PacTool Gecko Gauge, The Original Home Siding Installation Kit - For Use with 5/16 Inch Fiber Cement Siding and James Hardie Siding, Includes 2 Gecko Gauge Clamps

I started siding my shed without these clamps and ordered them about halfway through the project. Buying these clamps was some of the best money I’ve ever spent. I’d say the company’s estimate of saving half the time during labor is conservative, and your accuracy is 100% with these clamps. I can easily hang 12’ lengths of Hardie plank alone with these. I’m in the process of replacing all the siding on my home and these clamps are a lifesaver. They’re easy to adjust the face reveal, which locks in with the bolt and nut. I’m glad it’s an adjustment that locks with a bold and but because you wouldn’t change your face reveal in the middle of a job typically, and the way the tool is designed you never have to worry about the clamps coming out of your setting. The clamps are plastic, but it’s a very high quality plastic and the clamps are extremely well made. Excellent design and extremely well made product. These make hanging siding so much easier I’d buy them even for a small project. For the amount of time and effort they save these clamps are awesome. Neighbor brought me over a competitors product, the aluminum round ones if you know which ones I’m referring to, but after using both these gecko grips made his look cumbersome and slow. Best product on the market for hanging siding. I have no idea why anyone wouldn’t rate these at 5 stars. Probably one of the best tools I’ve ever owned.

Works fantastic! Great find and a time saver

As a homeowner, we recently embarked on a siding project for our house, and I cannot express enough gratitude for the PacTool SA903 Gecko Gauge Siding Mounting Kit! This incredible tool has been an absolute lifesaver for my husband, allowing him to complete the siding installation quickly and effortlessly, all on his own—no need for an extra pair of hands! Before discovering the Gecko Gauge Mounting Kit, my husband was facing the daunting task of installing the siding with the help of a friend. However, this kit has truly revolutionized the way he works. The genius design of the Gecko Gauges allows him to securely hold and gauge the siding boards in place, freeing up both his hands to fasten them securely without assistance. The result? A seamless and professional finish that looks like it was done by a seasoned contractor. One of the most remarkable aspects of this kit is its user-friendly nature. My husband had no prior experience with siding installation, but with the help of the detailed instructions and a few online tutorials, he quickly became a pro. The Gecko Gauges are adjustable and fit various siding profiles perfectly, ensuring a snug fit every time. The time-saving benefits of the Gecko Gauge Mounting Kit cannot be overstated. Without the need to wait for a helper or juggle cumbersome tools, my husband's productivity soared. What once seemed like a never-ending project was completed in record time, giving him more leisure time to spend with the family. In conclusion, if you are planning a siding project and are hesitant about the challenges of working alone, the PacTool SA903 Gecko Gauge Siding Mounting Kit is an absolute must-have. It transformed what could have been a stressful and time-consuming task into an enjoyable and rewarding experience for my husband. I wholeheartedly recommend this kit, and I can confidently say it will become an indispensable part of your toolbox too!

What a game changer for running hardie plank siding! It makes it so simple to set and forget and get the job done!

If you are considering installation of Hardie siding, this rather simple tool is a must have. Yes, they are not inexpensive considering their simplicity, however, you will experience a very significant savings in time and effort which more than offsets the $60 investment for the pair. You do need two for proper and accurate installation of siding. Very fast,easy to use, accurate, and durable unless dropped onto a very hard surface like concrete. The body is made of a tough plastic but it will crack if mistreated. Don't let this happen and you can use them for a very long time. Not much to wear out really. We did drop one off a ladder from about 15 ft onto a concrete pad. The body cracked on a diagonal approx in the middle of the tool. Using Loctite brand two part epoxy adhesive clamped up overnite, we successfully repaired the crack and were able to use the tool to complete the job. There is no sign of the repair failing after approx 400+ use cycles. It is much better to gauge overlap spacing from the bottom of the plank rather than from the top as the major competitor of this brand does. We set our Gecko gauges for a 6" over lap and had no trouble maintaining consistent spacing which is very important to a high quality install. Check your work for level every 4th or 5th plank as there is some minor variation in the Hardie plamks. It is easy to correct for this with the gauges. Level variation is observable if over 1/8th inch, so check your work as you go! I will not do another Hardie siding install without these "Gecko" gauges. Highly recommended.

