Siding & Exterior: Calculators, Diagrams & Guides
9 calculators · 26 diagrams · 7 guides
A siding takeoff has two ways to go wrong: the wall area (forgetting gables, subtracting too much or too little for openings) and the coverage math (lap boards cover their exposure, not their width — a 8¼-inch plank at 7-inch exposure covers 15 percent less wall than its face suggests). The calculators in this hub handle both, producing plank or panel counts for fiber cement, LP SmartSide, vinyl, and metal, plus housewrap rolls, trim boards, flashing, fasteners, and sealant.
The diagrams show the assembly the way a spec sheet should: exposure and overlap geometry, coursing that lands evenly at windows, butt-joint flashing, clearances at grade and roofline, and the full weather-resistive barrier stack behind the cladding. Fiber cement and engineered wood both live or die on these details — most warranty claims trace to a clearance or flashing miss, not the product.
Manufacturer installation specs are the governing documents here — James Hardie’s requirements for HardiePlank, LP’s for SmartSide — alongside IRC Chapter 7 for water-resistive barriers. The hub’s three siding calculators are scoped so you can price a whole exterior or a single trade: the general siding hub tool for panels and comparisons, and dedicated lap-siding and HardiePlank tools tuned to those products. Free, no signup.
Siding & Exterior calculators
- Siding CalculatorInstantly calculate siding panels, trim & accessories for vinyl, fiber cement, wood or metal. Doors and windows subtracted automatically. Free, no signup.
- Vinyl Siding CalculatorFree vinyl siding calculator: squares, panels, cartons, and every accessory — starter strip, J-channel, corner posts & trim. Doors and windows handled.
- Metal Siding CalculatorFree metal siding calculator: panels by net coverage with a real cut list, plus screws or clips, corner & opening trim, flashing, and foam closures.
- Lap Siding CalculatorFree generic lap siding calculator for LP SmartSide, wood bevel, clapboard & vinyl. Boards per square, exposure, trim, corners & fasteners. Even coursing.
- Cedar Shake Siding CalculatorFree cedar shake & shingle siding calculator — bundles and squares by weather exposure, single or double course, with corners, coursing and fasteners.
- House Wrap CalculatorFree house wrap calculator — how many rolls of Tyvek / WRB you need, allowing for the 6-inch overlap that cuts coverage, plus seam tape and cap fasteners.
- Fiber-Cement Panel CalculatorFree fiber-cement panel calculator — 4x8/4x9/4x10 vertical HardiePanel sheets by column-and-row layout, with battens, trim, breakage and fasteners.
- T1-11 Siding CalculatorFree T1-11 siding calculator — 4x8/4x9 plywood/OSB panel sheets by shiplap-edge layout, with Z-flashing at horizontal joints, trim and siding nails.
- HardiePlank CalculatorFree HardiePlank calculator — boards, HardieTrim, kickout & butt-joint flashing, fasteners & sealant by HardieZone (HZ5/HZ10). Hardie HS11119 & IRC.
Cost guides
Budget-level price ranges per room, computed from a dated cost model — wide brackets by design, updated on an annual review.
Guides & references
- HardiePlank Installation Guide: HZ5 vs HZ10, Nailing & Trim
- Metal Siding Guide: Gauge, Profiles, Cost & Install
- Vinyl vs Fiber Cement Siding: Cost, ROI & Which Wins
- James Hardie vs LP SmartSide: Cost, Fire & Warranty
- Cedar Shake vs Vinyl Siding: Cost, Upkeep & Value
- Vinyl vs Metal Siding: Cost, Lifespan & Climate
- Stucco vs Fiber Cement Siding: Cost & Climate
Siding & Exterior · 26 diagrams
- Siding & Exterior
Lap siding exposure vs. board width vs. overlap — why an 8¼-inch board covers only 7 inches
A lap board hides part of itself: the overlap is covered by the course above, so an 8¼″ board shows only 7″. Exposure (width − overlap) is what drives how much siding you buy — not the board width.
- Siding & Exterior
Even coursing for lap siding — avoiding the sliver top row under the soffit
Running every board at max exposure leaves an ugly sliver under the soffit. Even coursing shrinks the reveal just enough (108″ ÷ 16 = 6¾″) so all courses are equal and the top one lands clean at the eave.
