HOW TO | J-Channel a Window (Perfectly Every Time) 

This is why its good for Supervisors to do installs in the field with their crew. To catch, and correct mistakes, AND to get reminded why jobs sometimes take longer then THEY thought it should. Good for everyone involved.

This is one of the best how-to instruction videos I've ever seen as far as construction type stuff. Simple, actually shows us, up close, exactly what he's doing and why etc. You'd be amazed at how many people making these types of videos don't show you simple things.

Good job! Love a young man who loves his profession. I trained plumbers for over forty year’s. Many came back years later to thank me that owned their own business. And many who I taught the correct way but started cutting corners soon went bankrupt. The only way in the long run of any business is to do it right the first time. Well done and know you will be a successful business for many years to come.

Many thanks for the great vid! An extra step worth considering is flashing beneath the side J-channel bottoms: Cut a piece of flashing out of felt paper or flashing tape and install it at the bottom corners of the windows before installing the bottom & side J-channels. Overlap the flashing onto the siding course just below the window. Now, water that runs inside the side J-channels will come out on top of the siding & out it's weep holes, not behind it.

This is how you create a how to video. Many of these guys don't show you the details. This guy knows his stuff and and more important knows how to communicate what he knows!

You’re ok there bud! It’s rare to see people with the patience of Job in this day and age. Keep it up!

Just started on my brothers siding crew. He's a hot shot kinda like you, but a horrible teacher. This video helped tremendously. I learned a whole lot. Thanks man. And thank you for your service to this country!

I've been siding for about 20 years. I exclusively do Smartside but did vinyl for about 10 years. I learned this method about 8 years in and I never turned back. If you put it on first and mark everything with a pencil i found it was way more precise than measuring. Also... with the nail flange on the window we used to bend out the front of the J from the back just a bit so the channel doesn't roll forward and get it nice and tight to the window. Hands down best way to do channel. Great video brother! Just the tip😂😂 glad we aren't the only ones who make that joke.

Zack, I am a carpenter/ roofer 36 years old doing this work since 18. I can do the 10 minute windows but I never thought about leaving the back half for the flap that bends around to put a nail in it. Thanks for sharing that brother. I always just cut it out and fold it over. But I will be using that next time.

As a tradesman myself, I ALWAYS took the time to teach. 10minutes to show a green guy the “right” way to do something was always better than an hour fixing what they tried to figure out on their own. My favorite “helpers” were the ones who were eager to learn and asked a lot of questions and they eventually blossomed into some of my favorite journeymen to work alongside of. Even with 15 years in my trade I’m STILL always open to suggestions/tips from the guys who came before me.

Dude... Your 39 minute video took me about an hour studying your every move... I live in KY and It RAINS a lot.. The Front of my shop has problems with water leaking in so now i'm going to Fix it once and for all.... Thanks bud!! and i couldn't help but subscribing...

What shows most is that you are a decent guy who cares about the quality of your work. Nicely done!

Watched this guy for 3 seconds and knew he was a pro. I’ve been a carpenter for 25 years and never got good doing siding and J ( I can obviously do it, but I’m slow as hell. I’ve been looking for “ that one weird trick” Looks like this dude knows.

"Better to be long than short" Best advice in everything

I enjoyed the videos I watched. The thing I liked best about your video was the comment you made near the end. "Fast doesn't matter if it's not quality." I worked with a wonderful older gentleman who took me under his wing and taught me volumes of things. One of his lessons and a Howard ism was "There is never time to do it right, but there is always time to do it over." Compared to most guys I've worked I am slow but I feel I always did quality work. I also had to go back and fix other people's work.

Newbie here. Great video. I bought the $50 j channel notcher, thinking it would make the job easier. After seeing this video, I stand corrected. It is more difficult to use notcher the colder it gets. It is supposed to have two settings, one to notch two sides to leave the hinge and one to notch all three sides to completely remove notch. When it's cold out, it wants to take the whole notch out every time. Returning this tool tomorrow! Thanks again for the great videos.

Totally agree. I can j much faster without a tape measure and it will be tighter, better...

I’m you but in plumbing. Love to teach and love to show my “little tricks”, you are obviously a great tradesman, and teaching someone “how to”, is satisfying. That is why good tradesman...tradeswoman, charge by the job not by the hour, our experience has to be at a premium. Great job, and doesn’t matter what I watch I always see a trick.

