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I am replacing some corner trim boards on my 1970s-construction house in Maine that have rotted a bit at the bottom. My house has cedar shingle siding.

Main question: what should I do as far as wrapping or weather-proofing before putting replacement corner trim back up? Also, after trim goes back up, do I caulk/seal between trim and shingles, or do I leave it unsealed as it was?

I have removed corner trim in one location to see what's underneath. Photos below.

  • There is some tar paper (I think that's what it is) under the shingles but it is open at the corner.
  • One one side, the cedar shingles appear to be installed atop some sort of foil housewrap
  • On the other side, there is no housewrap - shingles are just atop the tar paper
  • The corner trim pieces were just adjacent to the shingles - no sealant/caulking in between.
  • Where housewrap exists, it was kind of folded around the shingles and was between the shingles and trim.

One main concern is that water can get between the corner trim and the cedar shingles and could work its way behind the shingles...although it doesn't appear that this has happened, as I don't see signs of water damage underneath.

In addition to the question of what should be done here, I'd be curious to know how bad/lazy it would be to just do nothing for weatherproofing and slap up replacement trim boards (given that I don't see signs of water damage underneath)?

Thank you for your thoughts.

Image of corner: note housewrap under shingles on left side but not on right

close-up of housewrap, which extends less than an inch beyond shingles in a few places

this was position of housewrap between shingles and corner trim: foil side faced the edge of shingles, and backside faced the trim

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Traditionally you'd have just caulked the siding to the corner board, and that would act as the drain plane. However, modern standards do tend to provide a secondary plan, as you've surmised.

You should be able to gently pry the siding out from the wall just enough to slide any flashing you like in there. Use a flatbar or a chisel, and align the tool as closely as possible to the siding nails. It might also work to drive wood shims in behind at those locations.

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  • In this house, there isn't caulking between cedar shingle siding and corner boards - given that fact, it's a little puzzling to me why there doesn't appear to be water damage to either the corner boards or the shingles along the uncaulked intersection. Given this lack of damage, would you still suggest caulking the joint between shingles and corner board?
    – susie derkins
    Commented May 26, 2020 at 19:33
  • Probably not, then. Flash it well and let it breathe.
    – isherwood
    Commented May 26, 2020 at 19:43

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