Patent ID: 7591584

Claim:
A siding installation method, comprising providing a first and second building component, one of said components comprising at least one panel characterized by a predetermined thermal expansion characteristic in a range of temperatures over which said panel expands and contracts with temperature, said predetermined thermal expansion characteristic causing a variation in distance between a reference point on said one of the components and a comparison point on the panel; determining a current temperature of the panel during one of installation and testing, by measuring said current temperature using a temperature sensor that is one of integral with and affixed to the panel; wherein the current temperature of the panel and the thermal expansion characteristic correspond to a distance between the reference point and the comparison point at said current temperature, and wherein the thermal expansion characteristic is such that a position of the comparison point relative to the reference point changes during subsequent changes in a temperature of the panel; and, affixing said one of the first and second components to a structure at a position relative to an other of the first and second components so as to accommodate the thermal expansion characteristic during said subsequent changes in temperature of the panel.