I'm fully confident that I can trim a window with J channel. I most likely will NEVER. But now I know. You explained it very well.

I consider myself a pretty good j-channeler. I thought I knew all the tricks. But after watching how you make your 45° cuts, I was impressed. It made it so much easier. And it looks better. Thanks for the tip.

Great video on how-to instructions. I'd also like to see a video about j-channel retrofit installation

Your camera operator does an outstanding job of getting the right shot, at the right angle, at the right height and closeness. Excellent!

Also, the fumbling around with the "speed' square did make it super confusing to my trainees, I'm having them watch this because I think there is alot of things we can pick up on what to do and what not to Do. Always want your 45 point furthest away from the window 🪟, it's the same exact angle that's already on the window frame itself, hard to mess that up. Thanks brother.

28:00...If you already know how to j channel a window and just want to see how I do it, fast forward to 28 minutes. Beginners can definitely learn from the detailed explanations in the beginning but i feel some of the experienced guys might see a different thing or 2 as well! Hope you guys enjoy. Don't forget to like this video and subscribe

I work with windows about 20 years a different countrys Brazil Canada Chile Italy and U.S. and make fast clean and happy customer... Congrats buddy

Thank you for this. Best J channel video I have seen. I am a DIY'er and was able to trim out a crappy dryer vent install by a plumber. The corners don't look as tight as yours but they are better than the 'pro' install from the builder.

Came back to this video because I did the siding on the front of my house last year. Today I tried to J channel around my window on a different part of the house on just memory from last time, as I was nailing I hated the way the corners looked. Long story short I was doing it so wrong compared to this method that I did before and they came out perfect. This is a great video for the part timer like myself

Man it does my heart good to watch you vinyl side this home. I don't know why but I always loved vinyl siding homes it always made me feel good turning a dump into a show place. You guy's do great work...

I installed J channel on 2 windows and they looked terrible. Watched your video, twice, and went and started over with your methods and they turned out very well. Thanks for your service to our country and thanks for a great tutorial for us DIY folks.

Always a pleasure watching others take pride in what they do.

Dude, I’m a commercial carpenter, and I’ve learned more from your videos [that I’ve watched in 4 months] then I have, from any “ticketed” guy I currently work with. Thanks for being awesome 🤙🏾

Thank you very much. This is my first time doing this. And i ve learned how to do the 45.s

Damn good job there. Wish I was still doing this stuff to be able to use your techniques. One thing I would throw out there that may help someone as it can be easily overlooked, is that when we would do a job like this with new windows being installed, we wouldn’t install the screens for the windows until the very end after the siding. This helps prevent anybody from putting a hole in the screen when they aren’t paying attention. (We had a few guys that were drawn to them like magnets and would inevitably end up putting a hole in one) Anyway keep up the good work

Well done and it made my DIY siding look like a pro. (perhaps better than some pros around here) Thanks!

Amazing demonstration of proper trim on the outside of a window. I have scoured multiple videos(maybe that added to my understanding), but this video was the real kicker to understanding the concept.

Red snips are lefts not rights. The cut in left direction. Hence “lefts”

When siding , green and red snips for sure , and Wiss are the best brand in my opinion.

This was by far the best instructional video in construction I've seen! Thanks.

Good job. If you leave the corners on it they will lock into the other piece. It’s hard to explain but if you know, you know.

RULES ON THE #JCHANNELCHALLENGE 1) just j the dang window start to finish 2)use your own style if you don't like mine specifically or your boss prefers it differently 3)maintain good quality throughout the process 4) first one to beat me gets $100 speedway gift card, same as the #onesquarechallenge

Great no fail advice here. Thank you! My first time doing J and your process worked perfect everytime. Super pleased with my outcome!

Good to FINALLY see someone on YT properly use sill gaskets/flashing membranes.

Great video! Many years ago I worked for a contractor (1990 or so). I helped install vinyl siding on a few houses back then but I would never have considered myself knowlegable. I recently had to re-side my back room because of crappy old masonite siding falling down. I've watched a bunch of videos to refresh myself on doing it. Your video made it possible for me to get great results doing J channel around my windows & door. Remarkable. You obviously know what you're doing. And I appreciate your help!

I just used this technique on my windows, and they came out great. Thanks for the video, brother!

4 years late. Thank you for a great instructional video. I actually learned a lot.

