Curve J-Channel Vinyl Siding Around a Chimney

LESLIE: Jim in Iowa, you’ve got The Money Pit. What can we do for you today?

JIM: I’d like to tell you I’ve got a problem with my chimney. We’re putting up J-channel [1]and the J-channel is kind of like a Coke-bottle shape where the channel has to go in and back out the other way and it’s on both sides. We haven’t been able to start that side yet.

TOM: Because you’re trying to figure out how to curve it?

JIM: Yes.

TOM: OK. So you want to know how to curve the J-channel?

JIM: And it’s about inch-and-a-quarter J-channel for insulated siding [2].

TOM: OK, very simple. Very simple. What you do is you cut the side of the J-channel that goes against the house; you kind of slot it.

LESLIE: The backside; you want to score it.

TOM: Score it and slot it. Actually cut it and bend it around the space and then – before, of course, you put the siding in there – you take some building paper like Tyvek or whatever type of house wrap you’re using and make sure you cover the cut edge of the J-channel.

JIM: Oh, I see.

TOM: That’s what gives you your …

JIM: Should we have an overlap like …?

TOM: Correct. Overlap it.

JIM: Oh, like around some kind of – well, like around a chimney, where you put the flashing.

TOM: Yeah, that’s right. So you overlap it with the building paper or the Tyvek and that’s what makes it waterproof. It’s as easy as that.

JIM: Sounds good.

LESLIE: Thanks so much for joining us at The Money Pit.