- Siding & Exterior
Gross vs. net wall area for siding — subtracting windows and doors, then adding waste
Size a siding order by net area, not the whole wall: subtract the windows and doors from the gross wall, then add 10–15% for cuts and coursing.
- Siding & Exterior
Lap siding wall assembly — sheathing, house wrap, starter strip, flashing, and ground clearance
What goes on behind lap siding, bottom to top: sheathing, lapped house wrap, a starter strip that sets the first course angle, the nailed courses, and base flashing — with the siding held at least 6″ above finish grade.
- Siding & Exterior
Why a vinyl siding nail is left loose — the 1/32″ float, and what happens when you drive it tight
Vinyl must float. Center the nail in its slot and leave ~1/32″ (a dime) under the head so the panel can move — driving it tight is what causes the buckled, wavy look.
- Siding & Exterior
The vinyl siding accessory system — where starter strip, J-channel, corner posts and trim go
Vinyl is a full system: starter strip, J-channel, corner posts, undersill/utility trim, and finish trim each wrap a specific edge and are counted in linear feet — not just the panels.
- Siding & Exterior
How vinyl panels lock together and drain — butt-lock, nail hem, and weep holes
Panels hook together at the butt-lock and hang loose from the nail hem; weep holes drain water that gets behind them. Because it drains, vinyl's laps and channel joints are never caulked.
- Siding & Exterior
The order HardiePlank lap siding goes on
HardiePlank goes on in order: housewrap and flashing first, then a dead-level starter strip, then courses that are blind-nailed near the top edge (the next course hides the nail) and climb the wall with butt joints staggered off-stud and flashed behind.
- Siding & Exterior
HardiePlank blind-nail detail — the fastener the next course hides
HardiePlank is blind-nailed: the fastener sits about 3/8″ from the top edge of each plank and the next course laps over it (headlap ≥1¼″), so the head is concealed with no exposed hole — face nailing through the plank face is permitted only where high-wind tables require it.
- Siding & Exterior
HardiePlank butt joints — off-stud, flashed, staggered
HardiePlank butt joints follow three rules at once: the seam lands off-stud between studs, a 6″ strip of flashing sits behind it and laps the course below (no caulk in the joint), and each joint is staggered from the joint in the course above.
- Siding & Exterior
Metal siding profiles — exposed vs concealed fastener
The defining difference between metal siding profiles is where the fastener lives: an exposed-fastener rib is screwed through the crown (visible), while snap-lock/standing-seam and board-and-batten profiles hide the fastener behind the seam or batten cap.
- Siding & Exterior
The order metal siding goes on
Metal siding goes on in order: a taped weather barrier with flashed penetrations, furring for a vented rainscreen gap, a level base flashing and plumb first panel, then screws driven centered in the slot only to the washer’s kiss so the metal can expand and contract without oil-canning.
- Siding & Exterior
Metal siding net coverage vs overall sheet width — the number that sets panel count
Order metal siding against NET coverage, never the overall sheet width — and note the same corrugated panel covers 34.67″ in SMP but 37″ in PVDF. Panels per wall run = wall width ÷ net coverage, rounded up.
- Siding & Exterior
How vertical metal panels become a cut list — full-height columns and the gable rake offcut
Vertical panels run the full wall height, so the count is ⌈wall width ÷ coverage⌉ and each panel is cut to the wall height — to the peak on a gable, then trimmed to the rake. That rake offcut is why gable walls carry a higher waste tier.
- Siding & Exterior
Metal siding screw density — field vs perimeter vs corner, and the washer kiss
Exposed panels run ~80 screws/square in the field, tightened at the perimeter and corners where wind concentrates, then scaled by the wind zone (×1.15 high-wind, ×1.30 HVHZ). Drive each screw only until the EPDM washer kisses the panel — over-driving crushes the washer and leaks.
- Siding & Exterior
Cedar shake sidewall — how weather exposure sets bundle coverage, single vs double course
Cedar coverage is driven by weather exposure, not board length. Wider exposure = fewer bundles; double coursing adds an undercourse layer.