Just finishing my 3000 sq ft place, great video, I want to share some tips I used. I bought the tool that cuts-bottom out. Worth the money to save time, but not necessary. But my siding is wood colour and with snips left the cutouts showing the plastic colour. Tool makes neat cuts. The tool I said can cut a small tab but Zack’s idea is way better for attaching. The corners at 45, if you keep it a few inches long then you can bend it over and keeps corner crisp and in place. I also too a 6” piece, cut perfect 45’s on each corner, used as a temp plate. Had some big windows and was hard to hold sides and get top figured out. I would get the bottom first, the sides at bottom are easy todo, then by leaving the sides a bit long at top, using my template I can trim the side piece at top, both sides, then measure the piece, keep few inches each side long like video, I did left side first, then put the piece up and used my template to measure the angle ect, then, put it up and Bammmm! Done. Looks great. As a tradesman I tell my apprentices my way works, here is how to do it, but, it’s ok to tweak it as you like. Thanks again.

Awesome video. I’m DIYing my own siding and have been struggling with the J all week. An hour a window. This is so helpful. Thank you so much!!!!

Great video. I followed your process and it turned out great!

Your the man. Thanks a lot. I do commercial carpentry so never did siding. I had a siding guy come over an start my j runner. I watched yiur video. Took all his down an re did it the right way lol the way you just taught me. Thanks again!

I never had a teacher for much either. My mistakes and the things I done right taught me and now, have made me prosperous. It's to easy once you take the time to learn and to also learn how to learn that sometimes there is a better way than the first. Complacency is the downfall of a lot of the workers and I've seen it first hand. I'm a roofer. I do inside work and outside. Anything but heating and air. Your videos have made a difference in certain things I do because I liked your technique. Thank you for everything bro, keep up the good work. Every video is helpful to me if no one else lol

So very informative and detailed explanation with patience to explain in detail.Thanks, appreciate.Good workmanship.

I’m siding my house now, this is how I’m doing all my windows and doors. Great video, thank you!!

The notching tool is more than worth it. I make that notch in 1 second and it's very clean.

Wish I'd found this last week. Have a small porch rebuild with aluminum that was rotted out - zero flashing... Rebuilt with vinyl but not done it before. It's "ok", nobody but a pro would object, but some of it's coming out and getting redone now.

Thank you same here never done this before doing remolding my parent's house siding wrapping and the j-channels on my own but watching this helps my confident I can do it

Amazing video tutorial, and it makes total sense. I'm about to siding for the first time ever tomorrow on my shed and I'm really glad I landed on this!

I watched the whole thing and this really is a great method! with fail-safes built in! I used this method for my first siding job and it made it make more sense to cut those miters and the whole process really. Thanks dude!

After failing miserably on my first try. I watched your video and made myself a test square out of the scrap J and now I got it!!!. Thanks for the lesson. 1 down 5 more to go on my project.

When you trim out your windows with aluminum I do the built in window j. Also I use the midwest snips from menards. But out of all the people iv seen j channel in my 7 years of doing siding theres only 3 or 4 people I no who can j channel good. And yours looks good. Keep taking pride in your work

It's nice to see someone taking pride in little details like that. So many houses these days are built with little care. The totality of poorly done little things turns into one big crappy job. On the new house I built, I don't think the people that put the window flashing around the windows gave one diggity damn shit if it stuck or not. Why bother then? Anyway, good job to you guys!

Glad to see that you fold over the corners of the j channel. Best way to do it👍

Thank you verryy much. I just did my window like you show it and it works perfect. Thanks again

All three sides were spot-on as to measuring and cutting. I am having a real rough time with only the top piece. The miter has always been falling short.

Lots of swinging D'S & egos. Great video. I like how u had issues along the way, it shows the person watching what to do in those moments and they are common in the process. U don't have to blame it on (Matt) or his rookies, it happens to all of us.

It is not possible for a homeowner to do a J channel that fast; it comes with experience.

Getting ready to do siding for the first time.. thanks for the video, got alot more confidence going in now!

A 1x4 /1×6 should go around the opening. With at least one flashing on the top. I seal the j with clear at the backs before I nail. I nail my wrap tab into the wood to keep the corner from opening up over time. I use the j tab cutter/maker tool. Firmly squeeze to cut perfect open end. Lightly squeeze so it doesn't cut and it makes the perfect tab. (Takes the right touch to get used to) well worth the money.

