Hardi plank, horizontal or vertical?

[_RaT_]

Thanks for all the input, it has been very informative.

MarkV, you may be right.

8561, if you could post more pics of your work, I would appreciate it.

RaT, impressive and unique (at least for myself). I'd really wonder what the heat loss was on that place and what type of heating system that house had, being up in Maine? Usually what I find is they build the "unique" house first, and then worry later on how they're going to heat and cool it.

Actually, after reading the instructions on the Hardi Plank, it doesn't seem as hard as I first would of thought, however, a saw and cutting corners was never a forte of mine.

Honestly, the hardi plank seems easier than vinyl siding, just wondering why more people don't use it (at least in my area).

Actually, that was a solarium. Inside that were insulated doors, foamed walls etc. to go in the house. There were fans to take care of moving air in or out as needed. I was still there in October when it started getting a little chilly. The place stayed very warm. The walls had that foam that expands in the wall and then gets shaved off flush to the studs, the outside had another 1" of foam over the whole place. The roof rafters had 12" of foam. It was an interesting place looking out over Penobscot Bay. Not my type of home, but a great place and great people.

PS in my area, no one uses vinyl but the Hardi or cementous siding is getting very popular. A recent fire up the road in South Lake Tahoe showed one Hadri sided home that did not burn. The window vinyl was melted as well as lots of other stuff but the house was untouched.

 

[8561]

I threw a scrap of Hardie in a brush pile just to see what it would do in a major fire. It looked the same after the fire as it did before.

Sig - I'll try to snap a few for you this weekend.

 

[Diesel-ME]

......
Honestly, the hardi plank seems easier than vinyl siding, just wondering why more people don't use it (at least in my area).

Well some folks simply prefer a plastic covered house I guess....OK, kidding aside, vinyl does go up faster because of the double-course coverage and easier cutting. They are also attracted to the marketing hype about low maintenance.

Perhaps there are some regional style differences too... for example in New England traditional wood or fiber cement clapboards with a 4" exposure always look nice on a cape or older salt box style house.

I use shears to cut fiber cement and a carbide encrusted blade on a jig saw for the fussy stuff. Diamond blades on a circular saw are nice for cutting multiple planks to the same length at once - just be sure to be upwind from the cutting and wear a mask. I don't know if fiber cement is "easier" but you don't need to be dealing with a host of special components like you do with vinyl (ie: undersill, j-channel, starter, etc). It's WAY easier to get a permanent weather tight installation though. Follow The Hardi installation instructions.

 

[gsganzer]

We went with the hardi plank when we did our addition (the contractor wouldn't use anything else). Ours is the horizontal and the painter caulked every overlap before painting (our was only pre-primed). The contractor didn't expect we'd have to paint again for 10-15 years. It's only been 3 years, but it still looks like day one. Our contractor typically builds 12,000+ ft2 homes and it's the only trim and siding he'll use, if the choice is his.

 

[_RaT_]

We went with the hardi plank when we did our addition (the contractor wouldn't use anything else). Ours is the horizontal and the painter caulked every overlap before painting (our was only pre-primed). The contractor didn't expect we'd have to paint again for 10-15 years. It's only been 3 years, but it still looks like day one. Our contractor typically builds 12,000+ ft2 homes and it's the only trim and siding he'll use, if the choice is his.

Your 12,000 sq ft. builder will see a change I predict, huge homes are starting to disappear at least in desireability. Costs to maintain and utilities will indeed be taking a toll across the country. It is amazing to me to see the downsizing going on here in California. Empty nesters are leaving 6000 plus sq ft. homes in amazing numbers opting for "tiny" 2500 sq ft. homes. I have a fella in the neighborhood with an unbelievable 15,000 sq ft home. Its still on the market, 5 years later. He will never sell it and break close to even.

I will do my house in Hardi type material, its just a nice way to go.

 

[hitekcountry]

Sigarms

Here is a rental that I did a complete remodel on using Hardi Plank horizontal siding, all the work was done by me and my step-son.

Before and after pics.

 

[hitekcountry]

My garage and pump shed, Hardi plank of course. Also a picture of the sheers for cutting HP. The sheers are the only way to go, except for fine detail cuts which you would use a saber saw.

On the installation I used flashing at all the joints in addition to calking. It’s not really any extra effort, but well worth it as far as I’m concerned.

 

[heehaw]

did you use the HP on the fascia of the buildings? if so, did you use the shears to cut them down to the right width?
heehaw

 

[hitekcountry]

did you use the HP on the fascia of the buildings? if so, did you use the shears to cut them down to the right width?
heehaw

No only the pure “siding” is HP. All trim/fascia is standard width 1x or 2x I didn’t rip anything. The only place I made horizontal cuts in the HP was to fit under or over windows. I did use the shears for that.

The first place I used the HP was on the garage and that was before I had the shears. For that job I used a saw, I’ll never do that again. Cutting HP with a saw kicks up a cloud of dust that is very bad to breathe.

One thing I should mention is there are places on my garage were the wood looks in need of painting but the paint on the HP still looks like new. I’m very pleased with my decision to use HP. At this point until something better comes along, it’s the only thing I’ll use.

 

[8561]

My fascias and all the rest of my trim is Hardi. It comes in varying widths, and it can be ripped with a circular saw, but it's not a lot of fun.