How can siding be repaired from the inside?

[kurt]

Hi, I bought an old house with 1"x8" siding. These shiplap boards are really old and many are coming off. I need to repair it from the inside since there is an adjacent house, too close to work between the walls. I could try to put short screws into the boards and make sure they don't come out the other end and then tie wire around them to pull the boards in and to fasten them but I am thinking there must be some kinds of hardware brackets designed for this purpose. They would have to have to grab on to the tongue of a board and then be fastened to the 2x4 posts.

Since many old houses are built wall to wall there has to be something like this. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Karotto

[willshak]

kurt wrote the following:

Just out of curiosity, what is the distance between houses? Too close to raise a ladder, too close to swing a hammer?

[jloomis]

This is a problem. I would find a right angle bracket and short screws/

[RicodJour]

That shiplap siding sounds a lot like the sheathing they used under various sidings back when. If yours is profiled and relatively knothole free, then it probably was intended as the original siding, so they just skipped the sheathing.

If there is a substantial portion of the siding that needs repair and replacement, I'd consider replacing the whole side of the house. My first thought was vinyl siding as that could be installed with as little as 10" of clearance, it wouldn't need painting nor much in the way of maintenance, but there are some issues going that way.

If your house has let-in diagonal bracing, that would take care of the shear load on the house from high winds and such (obviously more of a concern in hurricane/tornado-prone areas), and if not, you need sheathing to provide racking resistance. Vinyl siding doesn't help here.

In any event, more information please - where is the house, are you in a natural calamity zone, is the interior of that wall stripped to the studs and what sort of materials or contractor budget are you working with?

R

[PeterD]

An additional question from me, exactly how far away is that other house's wall?

[kurt]

Thanks much everyone for your suggestions. The house is in San Francisco. The distance between the houses is about 10" and it's a 2 story house and only part of the siding needs to be replaced. I cannot believe there would not be hardware which grabs the groove or tongue of a board and then lies flat against the 2x4 to be pulled in an nailed. There just HAS to be something like it considering how many wall to wall houses there are. Thanks again.

[DD_BobK]

Kurt-

Welcome to the world of old house restoration.

As the long time owner of a 1930's house, I've learned that often the tools, hardware & techniques required to do the job do not exist .

That means developing them yourself or learning from others who have

Since your siding is probably pretty decent wood (my neighbor's house, built in the 1920's is sided with old growth redwood) I would suggest spending the extra $'s and use SS screws.

SS screws will last a VERY long time, using electro-galvanized screws would be a false economy. Non-SS fasteners will rust, bleed through & provide a site for wood rot to initiate and completely destroy your siding.

A Simpson A24, some large diameter head SS phillips screws with an appropriately sized spacer (washer) will give you "purchase" for a prying tool to lever the siding back against the framing.

At this point, you can screw the 90 deg leg of the A24 to the framing studs; again use SS screws. I would suggest a hex, square or phillips drive self taping SS screw for ease of installation.

Shop the web, you'll be able to find SS screws at reasonable prices (< $15/100)

While you have the interior walls open; rewire, insulate, add a vapor barrier and plywood shear panels.

cheers Bob