Trimming Wood Off On Masonry

[cabinetman]

There's one section of trim on the house that is T-111 (5/8") SYP, that was overlaid to old existing trim (3/4" SYP). I need to cut off the old trim flush to the T-111. I've got about 22' to do. I have a plan but I'm interested to hear suggestions, before I start.
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[mpauly]

I'd use a circular saw panel cutting jig like the one here

Align the edge of the jig to the edge of your siding and tack into place, set the saw depth, run the length of the jig, pull up the jig and move to the next section and repeat.

Michael

[dbhost]

Not sure how I'd approach that, the idea about he circ saw with a straight edge sounds about right though... Just be SURE you control your depth of cut...

[pelligrini]

I was thinking a saw board would be good. Probably keeping it in place with a few screws into the siding. With an 8' board you'd only have to move it twice.

Another way would be a fence that would ride the bottom of the soffit or soffit trim. (if the distance from the soffit to the siding edge was consistant enough.

[crokett]

Use a plunge router with a spiral bit. Attach a temporary base plate with a split fence that follows the T-111. It might take a couple passes. That way you aren't putting holes in the T-111 to attach a fence and you don't have to worry about moving the fence to the next section.

[cabinetman]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. One of my concerns is the tearout on the edge of the T-111 in using a circular saw having the blade cutting "up-cut", as the bottom line of the T-111 needs to be trimmed to be straightened out in some places. In addition, the wood underneath the T-111 may cut "furry" and require a lot of sanding and clean-up.
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[dbhost]

I know this isn't what you want to do, but why leave the prior trim on underneath? I've never understood that. My house has areas like that and it drives me batty...

[bruce hylton]

Buy a quality saw blade and don't dull it by cutting too deep.

[leehljp]

A bit more tedious for the amount that you wish to do but the recent post on the MultiMaster tool and its different knockoff tools - with the saw blade is ideal for short sections of this kind of work.

[cabinetman]

A bit more tedious for the amount that you wish to do but the recent post on the MultiMaster tool and its different knockoff tools - with the saw blade is ideal for short sections of this kind of work.

If I had your money, I'd throw mine away. Last thing I'd do is buy a tool to do this. If I remember correctly, I've got a similar problem like you concerning questionable hands and fingers. I'm thinking a circular saw may be too hard to hold and a router may present the same situation. Last thing I want to do is drop tools from that height.
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[dlminehart]

If only you could rotate the building onto its side, so you weren't having to hold a heavy tool up there against gravity! Perhaps you could anchor the sawboard to the lower siding, resting the circular saw or router against the sawboard fence.

[mpauly]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. One of my concerns is the tearout on the edge of the T-111 in using a circular saw having the blade cutting "up-cut", as the bottom line of the T-111 needs to be trimmed to be straightened out in some places. In addition, the wood underneath the T-111 may cut "furry" and require a lot of sanding and clean-up.
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If you use a jig like the one I linked and secure it to the siding securely, it should go a long way to prevent tear out (kind of like a zero clearance throat plate). Couple that with a good quality carbide blade and you should be good.....at minimal cost.

If you have 'questionable hands and fingers' and have concerns holding any sizeable hand tool up there, I'm not sure there are a lot of options.

Michael

[crokett]

a cordless circular saw may be the way to go. If you have the batteries, I have a Ryobi 18V circular saw you can have cheap... Nice and light and this would be the perfect job for it.

Seriously. a cordless would be much smaller and lighter than a full-size one.

[chopnhack]

I'd have to disagree with Crockett on this one, I don't think the cordless will have the power for this particular job. However, with regard to weight, he is on to something. Do you have a smaller circular saw for cutting panels? That should be a good compromise imho. Do you need to set up scaffolding to do this cab man?

[leehljp]

If I had your money, I'd throw mine away. Last thing I'd do is buy a tool to do this. If I remember correctly, I've got a similar problem like you concerning questionable hands and fingers. I'm thinking a circular saw may be too hard to hold and a router may present the same situation. Last thing I want to do is drop tools from that height.
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For people like you and me, it is good at trimming door jambs at "floor" level. For other people, what is a little height?