Our approach for siding the north and west walls was to use metal down low and cedar up high. Not only does this reduce costs but we feel like it will wear better over time with both of these walls pushed up against adjacent fences in the perpetually cool shadow of the massive horse chestnut tree above us.
We realized a bit too late that the C metal that captures the edge of the metal siding also does a beautiful job of wrapping around the shiplap for a continuous, clean looking, well protected edge. We were able to use scraps to replace the sides of the window but we are going to have to pull the trim to get longer C channel to wrap the siding and the cedar shiplap at the edges. Edge metal is cheap so it’s not a big deal.
The top edge of the metal panel pairs nicely with the bottom edge of the shiplap, making it painless to just keep working upward without having to stop and create a fussy flashing detail.
For our fan and passive air vents we are taking a different approach than the usual block glued to the house wrap and then siding up to it on all sides. Instead we are gluing a thin block onto the wrap and then siding right over it and drilling vent holes straight through both layers later on. This low profile treatment does the same job as a protruding block in a clean minimalist way.
There is a cap flash integrated into the weather barrier on top of the window, but we don’t have a cap flashing over the top of the window trim because it floats on top of the rain screen, making the trim and the siding a drainage plane that is totally independent from the house wrap. (For more on this detail, check out our YouTube channel) The top of the trim is angled at 6° and the bottom of the siding is carefully cut to 6° for a perfect tight fit. I’m not sure I would take this approach with another type of wood, but Red Cedar has so little movement that you can get away with zero clearance fit.
– Brian
