Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Feb 04, 2007 07:04am | #1

   Hey Kidder, you've been around here for a while, you have to give folks more info, Where are ya? Wood, synthetic or masonry, vertical, horizontal? I have a knee jerk reaction to OSB in exterior applications. Could be there are some good products but I'm from Missouri on that one. In my area we do 90% wood. Cedar or pine clapboards and cedar shingles. Do your installation according to manufacturers instructions with any material, don't "wing it". I've never installed a product that requires furring the wall, there is a lot to think about before proceeding with that choice.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   kidder | Feb 04, 2007 07:26am | #2

   Georgian Bay area, off Lake huron. He's thinking wood, horizontal. I'm thinking something that looks like wood, (he's cheap) Real cedar and Hardi are too expensive, so what's left Guys?

1. 
   DanH | Feb 04, 2007 07:56am | #3

   > Real cedar and Hardi are too expensive, so what's left Guys?Vinyl, steel, or hardboard/OSB. Or perhaps DIY stucco. Or find a barn or such to tear down.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

2. 
   IMERC | Feb 04, 2007 08:33am | #4

    (he's cheap) Real cedar and Hardi are too expensive, so what's left Guys?

   masonite lap..Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

   WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

1. 
   DanH | Feb 04, 2007 08:46am | #5

   > masonite lap..Ain't no such thing.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

1. 
   IMERC | Feb 04, 2007 08:57am | #7

   here there is...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

   WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

2. 
   DanH | Feb 04, 2007 04:29pm | #8

   New siding with a Masonite brand on it?
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

3. 
   DougU | Feb 04, 2007 08:00pm | #13

   New siding with a Masonite brand on it?

   Dan, I've been out to Imercs and hes deffinetly talking about masonite siding.

   Theres is a low end trac-home builder in this area thats using it as well.

   Now with regards to the name brand "Masonite" I cant say for sure - are you suggesting that Masonite is no longer making that kind(lap) of siding?

   We (Imerc and I) might be using the term Masonite in the generic sense but its deffinetly a masonite like product!

   Doug  

4. 
   DanH | Feb 04, 2007 11:14pm | #19

   So far as I can tell, Masonite has been out of the siding business for several years now. Now they just do doors, apparently.WIth hardboard siding it's very important to pay attention to brand and style, since it varies all over the map as to how moisture resistant it is.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

5. 
   DougU | Feb 05, 2007 02:00am | #20

   Dan

   Yea, I wondered if maybe Imerc and I were using the brand name in the generic sense.

   since it varies all over the map as to how moisture resistant it is.

   Thats no shid! I've got a friend that has the old hard, really hard, masonite style siding, still holding its original paint and it looks good 30 years later.

   I've seen the cheap stuff from Menards and it might have lasted a few years before it started to blister.

   I thought ABC Supply still carried a good quality hard masonite style siding.

   Doug

6. 
   DanH | Feb 05, 2007 04:09am | #21

   Probably one thing one should do when considering hardboard siding is get a piece and put it in a bucket of water for several days (weighted down).  The good stuff will not swell noticeably, while the yucky stuff will double in thickness.

   You'll also notice a difference in the hardness of the good stuff vs the yucky stuff.  The good stuff is difficult to nail through -- you're tempted to use pilot holes if hand nailing.

   Of course, all hardboard must be properly painted.  Cut ends should be painted before installation, and it doesn't hurt to paint the entire plank once before installing (then a second coat after).  I'm skeptical of the pre-painted stuff.

   For joints, the metal joiners and corners will provide much better watertightness than other approaches.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

7. 
   DanH | Feb 05, 2007 04:14am | #22

   PS:  The difference in hardness is a difference in tempering.  The soft stuff is little more than cardboard, but the hard stuff has been saturated with a sort of oil and heat treated, creating something resembling phenolic.  Some hardboard is not tempered at all (or very poorly), some only tempered on the outer surface, some tempered all the way through.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

8. 
   handymanvan | Feb 05, 2007 06:31am | #23

   With the hardboard siding, good, bad or ugly, I buy it all the time, It does not matter what brand name it is, it matches the stuff that used to be called masonite. Their is not any brand choice in the town I am in. You got to get what they have.Nobody is as good as they seem, nobody is as bad as they seem either.

9. 
   DanH | Feb 05, 2007 06:39am | #24

   I can show you relatively new pieces of several different types of hardboard siding. Just the weight/density difference is often substantial. The strength difference is also substantial. It may be true that when you walk into a lumber yard and ask for "hardboard siding" (or "masonite", for that matter) you just take what you can get, but that doesn't say anything about the quality of what you're getting.The original hardboard siding on our house was turning to mush in 5 years. The stuff we have now is going on 20 years and you can't tell that it wasn't installed last fall.
   So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

10. 
    handymanvan | Feb 05, 2007 07:01am | #25

    The bad stuff that I see really seems to be made out of larger wood flakes, much smaller than OSB, kind of like particle board. That is the stuff that swells and fall apart. The decent hardboard that I seem to replace often, it is a water infiltration issue, dog chewed it, too close to splashing water or not kept painted.Nobody is as good as they seem, nobody is as bad as they seem either.

11. 
    DanH | Feb 05, 2007 07:10am | #26

    On the good stuff the dog would break his teeth.
    So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin

12. 
    IMERC | Feb 04, 2007 08:33pm | #14

    yup...

    4 year pro-rated warrenty...

    and other companiies off the same type product with 5 and 7 year warrenties...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

    WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

13. 
    bigal4102 | Feb 04, 2007 08:58pm | #15

    I have a similar post going over in General, but I can't seem to get much response, do any of you siding gurus have any advice on the cedar/cypress/ other debate?http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=85045.1

14. 
    IMERC | Feb 04, 2007 09:08pm | #16

    I'm not a guru but I do use and like white cedar log...

    I'm partial to cedar...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->

    WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

3. 
   hammer1 | Feb 04, 2007 08:52am | #6

   White pine 6" clapboards, #2, under 4" to the weather, smooth side out, nailed every 8", back primed, 2 spot coats of white pigmented shellac on knots, oil based primer, top coated with solid color acrylic stain.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

4. 
   Jer | Feb 04, 2007 09:35pm | #17

   " Real cedar and Hardi are too expensive, so what's left Guys?"Not much. Steer clear of the OSB. I have dealt with it and it does not hold up.
   Hardi Hardi Hardi

2. 
   oldboot | Feb 04, 2007 06:42pm | #9

   our[canadian]building code calls for all siding except vinyl or hardiplank to be furred 3/4".or the metric equivalent.they like cedarbreather but i've seen people also use premade lath in 4x8 sheets.
   cape cod type clapboard insists on strapping 16"o.c. or warrenty is void.you should have insect screening at the bottom or earwigs will travel right up to the soffits.
   p.s. i would like to upgrade my profile but don't know how.i doubt that anycares about my pet's name.

1. 
   Lansdown | Feb 04, 2007 07:00pm | #10

   Here is a good product for that purpose: http://oikos.com/products/moisture/obdyke/

1. 
   oldboot | Feb 04, 2007 07:12pm | #11

   thanks for the info.i wonder how thick it is?

1. 
   Lansdown | Feb 04, 2007 07:35pm | #12

   .264" http://homeslicker.com/products-hs.htm

3. 
   Matt | Feb 04, 2007 09:37pm | #18

   Yea - I've seen samples of OSB siding products at my building supply.  "Smart Side" I think it was....  I might try one of those if it had a 50 yr warranty.  Still, siding warranties can be deceiving - there is almost going to be some fine print about keeping it painted on a regular basis.