- Siding & Exterior
House wrap course overlap — why a 900 sq ft roll covers only about 850 sq ft of wall
The 6-inch horizontal lap is hidden, so a 900 sq ft roll covers ~850 sq ft of wall. Don’t deduct openings — the wrap folds into them.
- Siding & Exterior
Fiber-cement vertical panel layout — 4-ft columns × rows, battens, and the 3/8-inch rainscreen
Panels are counted by 4-ft columns × sheet-height rows (captures rip waste), and hang on a required 3/8″ rainscreen gap — never tight to the WRB.
- Siding & Exterior
T1-11 shiplap edge and Z-flashing — why a 48-inch sheet covers ~47.5 inches
The shiplap edge overlaps, so a 48″ sheet nets ~47.5″. Every horizontal butt joint gets Z-flashing, with the upper panel lapping over it.
- Siding & Exterior
Cedar shake keyway offset — stagger the joints so water can’t track in
Keyways must offset ≥ 1½″ from the course below, and no joints may line up within three courses. The staggering forces off-cuts — the reason the calculator carries a waste factor.
- Siding & Exterior
Cedar sidewall assembly — a vented rainscreen gap keeps the shakes drying
Behind cedar shakes: sheathing, WRB, then vertical furring that opens a vented rainscreen gap so the shakes can dry from behind. The bottom course is doubled as a starter.
- Siding & Exterior
HardiePanel vertical joints — land on a stud, then caulk or batten
Vertical panel seams must fall on a stud, then close with either a caulked gap over flashing or a batten / H-mold. The joint method drives the batten and trim count.
- Siding & Exterior
Fiber-cement panel clearances — gaps at grade, roof, and joints
Panels stop 6″ above grade, 1–2″ above a roof or deck, and leave a flashed gap at horizontal joints. Those gaps are excluded from coverage — panels are cut to them, not run tight.
- Siding & Exterior
T1-11 nailing schedule and orientation — 6″ edges, 12″ field
T1-11 runs vertical; nail 6″ o.c. around the perimeter and 12″ o.c. into field studs with 8d galvanized or stainless nails. That spacing is where the fastener count comes from.
- Siding & Exterior
Wrapping house-wrap corners — carry it around, never seam at the corner
Carry the wrap continuously around each corner and lap 6–12″ onto the next wall — never seam it at the corner. Those laps are wrap you buy on top of the bare wall area.
- Siding & Exterior
James Hardie vs LP SmartSide warranty value over time — non-prorated vs prorated
Non-prorated (Hardie) pays 100% for the full 30-year term; prorated (LP’s 5/50) starts sliding after year 5 and is worth under half by year 30. The bigger warranty number is a shrinking payout.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate how much siding I need?
Measure each wall (width × height), add gable triangles at half base × height, subtract openings, then divide by the coverage of one plank at its EXPOSURE — face width minus the overlap. The siding calculator automates the geometry and applies a 10 percent waste factor, or 15 percent on complex layouts with many corners and openings. The wall-area diagram shows gross versus net area after openings.
What is the difference between plank width and exposure?
Exposure is the part of the board that shows after the course above overlaps it — typically the plank width minus 1¼ inches. An 8¼-inch HardiePlank at the standard 7-inch exposure covers only 7 inches of wall height per course, so ordering by plank width under-buys by roughly 15 percent, the single most common lap-siding mistake. The exposure-vs-overlap diagram shows why the board covers less than its width.
What clearances does fiber cement siding require?
The big ones: 6 inches to grade, 2 inches above roofs and decks, 1 inch above flashing at horizontal trim, and a ⅛-inch caulked gap at trim per the Hardie spec (butt joints in field areas are flashed, not caulked). Violating clearances is the fastest route to a voided warranty and wicking damage at board bottoms. The wall-assembly diagram shows the grade and roofline clearances in section.
Do I need housewrap behind siding?
Yes — the IRC requires a water-resistive barrier behind exterior cladding in nearly all assemblies. Standard rolls run 9 or 10 feet by 100 to 150 feet; overlap 6 inches horizontally and 12 at verticals, taped at seams. Every siding calculator in this hub includes the wrap and tape takeoff with the plank count.