Customer Reviews

Malco FCG2 1-1/4 Inch Overlap 5/16-Inch Thickness Fiber Cement Siding Gauge, 2-Pack

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This item should be recommended in James Hardie's installation instructions as are the Makita and Hitachi products. Don't bother trying to make other jigs to set the height of the planks, this is accurate and easily operated with one hand (gauge placement, panel release, and gauge removal). Follow the recommended minimum lateral spacing between the gauge and the closest fasterner or damage can occur to the bottom of the panels when released from the gauge.

I recently finished siding my 2-story colonial with 5.25" (4" exposure) Hardie Boards. It took me about 3 springs/summers of weekends since I did 99% of it completely alone.

I did not start using these until last year (year 3). At that point I only had 25% of the house done. Between these gauges, pump jacks, and a pneumatic siding nailer, I got nearly the other 75% done in one season. But if I could have only kept one tool that was an absolute necessity for working alone, it would have been these.

They are easy to set up and insert, and do a great job holding a course on the wall, especially when working alone. When butt-joining, I would hang a piece on these, then remove the one nearer to the joint and use the other as just a support or "shelf."

Here is my advice as a homeowner who installed Hardieboards by himself:
1. Get these gauges!
2. Expect that over many squares, the bottom edges might get a little worn, perhaps requiring a gentle tap with a hand or hammer to get them to sit on the top course quickly.
3. If you are using the 5.25 (4" exposure) boards, you should STILL use some type of measurement gauge. The 5.25" does in fact dip slightly if you put the gauges near each end of a 12' board. I don't know if this happens with the bigger exposure boards but I would guess that it is not as much. Also, you may have to make your own measurement gauge for the 4" exposure. The Malco one starts at 5"

This gauge is very handy for installing cement board siding. Installing a 12 foot board is a little tricky but shorter boards are a breeze when you are working alone.

This is a great idea, but as a guy who is currently in the middle of residing his house with Hardie planks, I can see a flaw inherent in this product. Although the hardie planks are a manufactured products, all hardie planks of the same width, are not actually the same width. In fact of the 280 planks I bought that are all supposed to be 6-1/4 wide (to get the 5-inch reveal) some are 6-1/4, some are more like 6-1/8, and some are more like 6-3/8. So if you measure the 1-1/4 down from the top as these guages do, you are not always going to get a 5-inch reveal. James Hardie, What's up with that? This is a demonstratable truth. To get an equal 5-inch reveal, you really need to measure 5 inches up from the bottom of each plank. You may not really care if some of your planks have a 4-7/8 reveal, and others have a 5-1/4 reveal, and others get the 5-inch.You may in fact be using these planks on a spec house in the burbs that you can't see from your house. I can see my siding from my house, and I do want to get a 5-inch reveal on all my siding.

I realize James Hardie says you MUST have a 1-1/4 overlap on all boards, but James ought to make a more consistant product. He probably has several different molds being used for manufacturing and they aren't checked for being out of whack often enough.

Instead of 2 men installing and one man cutting, these gauges allow one man to install full length pieces alone without having to juggle the siding and a nailer. It also holds the siding at the recommended 1 1/4" lap without havingto snap lines for every row. It's a great product, I couldn't find it locally, so I e-mailed the company to find where to purchase and they said amazon.com. I recieved it 2 days after ordering it.

Anyone installing fiber cement siding needs these gauges. Quantum leap in siding installation process, dramatically cuts time required for job, no measuring of overlap, no time needed to check siding with level. Gauges will assure identical overlap and level siding. Makes siding job look almost perfect. Very simple to use. Essential if you work alone!

this tool works real well, makes siding faster and better looking, because of the even spacing

This well-made tool does exactly what it is meant to do and does it well, a great solution to putting up long pieces of clapboard by yourself. The gage places succeeding courses at a 4" reveal when used with 5.25" Hardiplank clapboards. Note that if you're using wider size clapboards (~6" size I've seen at Home Depot) you'll need something else to gage the reveal if you want a 4" reveal; this tool seems dedicated to the 5.25" Hardiplank. It is only a gage in the sense that it will give a consistent reveal for each course, but note that the tool is not meant to provide adjustments (though I found that I could get around this when I needed to adjust my courses)---it's more a hanger, a cheap second pair of hands.


In use, I gradually learned not to nail the next clap all the way in before freeing the gage from the previous course; just put a few nails about 3/4 in to hold the clap, then loosen the gages. It is a bit tricky until you get the hang of it. (Obviously I'm using a hammer and not a nail gun. Nailing Hardiplank by hand is doable, but buy good quality nails.) It does work the way it's supposed to, and the price is right---a refreshing thing to encounter these days.

I purchased these to finish up a hardiplank siding job. For the bulk of the job I used a borrowed PacTool SA902 siding gauge (which is definitely a five-star tool). Unfortunately I had to return them to my friend so he could finish up the siding at his house. The Malco gauge only costs about $20 vs. $80 for the PacTool. It works as advertised, but it is not as precise or heavy duty as the PacTool. The PacTool does scratch up your siding, so you would have to go with their special plastic version if you have pre-painted siding. Overall, I would recommend the Malco for smaller jobs, but the cost differential with the PacTool would be immaterial for a large siding job.

I've used another type gauge, or hanger. It took two hands, and required a pouch or something to put them in. The Malco FCG2 can be used with one hand, and I slip them into my back pocket between planks. They pay for themselves in about 10 minutes of work by saving time. I recommend them for the novice or professional.