Do you see this extraordinary thing behind me....
Its my sheet metal, and it's the last piece of the crazy puzzle of siding for this building. And of course it was the heaviest to put up........I have finally reached the limits of what I can do as a girl who weighs 118 lbs. All the little pieces around the door and the corners were manageable (still heavy don't get me wrong) but I had to finally bite the bullet making the call for help from my framers to come and help install the (8) four by eight sheets. (it took 3 strong men and 1 shrimp girl to still lift those suckers and screw 18 screws into place)
The process went as followed for installing metal siding:
Waterproof the wall with black roofing paper
Create a rain screen on the wall using furring strips (this allows the metal to sit off the wall 1/2 inch for air circulation)
Place furring strips 16 inches on center so panels attach to framing studs for structural support
Accurately measure out pattern for 12 gauge sheet metal
Pre drill each sheet per furring layout on wall
Hang each panel using 2" metal screws
After a year or so the raw metal will slowly start to transform into a copper orange rust. The marine air and the rain will speed up the process. Maybe in 50 years the screws will start to rust though, but this siding is going to be the most maintenance free material used so far. I'm really in love with it and cant wait to try using it again and watching it change from the cool blue colors to the more vibrate rusts. Just some little trim pieces on corners and such and the exterior siding is done!!! Hooray.... thank god......I need a break!
