Customer Reviews

Malco FCMS 5-Inch to 8-Inch Exposure Facing Gauge and Overlap Gauge Set

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Without question, as others have said these gauges are very useful in hanging siding either alone or with help. And if you know their flaws up front, they won't slow you down. In fact they are easy to work around.

So what are their flaws? Well...

The metal gauge 'measures' from the top of a board while the red plastic one 'measures' from the bottom. To get perfect alignment you need to have both gauges AND the siding aligned perfect for each piece. That cannot ever happen for the reasons below.
· The siding is not consistent in size/width; close, but not perfect. Variations do exist.
· Since the metal gauge measures from the top, it is measuring the overlap between pieces, not the reveal which is the most crital measurement for aesthetics.
· The metal gauge relies on consistent operator placement of the siding in the same position (in/out from the wall) each time. In/out position changes here result in differences in the siding's height. Not the gauges fault, but perfect alignment doesn't happen every time either.
· The metal gauge flexes/bends and moves slightly resulting in inconsistent placement as well.
· The vertical placement (attachment) of the metal gauge on top of the previous siding course may not always be the same do to operator variance.
· The plastic gauge is the most reliable/consistent, but it does bend slightly under the weight or pressure of holding the siding as you jockey it into position. Unless you look for and correct any bending, the alignment can be off slightly.
· My plastic gauge's reveal was slightly under 7-1/16" instead of exactly 7" like it should have been. While not too big of a deal, adding this error up over 20-30 courses can change your layout slightly; particularly as you notch the siding around windows. Leaving too small a strip either above or below your windows and doors can look bad. Measure its exact reveal BEFORE beginning your install and lay things out accordingly.

OK, all that aside, how do you best use these things to get as consistent an alignment as possible? Basically, only use the metal Gauge as a 3rd hand to hold the siding in place in its 'approximate' position, but use the plastic one to do your actual 'fine tuning'.

First, install the metal one on the far end of where you will install your next siding piece. Place the plastic gauge at the new vertical seam (1/2 under the previously installed piece of the new row and half under the bottom of the new piece). This will ensure that the bottoms of the seams align - aesthetically important! Put in one nail at this edge. Now move to the middle of the new siding piece and again gauge the reveal with the red gauge (move the siding up/down as needed). Put in another single nail. Next remove the metal gauge on the far end, but still support the siding slightly with your hand until you position the red gauge on the far end. Add another single nail. Now, go back and put in your nails (w/o gauges) between the 3 nails according to your nailing schedule. This should leave you a consistent, if not exact, reveal across your siding.

Once you get the hang of this technique you should be able to speed this up by nailing between the 2nd and 1st nail before moving to the far end and finishing. Of course if you are using a ladder(s) instead of a scaffold or pump jack system you will want to master this technique quickly.

One other tip on using the red gauge. This works well as a layout tool for measuring the lengths of mitered gable pieces. Slide the gauge on your last course to the side until the gauge butts up against your gable eave or frieze board. Use a pencil to make a light line on your siding using the flat surface on the TOP of the gauge. Now you can see where the siding's mitered point will meet the gable for your measurements.

Also, if you need to make miter cuts on both ends of a piece and have a partner to help, make a line on the siding as mentioned above on one end, then give the red gauge to your partner. Have them hold it in place on the other end and hook the edge of your tape measure over the top of the red gauge to get your measurement from tip-to-tip on your double mitered piece.

True..the picture is misleading, there is only one of the hangers in the package, and there are times when 2 would be helpful.
Overall these tools exceeded my expectations, I'm finishing up on a 500 piece installation and I've hung every piece single handed with these tools.

This system works great and makes it POSSIBLE to hang siding with only one person working. It works fine as is for ground level work or working from a scafold. I am buying a second set for ladder work so both ends can be supported while go down for my nailer. Well worth the money.

We use the other siding clips that are available and at first I was not impressed, but now we really can't live without them. Just yesterday two of us put up about 300 SQ FT in about 2 1/2 hours. We cover 2500 SQ FT of wall space in about 6 working days, much quicker than before. This new item will be surely worth looking into

1200 square feet of Hardi Plank siding (5 inch exposure) by myself. These two tools are a must have.

These are the most handy tool that I have purchased in a long time. It enables one person to install hardyplank siding.Great product!

very pleased. short learning curve. there are tricks to everything. found slight space difference in the exposure gage and the overlap gage. made the job much easier since I am working alone.

I used both gauges while installing James Hardie fiber cement siding. It was easy to use and saved a lot of time. The metal gauge could allow one man to install siding by himself.

Several people had negative things to say about these tools. If they would think about what they were saying before making a statement they would realize that the answer is right in front of them. Use the hangers to hold the plank in place. Use the guide to adjust it for the desired spacing. It works like a champ. Simply nail one end while using the height guide to get it exact and then do the other end. Remove the hanger from the first end after you set the nail and remove the second hanger BEFORE you set the nail on that end. (You can remove the first one before nailing too if you want to.)
This product works great. If you set the first line properly the entire wall should fall into place. Check it every 5 rows or so and sneak it back in if you have to. If you were careful then it should be consistent regardless of the tolerance of the planks!

I bought these to help me with a garage that I was building, for the most part, by myself. For a novice, these were a life-saver. Especially the metal overlap guage set. The red plastic face gauge is ok for short runs but I would probably want something a little more accurate for long runs. My neighbor, who is a home builder, saw me using them and came over to find out what I was using. Even though he uses three guys to install siding (two on scaffolding to install, one to cut) he was going to buy a set for those rare occasions when one of his guys didn't make it in. As a side note, when I started the siding, I used a table-saw with a fiber-cement blade to rip and a B&D 18V cordless skillsaw for crosscuts. Even with the special blade, the dust and fiber-cement particles were a MAJOR issue. I ended up using a plain old box cutter and speed square to score and snap. (Three passes front and back) Worked like a charm, even for angle cuts.