough-opening geometry. Installed frames, trim and fitting gaps change the finish cuts. Measure the finished conditions, and keep the specified clearances when carrying the siding past the opening.

Review opening references and rough-opening sizes

Translate the chosen product into planner inputs

Open Design, then 07 Siding & trim. Area allowance only gives square-foot coverage. Choosing a system reveals editable dimensions; switching between systems keeps those entered numbers, so check them against the next product.

All siding dimension fields use inches. Select the starter and trim items you want included, then review Materials → Siding layout & cut runs and the material quantities.

Read the order as a starting takeoff

The planner splits siding into strips within the wall shape. An opening crossing a whole strip can split the run; a partial opening cut-out keeps a blank. It counts a full stock piece for each required blank and adds the surface allowance once. It does not reuse offcuts across the shed or optimise joint locations.

Boards, battens and selected accessories have separate quantities. Vinyl includes top-edge receiver coverage; opening head-flashing coverage has its own row. Linear-foot trim totals still need converting into purchasable lengths and packs with the required returns and joints.

Add the specified weather barrier, sill pans, tapes, furring, backing, fasteners, joint flashing and finishing products to the order. Confirm whether board and batten stock actually comes in the same length. Review supplier pack sizes and usable offcuts before buying.

The preview does not lay out supported staggered joints, balance narrow end pieces or model site clearances. Cut runs are planning blanks, not finished cutting instructions. Check the actual profile, overlap, gable cuts, trim and field measurements before marking material.

Review stock quantities and complete the material prices