Can I Hang New Wood Siding Over Old Wood Siding?

LESLIE: Sherry in Texas is on the line with a siding question. How can we help you today?

SHERRY: We have this little cottage that has siding on it. But we want it to look like the other outbuildings and put redwood siding on it. To put siding over siding, do you use a special nail? Is it possible to do that or do you use screws?

TOM: Well, first of all, the siding that you have right now, is it flat or is it clapboard? What does it look like?

SHERRY: It’s flat siding.

TOM: So, like a plywood kind of a surface?

SHERRY: Yes, yes. It’s an ugly siding and we want to go with a redwood siding.

TOM: Alright. So here’s what I would do. And this is for a shed?

SHERRY: Yes, uh-huh.

TOM: So what I would do is I would take building paper – tar paper or even Tyvek but it’s really not necessary – but just tar paper. I would put that up first and then I would attach the siding on top of that, driving the nails into the original siding. You do not need to remove the original siding.

That said, remember, if you’ve got doors or windows, you may have to build out the edge a little bit around to make up the difference. Because the siding is going to be thicker than the old stuff.

SHERRY: OK. Alright. Put tar paper under it. Thank you so much.