Block walls have an industrial look that can suit some building designs. But, in other cases it can look better if a type of siding is installed over top of it. In this article, I will explain if it’s possible to install vinyl siding over block.
As a general rule, you can install vinyl siding over block. The easiest method is to install horizontal pieces of wood onto the block wall, and then install the vinyl siding into it. Otherwise, pilot holes, and special screws are required to fasten the vinyl siding, which requires twice the work.
Each vinyl siding plank requires pilot holes every 16 inches (40 cm) but due to the fact that pilot holes need to be drilled into block, this would be A LOT of pilot holes. So, a wooden frame is typically best unless it’s only a very small area of vinyl siding. Below, I will cover how to install the wood framing over block, step by step, including the tools you need, and the dimensions that you should use when installing the wooden framing.
Can You Put Vinyl Siding over Block? (How To)
Vinyl siding is typically hammered into a wall with nails. But, block is very hard and it’s not possible to drive a nail into concrete or cinder. So, here’s a rundown of whether it’s possible to install vinyl siding over block.
In general, vinyl siding can be installed on block walls such as brick or cinder blocks. A wooden frame should be installed over the block wall first. Each plank of vinyl siding typically needs to be nailed every 16 inches (40 cm), so construction contractors recommend installing a wooden frame.
Otherwise, a lot of pilot holes are required, which takes a lot more time. Unlike a regular wooden wall, nailing vinyl planks directly into the wall is not possible. Therefore, the two options are to drill pilot holes for each nail required for the vinyl planks.
Or, installing a wooden frame first, then nailing the vinyl siding plank into that. A wooden frame is far more time efficient.
Should You Put Vinyl Siding over Block?
Block walls are so hard that it’s impossible to drive a nail into them without first drilling a pilot hole. But, each plank of vinyl siding requires a lot of nails. So, this is whether it’s a good idea to install vinyl siding over block.
Overall, you should install vinyl siding over block walls. It is not particularly difficult to do so, and can significantly improve the aesthetic of block walls. One additional step is recommended first which is to install a wooden frame over the block wall, doing so saves considerable time.
For example, if a wall is 9 feet (3 meters), each vinyl plank needs 7 to 8 nails. Which means that each vinyl siding board needs to have 7 to 8 pilot holes drilled into the block. Doing that is perfectly fine, but does take a lot more work.
What Tools Do You Need to Put Vinyl Siding over Block?
Installing vinyl siding only requires a few tools that most people have. These are something to cut the vinyl siding to fit, and a hammer and nails to nail the vinyl siding to the wall. But, when installing vinyl siding over block there are a few additional steps, so here are the tools you need to install vinyl siding over block.
Nail drive anchors, an electric drill, a masonry drill bit, tin snips, a hammer, tape measure, tapcon masonry screws, a pencil, 1 3/4 inch length nails, carpenters level (spirit level), and wood framing are required to install vinyl siding over block. The wood frame dimensions are explained below.
There are two ways to secure the wooden frame to the block. You can either use nail drive anchors, or plugs. Both work perfectly fine, and there is no advantage to using one over the other.
Nail drive anchors are special nails that expand at the end as you drive them into the holes you’ve already drilled. Whereas, plugs are hammered into the pre-drilled holes, and then masonry screws are installed into the plugs. The amount of wood you will need depends on the area of the block wall you are installing vinyl siding on to.
The wood should be at least about 2 inches (5 cm) in width, but needs to be at least 1 ¾ inch thick. This is the minimum length the nails need to be to secure the vinyl siding into the wall. There are also a range of ways to cut vinyl siding.
A utility knife, or tin snips work fine but there are many other tools. I explained in detail what these are and how well they work in this article about what you can use to cut vinyl siding. All of the steps for how to measure out the wooden framing, how to install it, and then how to install the vinyl siding to the wall are covered at the end of this article.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on December 20, 2022.
What Preparations Do You Need to Put Vinyl Siding over Block?
Before installing vinyl siding into a block wall it’s important to know what’s involved and whether there are any preparatory steps required. Below is a summary of what you should do before installing vinyl siding over a block wall.
In general, install a wooden frame over the block wall first. Most vinyl siding manufacturers state that each plank should be nailed into the wall every 16 inches (40 cm). But, nailing into block requires pilot holes. Installing a wooden frame significantly reduces the number of pilot holes required.
Below are step by step instructions for how to do that, as well as, all of the steps required to install vinyl siding over block wall. There is also a very good video that shows the proper method for installing vinyl planks once you’ve installed the wooden frame over the block wall.
How to Put Vinyl Siding over Block
Installing vinyl siding over block is reasonably easy, and once you know how virtually anyone can do it. So, here is an overview of how to install vinyl siding over block, followed by detailed instructions.
In general, first install wooden framing into the block wall by drilling pilot holes, installing plugs, and then nailing the wooden frame into the pilot holes. After that, vinyl siding can be installed into the wooden framing using the normal method.
It’s not very difficult to install the wooden framing onto the block wall first. Below, are step by step instructions.
1. Mark out the dimensions of the wooden framing
It’s easy to get the wooden framing to fix perfectly provided you allow room for error. Each plan of vinyl siding has a fixed width. So, you should use wooden framing that is about 2 inches wide (5 cm).
That way if the framing is not perfectly positioned, there will still be more than enough room for error. With vinyl siding you start from the bottom, and work your way up the wall. The place where you nail the vinyl siding to the wall is on the top side of each vinyl siding plank.
Therefore, start by installing the wooden framing just above the bottom edge of the block wall. The distance from the bottom of the block wall should be equal to the width of your vinyl planks.
Most vinyl planks are the same thickness, but there are quite a range of different sizes. Therefore, you need to measure the distance the first strip of wooden framing should be from the base of the block wall.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on December 20, 2022.
2. Drill pilot holes
After that drill pilot holes about every 3 feet (1 m) or so along the length of the wall where the wooden framing will go. It’s easiest to mark this out using a spirit level, a tape measure, and a pencil.
It can require 2 people for this part, one to hold the piece of wooden frame while the other person drills the pilot holes. But, some tape can also be used to secure it to the wall temporarily depending on how heavy the piece of wooden framing is.
3. Attach the wood framing to the block wall
Next attach the wood framing to the wall. You can install each piece of wood as you need it. Or, install it all at once.
You could make the argument that it’s easier to install each piece of wood framing after each vinyl plank. That way you can ensure it’s the right distance from the previous plank. But, with a bit of care you can install all of the wooden framing at once.
4. Install the vinyl siding using the regular method
If you’ve never installed vinyl siding before then refer to the full instructions for how to do it in this video from the Vinyl Siding Institute, it covers EVERYTHING you need to know:
You can install vinyl siding over block. But, pilot holes for each of the nails need to be drilled first because it’s not possible to hammer nails into block. Construction contractors recommend installing wooden framing onto a block wall first and nailing vinyl siding into it to save time.
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on December 20, 2022.