Thanks for the video! Getting ready to re-side my own house and this was extremely helpful.

Yes notchers are best. ABC carried some that did the notch. A 2 step process. 1st notched, no, cut the tab to bend over or under. Full pressure made notch. Perfect notch and bend every time. Trust me I prefit all pieces, cut my 45s.made notches and bends...3 min. Thats like asking if a J tool is useful.

You make it look easy I going to have to watch a few more times

I watched this video while installing my first J channel pieces. You helped me get perfect corners. Thanks!!

That tool your talking about is well worth the money, no pencil no speed square needed, you can J a window in no time at all, it took me a long time to buy a pair but worth every penny!

Thanks for the video. I watched it twice and then once while I did my first window and it looks mint. I only messed up on my extra that gets tucked under. I cut one 45 closer to the edge, but I kept it. Thanks again.

Im retired now but I have a little trick for you when J - channeling. If you have a little gap between the channel and the window itself that wont close all the way try nailing a soffit nail inside the channel then into the window. You need to use a tool for setting soffut nails , I called it a 'P shooter'. Sometimes you have to shorten the nail but not usually. I have never once broken a window

Thank you for this, after my first attempt, which took me way longer than I would like to admit...and looked awful, I found your video, and that made the rest go so smoothly. It is so nice to not have to use the measuring tape as often, and all my cuts now look so much better. Thank you for taking the time!

Excellent video I would guess you're from new york.. You remind me of some guys that I work with.. very knowledgeable and straightforward great info and training ..

I've never done j that way, but it's a pretty rad way to do it, I'm gonna give it a shot!...I like it!...clean and tight!

That's the problem messed up on with a J channel great job showing me

Thank you for the excellent instruction, the issue with the gapping on second window was probably nails from window installation standing proud like bottom J on first window.. Well done.

As a window installer please make sure your window guy is rolling his tape. Your windows are gonna have problems. It’s flapping in the window.

I'm pretty sure your windows are taped wrong on top. The paper needs to be flipped up. Put tape straight on the sheeting and the window flashing. Then flip the paper back into place and retaped.

I usually leave the 45 and the bottom of j when I connect them. And if you put the 45 into that double bend of j it will stay there. Idk if you got what I meant, but that's how I do it. Also if top of window I'd higher than i can reach i just cut like 1.5" out of back of j and fold it more than 90° and just slide it down at the side of the window till the backbend hits the top and after finishing the bottom i just keep going until I get to top of window

Holy shit I had 3 birthdays before this guy cut a corner

I don’t know who’s better you or your camera man …..dudes on point!!!!

Thnx for the tips Bro We work much alike Semper Fi from Boston Stay Strong Keep the Faith

Thanks. Used your techniques for my install, very happy with the results!

Very helpful video and tutorial. I watched it 5 x because I learned something each time. You seem to be an outstanding person in many ways. Thank you so much.

I would always shave off the corner welds of windows. Never miter vinyl j, because later in the day it would expand and look like crap. I was an ABC Seamless steel siding business owner and that’s a whole different installation but it carry’s over to vinyl

You can always tell the business owner (author/speaker) from the workers. As the saying goes, "...heavy is the head that wears the crown". Tough to keep the kids in line isn't it? Well done video sir

Dude, your video helped us alot. Thank you sir

great video. just put up j channel for the first time after watching this and looks great. Thank you and thanks for your service!

Nice video, thank you for showing us.

Definitely made that easier to understand than the way I was taught.

I liked everything you did but i would have bent out the channel so it sits against the window better. You wont have any gaps between channel and window.

I did it for a very long time like this, but the tool in the right hands is actually faster. it has all the measurements right on it too

They make poly wood lumber for window trim and you can make your own J or the windows I usually get have a J already made on the face which is a big time saver

been looking for a great video like this for years. thank you

Good stuff man! Learning what I can as I can watch your channel. I appreciate your explanations and verbal/visual delivery of the relevant details for the job at hand. I will say that flinging those metal snips around pointing at the J and coming so close to the glass got me nervous a few times, but all is well that ends well (an inch is as good as a mile when it comes to hit or miss).

Excellent tutorial!! Bravo.

Gracias por compartir tus ideas my brother saludos cordiales desde Chicago Illinois