The Sidding Guy

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A self-taught solo siding installer who wants to make a difference in this world

11/02/2026

This is a shape that I’ve never bent before. You can see I hesitated a few times during this session. It’s a good thing it is a small piece. When bending new shapes, I always encourage people to test it out using scrap material, or even paper. Had I finished the built in J-pocket first like most people are used to, then I wouldn’t have had room to make the main over-bend. The main concern when bending new shapes is the order, if you complete a bend prematurely, it could leave you stuck, and wasting materials. This was bent out of steel stock so that I could install that flashing cap without any visible fasteners on my roof. The attachments on my brake are “Just Bend” measuring gauges from Innovatools. They’re held on by magnets and as you can see the measurements are on there so that you don’t have to use a tape measure or mark out the piece beforehand. It saves quite a bit of time for repeat bends or one-off bends. There is a link in my bio and a discount code from anything ordered from Innnovatools. I hope these simple tips for brake work help. Practice, practice, practice on scrap pieces and then commit it to muscle memory! . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11/02/2026

This is a repair that I completed today. Though this fascia lasted over 20 yrs (as this neighbourhood is that old), the main reason it blew off originally is because the original installer did not use a snap lock punch into the gable trim. Also, the original installer only used 2 nails per length of fascia. A snap lock punch adds a flap that will lock into the gable trim, much like how a ratchet works. Yes, I know some of you use screws, but I have to match the rest of the house, so I used colour matched stainless steel ring-shanked nails. The fascia isn’t going anywhere now. I also added more staples to the gable trim as some of it was coming off due to the original installer over driving the staples which pierced the metal causing a blow-out. I hope some of this information is helpful to you. Thanks for watching and following along. . . . . . . . . . . . .

11/01/2026

This is a rare real time video of me working. I’m not moving fast at all or in a “rush”, yet I can still get lots of square footage up in a day and get houses done quickly. Not having to roll out or wind up a hose daily helps - just show up at work and start installing. Not fighting with a freezing hose with memory is also a bonus - especially since I typically set up for 2 sides of the house at once so I don’t have to mind a hose around the corner anymore. In this video I easily put 5 nails in in 6 seconds without rushing or stressing - try doing that hand nailing. Yes you can definitely match that with an air tool, but cordless gives you freedom of motion. The nailer is on the heavy end, but as you can see I’ll just hang it up close to wear I’m working and not on my person. It’s crazy to think that it’s been almost 3 years since I worked on making the siding adapter for the cordless roofing nailer, then once I got it working, I realized that I couldn’t hang the nailer anywhere and designed a hook for it. One of the prototypes is still being used on the nailer in the video and it’ll stay on there for many more years as it still works well, though chunkier than the production model. I want to thank the talented team at Siding Tips who turn my ideas into reality to make my life easier. Though I make videos using the products, it’s the engineer and 3d modeller that truly deserve the recognition. The winter adapter is being used in this video and you can purchase it at sidingtips.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11/01/2026

This is a quick and easy way to find the angle of a gable if you don’t know it - speed square and a level, or a speed square with a built in level. There are many ways to find the roof pitch, this is one of the easier ways without much fuss. I hope this tip helps you. For years I didn’t know how to use a speed square until a kind carpenter showed me and it has saved so much time over the years. . . . . . . . . . .

10/31/2026

This is a question I get asked A LOT - “How to you fix a damaged corner?” This in one way of doing it. The Vinyl Siding Institute instructs you to do it the same way except without removing any siding. They want you to use a couple of rivets to hold the corner up to prevent it from moving up and down. I don’t like visible fasteners, so my solution is to remove a piece of siding and fasten it behind the siding. I have replaced corners on an entire 2-storey house before because the client second guessed herself and decided after the project was completed that she wanted white corner posts instead. I’ve posted it this method before and I get the odd comment where people say “Don’t be lazy, take all of the siding off and do it right.” To those people I say - “I feel I’ve gone above and beyond how the manual instructs you to fix the corner post.” I hope that you found this video informative. Remember, I’m not posting these videos to advise you to adopt my methods. I’m simply posting for information purposes as I do realize there are many ways to get a task done. For yourself, try out many ways, and figure out which way suits you the best. These videos are just my day to day and that’s all as I’m still learning every single day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10/31/2026

