Calculator for Siding

Have you considered a piece of paper and a scaled ruler?

Triangle area is base x height and divide by half. You know area that one piece of siding will cover. Add 20-30% for waste, especially in this configuration and more if you don't want jointed pieces.

Retsub said:

I want to install Hardie lap siding. I know all the dimensions of the triangle shaped area and want to use a computer program to lay out each piece to look at it and be able to see the lengths of the partial pieces left over of a 12 ft board to be able to be used higher up. Its easy to figure the square footage but I want to go a step farther. This would also make the material cost easier to estimate knowing the amount of material needed. Would like to use the simplest program. Free would be good but not necessary. What would some of you suggest ? Thanks. *BW*

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If you want for now or for future projects, you can download the free drawing program SketchUp. Since you have the measurements, you can draw the triangle and the siding and see what you come up with.


http://www.google.com/search?q=free...sugexp=chrome,mod=15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Retsub said:

easy to figure the square footage but I want to go a step farther.

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Add 10% onto your SF and that will get you close. If you're trying to figure out exactly (to the piece) what you'll need on a whole house then you're over thinking this (to many variables).

Fall a little short, then buy a few more pieces. Have extra, just return it.

Calculator for siding

Thanks Joe for the Sketchup link. I started to download it but when I saw all the extra stuff it was sending along I aborted it. I don't need more computer troubles. So now I am back to square one. With years of background in a CNC machine shop and G Codes I still have plenty of Trig books and a calulator to use but would like to do it on a laptop and easily see where all the pieces fall into place and to move on to other projects later. Graph paper as mentioned could be a fairly quick look too. Anybody else have a idea ? Thanks again for a good forum. *BW*

Just go on the Hardee website. There's a down loadable calulater there.
I agree your way over thinkng this.
Buy to much, just bring it back.

What size is the triangle and how many inches to the weather is the siding ?

Rets,
if you have access to autocad and know how to use it's basics, it would be easy enough to do. I used to draw all my house plans on autocad. All my elevations, including siding size, was drawn to scale. You could draw your elevations and just use the offset command to put the siding lines in. Then trim them up where they stick out past the angles. I agree with the others, no real reason to do it this way to figure out a material list.
Mike Hawkins

I like what you are planning to do. I do the same thing. When I finished building a house all the scraps fit easily in a short bed pickup.
This method is labor intensive but feels like a big win.
Get that architects scale and some scale paper.
Actually cut pieces from the scale paper that match the size of Hardiplanks. Draw the triangle elevation at the same scale as the Hardiplanks. Then start placing your planks on the elevation drawing.
When you have to cut a plank, code it with color. Then you know which parts are cut from a certain plank.
Very satisfying. I do this with many projects. When I did a beadboard wainscot, I had two inches of waste.
Good luck.