Used this to side a new house with 8 1/4" Hardiplank lap siding, with a 7" reveal. Two decades ago we made our own hangers... Glad I found theses for my first Hardi job, because they're fantastic and easily made it a two-person job (one to cut and one to hang). It is also easily a one person job for low work, but climbing up and down from scaffolding for high work will get old. There are many glowing reviews of this product, and you should believe them, so here are some tips and thoughts: - These hangers reference the bottom of each course - definitely the most accurate way to hang siding and much better than hanger/gauge products that reference the top of each course. Hardi can vary in height so if the hanger hangs from/references the top of the board, you are immediately introducing error into the procedure. Geckos do it the smart way. - For blind nailing, some courses will snug up very tight to the wall, certainly short pieces. This will mean that you have to grab the bottom lip of the board and pull out a bit to slip the Gecko in. For the most part, you'll be able to insert a Gecko one-handed. I have no experience using these Geckos with face nailing, only blind nailing. - Geckos have two rails that the Hardi will rest on, you need to keep an eye on how the Hardi rests on the rails so that you know the tool is perpendicular to the Hardi plank. If the tool is positioned off-vertical, you will introduce error. - You must watch the Gecko when setting the Hardi down into the Geckos. It is heavy enough to make the Geckos slip a bit downward and introduce error. The procedure is simple: clamp the Gecko so it is snug to the reference course. Lightly set the next course onto the Gecko rails. Check that you haven't bumped the Gecko downward off the reference course (if so simply loosen the clamp, push Gecko upward against reference course, tighten the clamp, then nail it up). We blind and hand-nailed our Hardi over 1" XPS foam, into OSB/Stud. To get the wind rating we wanted on 24" centers, we had to use 3 ¼" galvy nails with a large diameter head. Gun nails would not work over XPS foam. Too much variance in backing pressure - no amount of air pressure adjusting would solve it - either too far in, too far out, or both. Thus the hand nail. This is a lot of pressure on the Hardi and Geckos while nailing - so we learned to constantly watch for Hardi movement while resting on the Gecko. After a short time it becomes second nature and you can be careful, accurate, and fast at the same time. - You will learn tricks to use if you've developed some course-error, and need to do a correction course. The Gecko can easily be loosened and held lower to tighten a course up. You can also slip a siding nail sideways into the Gecko between the Gecko support rails and the Hardi to introduce a slightly looser course... as a sort of shim. Very quick and easy to do. - They are scary-quick to move - no other similar product will move as quickly. - Yes, these are plastic, not metal. Gecko SA902 is what you want for ALUMINUM gauges, they just cost more... PacTool International SA902 2-Piece Gecko Gauge Fiber Cement Siding Gauge - Yes, the plastic version can break from a fall. One of mine fell 20', hit something hard, and chipped the plastic frame. Luckily it wasn't a show-stopper and we completed the house with the original set. - For little chunks of siding, like 6", we just used one Gecko and eyeballed the plank horizontally. This keeps the course going up nicely, but you've got to really watch what you're doing. - Do not over-tighten the clamps. This will cause the top edge of the plank to kick out from the wall, and your next course will then try to hop off the Gecko hangers. You will quickly get a feel for how much to tighten them to effectively hold, yet not cause the plank to kick out. - We found that if you place the hangers too close to the plank ends, you get a Hardi-sag that will bug you later when that sagging area must be clamped to on succeeding courses. The slight errors will start translating onward. We found placing the hangers a bit over 24" from each end of a 12' plank distributes the load better and keeps the plank hanging with pretty much no sag. - If you insist on accuracy/quality, you still need to shoot reference marks, snap reference lines, and keep track of things. These aren't some sort of miracle tool that will take all the thinking and checking out of the equation. For instance if you're working up a course on each side of a window or door, you MUST run reference and keep track so that when coming over the top of the window, header courses will line up and reveals look good. You should not blindly trust the Gecko to run the courses up perfectly on each side of the window or door. Always keep track of references for accuracy and to avoid gotch-ya's. - If you are a professional, I would recommend having a spare set of Geckos if you use plastic version, as one will eventually break with enough long falls. They will not last forever if you're doing high scaffold work. A fall will eventually break one. I was lucky with my break, as it was non-essential plastic, and we kept working. If you can't afford down time (professional), then buy two sets and work the price into your costs. This will give you two spares and allow time for ordering/shipping the next backup set if necessary. As a pro, I simply would not hesitate to have four SA903 Geckos on hand at all times, or just get the SA902 aluminum model. All this verbage may make it sound these are a pain to use. That couldn't be farther from the truth. These tips mostly apply to using the Geckos smartly while addressing the error-translation issues that arise on all siding jobs. You can really fly along with the Geckos and I wouldn't consider hanging fiber-cement siding without them.

These are awesome! Once your first row is perfectly level, use these gauges and the rest will follow! As long as you insert and set these perfectly, which is very easy to do, your siding will line up flawlessly. Fantastic invention...HUGE time saver. You don't have to measure out or level placement of every board...this tool does it for you. Just set the gauges, insert the plank and nail it in place. We used 12 ft siding planks which can sometimes warp in the middle (it doesn't matter the manufacturer, they all do it)...these gauges can fix that too. Set the gauges 4-6 inches from each end of the plank for the first nailing. Then move the gauges toward the center of the plank about 3-3 1/2 ft from each end...make sure the gauges are fully inserted onto the finished plank...adjust the plank you are nailing down- if the plank is higher than the 'rest' on the Gecko- push down until it rests properly and nail it in...likewise if the plank is lower than the 'rest' - push up until it rests properly on the Gecko gauge and nail it in place...could't be easier. No sweat, perfectly alligned siding!!!

I would never side a house without these ever again! No having to hold up a template key while fastening. Could not do solo siding work before them…now I can! Working really well with James Hardie fiber cement planks which are fairly heavy, but these Gecko clamps perform perfectly with that product.