This is a prototype of the “Tapco Tape” that I saw at the International Builder’s Show in Vegas earlier this year. They aim to release it later this year. As you can see from the video it’s got 2 sets of measurements - one for the cut-off tool which is a 1.5” offset and another for a bending gauge. It can slide back and forth to accommodate different lengths of material and folds out of the way for making the actual cuts or bends. It’s been a while since Tapco has released anything new. It’s good to see companies coming out with new products to make it more efficient on the job. What do you think? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Royal PROS

10/30/2026

This is a partitioned box for my fastener bag made with cut off scraps of aluminum. It’s held together with aluminum rivets and will last for years. My old partition box was quite a few years old before it got stolen. Without the box, the bag flops over and tends to spill the fasteners. I hang this fastener bag off of the guardrails while working on houses so I don’t really have to carry fasteners on my person to keep my toolbelt nice and lightweight. I hope this video gives you an idea of something you can use your scrap metal for. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10/30/2026

This is a great way to take care of strap “tails”. It’s a method used by many for years so don’t give me any credit - someone else shows me and I was blown away so I thought I’d pass it along. The strap is from and I showed that last week. Easy straps to work with and perfect for something like this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10/29/2026

This is a follow-up video on cutting soffit from yesterday’s post. Someone asked me to make a video on how I set up my cutting jig. The set up is super quick and easy thanks to my Dewalt mitre saw stand. I bought my mitre saw stand about 7 yrs ago, then when they upgraded it to the next Gen, I sold my old one and bought the new Gen which makes set up even quicker. I’ve tried many mitre saw stands out over the years and have found this one to be the quickest and easiest to set-up/tear down. I purposely made my cutting jig as compact and lightweight as possible. The reason for the triangle shape is to keep the weight down while still being fully supported where needed for full cut capacity. I honestly wouldn’t change anything about the jig if I were to build it again, except make straighter cuts on the inside cut out. Maybe one day I’ll use a soldering iron and burn the measurement markings into the wood. As you can see, it can cut multi materials. Cut forward for wood, and backward for siding and soffit using a regular 24 tooth framing blade - offering clean cuts on all those materials. And you can stack a few sheets of soffit and siding and cut them at the same time as well. For those who asked, I hope this video helps and that it’s slow enough so that you can take screen shots to build one yourself. It’s literally built with a couple of short scraps of 2x4 and a scrap of OSB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10/29/2026

This is a first for me. My tenant notified me that the dryer was squealing and sent me a video of the sound. It’s a 15 year old discontinued dryer and I couldn’t even find a manual or parts list online. There were no YouTube videos on this style of dryer, but after some research I realized that the bearing is the common problem across a lot of dryers and it’s a fairly universal part so I ordered one on Amazon for under $20. What happens is the drum wears away the plastic bearing and starts riding on the metal bracket, which is what causes the squealing. The most difficult part for me was figuring out how the panels came off. I thought I could fix it while it was still on top since other YouTube videos showed that. Once I figured it out it was fairly straightforward. The Amazon reviews recommended using the original screws and backplate since the new one isn’t the greatest, so that’s what I did. Before today I was dreading this repair since I was scared of failure. It is weird going into the unknown and trying something you’ve never done before. But after today I feel a huge sense of satisfaction - plus I probably saved at least $300 for an appliance repair person. Here’s to always learning and trying new things. The worst that can happen is you fail, so what? I encourage to try new things and to keep learning. I hope this post inspires you to learn, even if you have fear of failure. Thanks for watching!

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Los Angeles, CA
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