Siding Suggestion Needed

[2YD]

Storm damage results in new siding and after meeting with 4 contractors I am more confused than ever. They each took their dig at each others product offering. So to the experts I go on TBN to get the pro's and con's of either Hardie board, its knock-off cousins, or LP Smartside. Also, pre-painted or just primed? Are they all fake grained or can you get flat sided? Cost is not the deciding factor. Guess I grew up where dad always used real wood lap-board siding and I painted the thing.

Thanks.

 

[RalphVa]

We had Hardy Plank put on our carriage house and on our breakfast room that sticks out the back of the house. This stuff is great. We had it painted. Don't recall whether it was preprimed or not.

Ralph

 

[/pine]

I'd go with the Hardie board and paint/calk it after it is applied...use stainless or monel fasteners... and don't skimp on the quality of the paint...

you might find it interesting that the wood grain patterns are actual images of real wood...

 

[2manyrocks]

You may want to read this article. http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/PDF/Free/021197040.pdf

There are other articles about siding choices at the same website you might find helpful.

 

[thatguy]

We went with vinyl when we built, BUT our neighbor went with the Hardy board and I really like the looks of it.. IF I had known about Hardy and we could have gotten the color we wanted , I would have seriously considered going with it..

I thought Hardy board came prepainted (and never needed to be repainted), is that true? IF you paint it I assume you must repaint at some point..

good luck

Brian

 

[Onthesauk]

We put Hardy board on our house when we built, nearly 9 years ago now. Primed and then painted after installed. Still looks just fine. I may get out and pressure wash a few walls this summer but doubt that I will repaint in the next ten years. We built in the woods so I bought because of it being fireproof.

 

[CosmoAU]

I have Hardie on my house. It comes pre-primed or pre-painted. The painted comes with a 15 yr. paint warranty I believe. Either will have to be re-painted but not nearly as often as real wood. It comes in textured and smooth, 8 1/4", 12", and 4x8 sheets(so you could do a board & batten look)Since the Hardie is cement you get the same insurance rating as a brick home(at least where I live). The smart side is basically OSB with a coating on the exterior side. I haven't used it myself but was told it was easier to work with...wasn't as flimsy. Obviously my vote is for Hardie.

 

[flusher]

Storm damage results in new siding and after meeting with 4 contractors I am more confused than ever. They each took their dig at each others product offering. So to the experts I go on TBN to get the pro's and con's of either Hardie board, its knock-off cousins, or LP Smartside. Also, pre-painted or just primed? Are they all fake grained or can you get flat sided? Cost is not the deciding factor. Guess I grew up where dad always used real wood lap-board siding and I painted the thing.

Thanks.

Here's my place. Hardipanel (cream color) and Hardiplank (red color)

Great stuff. Easy to paint. It came primed.

If you plan to go with Hardipanel and do the job yourself, be sure you have the right tools to cut the stuff. Check the Hardipanel website. And I would suggest that you do some test cuts before trying to cut the Hardipanel for the house.

 

[Scooby074]

Hardie is great stuff.

On our cottage we put Cape Cod siding. Cape Cod Finished Wood Siding Its holding up very good in a hostile (salt water) environment. It came pre painted. Its can be a DIY project. I understand Hardie Board can be rather difficult to work with.

 

[2YD]

Wow, very pro Hardie...that surprises me. Interesting on the insurance issue. Sounds like I'm not stuck with pre-painted color if we decide to paint later. I've heard much about the caulking/cutting issues which is what scared me off from it. Guess it comes down to having a good installer. FWIW I am not or should as I say SWMBO is not letting me do this install. Too much to go wrong with vapor barrier, moisture etc....

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

Hardie and CertainTeed are both great products.
Go with the primed product as builders i know warned me the prepainted stuff has a tendency to "crackle" and then you have to paint it anyway.
Any of the higher quality 1 coat 100% acrylic latex paints will cover it fine. (We used ValSpar supreme on ours)
I was not impressed with SmartPanel or SmartBoard.

 

[JonKioti]

I have just completed the third section of my house, which brings my total to about 12,000 linear feet of siding. I used a wooden Goodfellow product which I like; Hardie has a good name.

