Clapboarding is done in sections, from staging successively lowered as the work progresses. Each section is built upward from the staging, its top board being slipped under the lowest board of the preceding section, which has been left unnailed along the bottom for that purpose. The term "clapboard," in New England, corresponds to "siding," as used elsewhere. Clapboards are all quarter-sawed, being cut from the log by a circular saw which cuts always toward the center; they are cut four feet long, six inches wide and half an inch thick at the butt. Siding is of similar section but a little thicker, and is commonly sawed the same way as boards, in lengths of twelve to sixteen feet. Either clapboards or siding make a good wall covering, and the best should always be quarter-sawed and laid over a good quality of sheating paper, which is generally put on in horizontal layers, each layer being lapped about two inches and breaking joints with the paper and flashings already put behind the finished work.

There are many good brands of paper on the market, with very little to choose between, the principal qualities required being toughness and soundness. -A kind of siding called "novelty siding" is often used for cheap summer houses. This is nailed directly to the studding without any rough boarding, but the omission of the rough boarding - it should be noted - is always done at a great loss in strength and warmth.