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As others have said, only install enough fasteners to hold the product in place then remove the gauges prior to completely securing the siding. I am installing some 8 1/4" hardi-lap by myself and was looking for something that would hold the product in place while I secured it to the house. Read other reviews and thought it would be worth a shot for the price. Only con I can see at this point is that caution should be exercised so you don't bend the tool. I have not yet tried the Malco gauges on a 12' piece of siding, but they appear to work well on the 4' lengths I have been installing. If they work well on the 12' pieces I will be extremely happy. They appear as though they might bend if not handled in a fairly cautious manner. UPDATE.product works well on 12' lengths also.
These tools absolutely made my residing project go much better. After using them on a 335 plank (8 1/2" width) project I can't imagine how much more difficult it would have been using my homemade spacing gauge.If you are putting up siding, you need these.Read the instructions. Right out of the box they are not very intuitive. After understanding how they work you will find they are a very clever design.
It averages around 3 3/4" to 3 7/8". For $20.00, it was definitely worth it. It seems to work best on 12 foot boards. There is a little weirdness though. The exposure is not exactly 4". When you press down to nail the board, the exposure seems to get the closest to 4". On shorter runs, I used only one gauge to hold up one end while I nailed the other end.
This works pretty nicely until you knock it off and have to climb down the ladder to get it. These repeated falls do not damage the guage but they are hard on old ladder climbers. I couldn't imagine siding without these.
The Malcos are indispensable for one or two people doing the job.I bought 2 of the Malcos not knowing their were 2 in each package. I am half way finished with ripping off cedar lap siding and installing HardiePlank on my house. I am working solo except for a total of about 6 hours help from a neighbor. It's just as well though. It is good to have a spare in your tool belt when you are on a ladder and drop one.
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