A few things to consider:

- Ensure there is vertical strapping behind any siding to allow any water that enters to drain. A mesh on the bottom will allow drainage and prevent pests from getting up inside the space.
- All siding leaks, so your water proof layer is behind the strapping, usually Tyvek. With that in mind, you usually would not need any caulking on your siding.
- I pre-stained with solid colour stain and then used stainless steel screws. That meant drilling in almost 20,000 screws over the various stages of the house construction, but modifications and troubleshooting is really easy.

Not all of this may apply in your case but after 11 years the most weather exposed wall now needs new stain, so the durability is good. Also, we get high winds with our weather (100 mph on occasion) so driving rain and snow is a factor here.

Good luck,

Jon

 

[buck12]

I just had a shop built and went with the Hardie lap siding. It has only been installed about 6 months so I cannot attest to the durability. My siding was primed and required one coat of paint where as the wood overhangs needed one coat of primer and two coats of paint. No matter what type of siding you opt for have a house wrap installed because water will find its way behind lap siding no matter how much caulk is used. Also, hardie trim boards are available for corners, windows, etc. I have seen hardie installed different ways. The contractor that built my shop blind nailed the siding and showed me that this was the manufacture's recommendation. I have seen others nail the lower edge. I'm not sure which method is best.

 

[/pine]

if installed properly quality siding should NOT leak...period! (ask any "qualified" supplier or contractor) siding is no different than roofing other than the obvious...they DON'T leak if applied correctly...

there will be some penetration at end and butt joints (require calking or backing barrier)...under extreme wind/rain conditions there may be some penetration (hurricanes etc.) there may also be some penetration at the fasteners if not properly painted...

What many do not realize is that "paint" is the ultimate penetration barrier...it should be the final seal for all the fasteners and joints...a quality application is paramount.

many sidings are meant to expand and contract due to ambient temperatures...if not installed (fastened) to manufacturer specs. said expansion may allow moisture penetration and premature cracking of the envelope that a quality paint job creates...

 

[schmism]

hardy board

go with something like this

with a proper fiber cement board cutting blade and youll have no worries about cutting it.

 

[buck12]

The contractor that installed my siding used a shear tool that looked like a drill with a cutter on the end. A one purpose tool but cool to see it used.

 

[PA hayseed]

I went with oracle board on my house, it's vinyl with a foam backing. I don't know what hardiboard is, unless it's the stuff you put under tile jobs. The vinyl add r-value (insulation attached to it), plus it's supposed to have a certain breakage resistance. 70 mile an hour winds up here and it's still on.

I live in the north, so the extra r-value never hurts.

Certainteed sold it, it was and still is pricey. It does come in like 20" thickness, and you can choose if you want 4 or 5" dutchlap, etc etc.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

hardibacker goes under tile.
hardipanel is the 4x8 or 4x9 sheet version with a wood grain finish on one side
hardiboard or hardiplank is the 8 or 10 inch lap siding version.

all are fibercement products -- and certainteed makes a competing product that's all but identical in performance and looks. Priceing depends on where you are in the country and how much you buy at once.

 

[horse7]

What I want is siding that looks like it belongs on a dirt poor West Virginia house, but wears for 50 years without maintenance.

The purpose is, like in WVa, to convince the revenooers the property isn't so valuable so the taxes are lower!! The inside of the house were you actually live can be really nice, won't jack up the taxes

 

[EddieWalker]

I can't comment to making the house look like it's worth less for tax purposes, but I can comment on Hardi siding and how much I like it. I'm a contractor and remodeler. If a client wants brick, I get the walls ready for it, then sub that work out. Brick is too tricky to do well unless you do it all the time. If the want real wood, I try real hard to talk them out of it and into Hardi. If they want Hardi, we're good to go.

It's easy to install, goes up quickly and is rather affordable. It comes primed and ready for paint. It holds paint really well and it's easy to paint. On the siding, I spray it, on the trim, I use a brush.

Comparing it to Certainteed, you'll find that Certainteed comes in pre finished colors and stains. I don't know the price of this but have seen a few buildings with it. Except for my being extremely critical of others workmanship, it's a fine looking product. The reason I don't use it is the only supplier is 100 miles away.

Smart siding is just OSB with a nice finish on it. It's easy to cut, nail and install. I've met builders who love it, but the few people that I know who have it, or know what it is, think it's kind of cheap looking. The fact that it's OSB makes me want to avoid it.

I'd be curious what negative comments you've heard about the Hardi siding?

Eddie