Siding Tools For 5/16 Fiber Cement Siding And 3/8 LP Smartside, Fully Adjustable Siding Gauges

Sweet tool. I figured it was cheap and a small risk in the overall cost of my house. I am about 1/2 way done putting up fiber cement. This tool is awesome, it keeps every piece perfect and it's so easy to use. I have had some offers for help but haven't needed any help. While the tool will not error, there are some precautions to take to avoid operator error. I have found that when you seat the tool, you need to make sure it's seated securely or your board may stand up slightly. This is done just by giving it an extra tug downward when setting it on the previous piece and taking a quick peak at how it's seated. Also, it needs to lie flat, I left it at a slight angle a few times and wondered why my board wasn't level. Those are the two easy errors to make and not catch quickly. There are some other errors to make but they are easy to spot right away, like not turning the dial back to the right setting after you've removed it. You'll noticed right away that the reveal isn't correct or if just one is set wrong the board will slant. It's so simple to use, I had never sided anything in my life and I am doing my whole house with these. Another bonus is that you can make fine adjustments very simply. One last side note, I am "thrifty" so I just used a cheap framing blade and cut a lot of fiber cement with it, it worked just fine. A lot of dust when ripping starter pieces but not unbearable. I switched to a $20 fiber cement Diablo blade and the thing cuts like butter. I have not tried an expensive blade and I won't either since I am halfway done and both cheaper blades worked well. Snap a level line to start and away you go with this tool. I love the fiber cement and the tool and wouldn't use anything else.

First a little bit about myself. I'm very old-school and I hate change. I am the type of person that gets angry when Hitachi changes the color of their nail guns and I am willing to spend money on good tools so I don't have to buy a replacement down the road. I was almost certain this tool was going to disappoint me. I mean it's bright green and has plastic parts which seems like a sure recipe for disaster. I figured I'd buy it based on the positive reviews and I could always return it to Amazon if it turned out to be worthless crap. Now that I've used the SoloSider I have to say that it's one of the best purchases I've made during the past year. I used these gauges to put up several hundred square feet of 6.25" Hardiplank by myself. The design is simple and elegant. It's trivially easy to adjust the reveal to within 1/16 of an inch. Set up time is super fast and the gauges hold the siding very securely while nailing. In short, this is a great tool. If you are fretting over the decision between this and the Malco gauges I'd strongly suggest you give these a try. I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

These are a tremendous help when installing siding. They helped me perform a two person job by myself, with relative ease. I do have a complaint though. I used these to fill some areas where high wind blew off a few boards from my wall - in the middle of my wall. Therefore I had existing boards both above and below the board I was installing. It was quite difficult to remove these holders once I nailed the new boards in place - based on their design, that was to be expected though. That said, if you were installing a whole wall of siding, on a bare wall, I can see how these would be invaluable.

Great little product! I was worried about doing the siding by myself with no one to help me, this product was a real life saver and nearly took the place of another person. It worked really well once i got the hang of it. The Directions should state state however to put the half moon side up and rest the siding on the ark not the flat side! once you make this mistake and nail the siding up you have to take the siding down in order to get the soloSider out for the next piece of siding. (After figuring this out it worked like a charm. Hint put the tool two foot from each end and put two nails first near the center area and then remove the SoloSiders and then finish nailing the siding ( this makes it a whole lot easy tor remove the tool. Well worth the money.

I am not a professional contractor or carpenter, but I really do enjoy working on different projects on our home and those of our families. I wanted to install new 12" hardi plank on two exterior walls of our home. I had inquired and studied several holding tools during the winter months and decided that the SoloSider tools would be the best. This is one of the best tools that I have ever purchased, hands down... Even with the help of a son and three son-in-laws, this set provided the quickest and easiest way to hang siding. Add the ability to adjust the leveling and the job was done in quick order. If you have 12" siding, I believe that this is the "only" tool that will work... I hung several 12' sections by myself and had no problem in mounting the pieces. The tools are well constructed and would last a pro for many years..

When I did my first fiber cement project about 4 years ago I was working alone and looked at several different options of tools to use for holding the siding. I decided to give solosider a try. I'm a building contractor and have tried tools that sound terrific when you read about them but end up stuck in the basement. I'm always skeptical about new tools when I get them but this tool performed beyond my expectations. After I got the first row installed level I was able to run many courses and they held true. When I had to make a slight adjustment to relevel it was simple to do since you can make a small 1/16" adjustment with a twist of the dial. I was extremely happy with solosider.