Horizontal siding panel system with vertical stringers

A horizontal siding panel, including

• (a) a top margin having an outwardly and downwardly projecting longitudinal lip extending therealong;
• (b) a bottom margin bent inwardly and then upwardly to provide an upwardly opening longitudinal channel flange, on the inner side of the panel, for interlocking with the lip of an immediately subjacent panel when a plurality of the panels are disposed one above another in overlapping array on a wall;
• (c) an outward, longitudinal locking projection extending along and integral with the top margin of said panel at the top edge thereof and spaced above said lip, said locking projection being L-shaped in profile with a substantially horizontal base and a substantially vertical leg extending upwardly from the outer extremity of the base;
• and
• (d) a horizontally extending and upwardly projecting longitudinal flange connected to and spaced inwardly from the inner surface of the panel at a central locality intermediate the top and bottom margins thereof.

A vertical stringer for securing, to a wall, a plurality of horizontal siding panels disposed one above another in parallel overlapping array, said stringer comprising

• (a) a vertically elongated strip mountable on a wall and
• (b) a plurality of outwardly projecting, downwardly opening resilient clips disposed at regularly spaced intervals along the length of the strip for respectively engaging the top margins of successively higher panels of the array to secure the panels to the wall,
• wherein the improvement comprises
• (c) the inner surface of each of said clips defining two vertically spaced, inwardly opening locking seats for successively engaging an outwardly projecting portion of the top margin of a panel as the panel top margin is inserted progressively upward under the clip.

A siding system comprising

• (a) at least one vertical stringer, mountable on a wall, having a plurality of outwardly projecting and downwardly opening resilient clips spaced at regular intervals along its length, and
• (b) at least one horizontal siding panel having a top margin engageable with a clip of said stringer for securing the panel to a wall on which the stringer is mounted;
• wherein the improvement comprises
• (c) said one panel having a longitudinal outward locking projection extending along its top margin and
• (d) each of said clips having two vertically spaced locking seats for successively engaging said locking projecting as said panel top margin is inserted progressively upward under the clip.