Replies

1. 
   jimblodgett | Jul 15, 2002 09:14pm | #1

   I've done fiber cement siding with corner boards and with those metal corners you put on each coarse of siding.  I didn't have any trouble finding them through regular suppliers and they look fine painted.  I think I remember there are even at least a couple different types, one more ornate than the simple flat type. 

   It's been a couple years, so I don't recall the manufacturer right off the top of my head, but I'll dig around a little and see what I can find.  In the meantime, I'm sure you'll be able to get them through your F.C. dealer. I think they're a little less that $1.00/each, maybe more like .60.  Someone here will know.

1. 
   Redfly | Jul 16, 2002 12:57am | #3

   Thanks for the tip - my siding guys looked at me like I was on drugs when I told them we used these metal corners on cedar and redwood and I couldn't understand whey they wouldn't also make them to fit HardiPlank and other types of bevel siding.

2. 
   kelnbren | Jul 15, 2002 10:59pm | #2

   We are doing a couple of fiber cement projects currently and are using a Certainteed product that is pre finished.   Our carpenters are applying a backer of 7/16" OSB to the corners first (that is ripped to 3" wide) and cutting the siding to that.  After the walls are sided we come back with a piece of the siding ripped down to 3 1/2" and apply that to the OSB backer.  The corner piece overlaps the siding vertically and the only remaining finish is on the outside corner raw edge where we are using a stain that matches the pre finished color.  We have heard that Certainteed will soon have available fiber cement 1 x pieces, but until I see them and try them we will continue to use this method.

1. 
   Redfly | Jul 16, 2002 01:01am | #4

   Kelly,

   I'm trying to visualize the corner pieces that you're talking about without much success - are you talking overlapping beveled-type siding or shiplap type?   I can't seem to picture a corner piece overlapping beveled siding...........

   How do you like the Certainteed product?

1. 
   woodroe | Jul 16, 2002 02:00am | #5

   Hardie now makes 5/4" material for this purpose. Perhaps it's not available in your area yet, but I'd use it if you can get it. Your caulk job should last longer if all the materials are similar. Metal corners move alot more than fiber-cement.

   steve

1. 
   Redfly | Jul 16, 2002 09:31am | #10

   Steve,

   My goal in asking my question was to get a corner that looks (as closely as possible) continuous, i.e., like the siding wraps right around the corner. So any solution that gives me much less than that (like 5/4 corner boards) is not going to work for me in this situation. When we use cedar or redwood siding , we do a compound mitre at the corners (unless matching an existing siding job with metal corners). I don't have much experience at all with FC siding, let alone trying to make weatherproof compound mitre cuts, so I was thinking that metal corners might be a solution worth looking into.

   I don't like to rely on caulking as a primary defense against weather, but prefer to make the siding joints, corners and trim as watertight as possible, and then apply caulk sparingly where needed, kind of like icing on the cake. After removing lots of 50-100 year old (uncaulked) siding with no noticeable water infiltration, I'd like to be able to reproduce their results, if maybe using some less than traditional producuts.

1. 
   woodroe | Jul 17, 2002 01:16am | #11

   I hope you are on the west coast somewhere, if not you sure are up late.

   When you said metal corners, I was thinking some type of vertical metal corner, not metal corner tins. Does anybody still make them for a masonite type siding? I'm suprised that none of the fiber-cement mfg's make them. We mitered corners on one job with a 7 -1/4", 4 tooth blade on a 8-1/2" hitachi compound sliding miter saw. We didn't do the whole house that way but it worked well. We blew the dust out of the saw every day and cleaned the sleeves when we were done, with no (thus far) ill effects to the saw. Once you get the angles figured out it is fairly straight foreward.

   Good luck, Steve

2. 
   kelnbren | Jul 16, 2002 06:33am | #8

   The Certainteed product has no taper to it's thickness, it's dimensionally an equal thickness, like a 1 x but only a 1/4 to 5/16 thick.  That way we can rip and use it like lumber, although it's still very flimsy longitudinally.  Does that make any better sense?  The OSB just becomes a spacer that backs the ripped down piece of siding.  That OSB basically shims the fiber cement piece out beyond the siding that is lapping itself up the house.  At the laps the depth to the sheathing is about a 1/2" (or two thicknesses of siding) so that's why the 7/16" is used.  The ripped siding installed vertically as a corner can than cover the joint created by the end cut of the siding and the backer OSB that is installed vertically up the corner.  The finished product appears more like a vinyl siding interface, where the horizontal siding disappears behind a vertical corner cover (like J mold or a vinyl corner)  We think it looks great.  We have had one owner ask that we seal that with a color match sealant but we have done two projects now that we just overlapped it and can watch and see how that performs for a while.  I admit that might not be how we leave it but for now it seems to be working fine.

   As far as our like or dislike to the Certainteed product we really haven't been exposed to anything else.  We have stayed with it due to the factory applied and warranted finish.  That's been great to market.

3. 
   Qtrmeg | Jul 16, 2002 03:43am | #6

   The only metal corners I have seen were on asbestos siding, and the like. If they are out there, why would you want them on your house?

   Another thing I wouldn't want would be some flim flam osb builtup corner joke that trapped water and paint in some anti-draining joint that promoted puffy swelling issues down the road.

   The one thing I can't get my head around with fiber cement is what to do with the trim. The product is great but your exterior is only as good as your weakest link.

   I'm all ears though. 

1. 
   xMikeSmith | Jul 16, 2002 04:18am | #7

   we use all GP Prime Trim with our fibercement  ( hell , we use it with everything )

   here's the corner board  (5/4 x 6 ) and the water table and inside corner.... there's a sub-table of 2x10 PT under the GP.. to get the trim past the block foundation that some schmo stuck out past the framing years ago...

   Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

   Edited 7/15/2002 9:21:50 PM ET by Mike Smith

1. 
   Piffin | Jul 16, 2002 06:44am | #9

   Mike,

   I've been using more and more Primetrim all the time too, especially in vertical applications like fascia, cornerboards, and beam trims. I'm not sold on it yet though for the water table or horizontal applications. My test pieces handle setting in water on the ground for years so I know it will handle water, but things seem to fall on the horizontal surfaces and this stuff chips so easy that it can get old looking quickly.

   I was on a job that a competitor did the other day. He is famous for using Primetrim for almost anyuthing he can and this one had it as the top rail surface of a porch rail. It was about five inches wide with a roundover edge relief. Even though supported by two by under it for the main rail/balluster sections, you could see the sag, post to post. The edges of the Primetrim showed fracturing through the paint job - maybe two years old.

   I'm trying to reason out why the fracturing. Maybe from the flex of settling, the heat of milling, careless men on job, freezing water ponding on it,....who knows? Got any thoughts?

   Excellence is its own reward!

   Edited 7/16/2002 12:00:57 AM ET by piffin

1. 
   NPitz | Jul 17, 2002 01:30am | #12

   I am also a fan of PrimeTrim. Been using it for several years for almost everything, but I try to stay from using it in horizontal applications. I have used it for water tables, though. Three years later it looks as good as new.

   Maybe the handrail you looked at was a piece that had sat around for a while. It will definitely take a set to it if left unsupported, and I suppose that if you tried to flex it back straight it might delaminate a little. I try to only buy as much as I need and not store any pieces. Of course, your other theories are just as likely...

   Matter of fact, this photo is of a job that is almost all PrimeTrim. All the trim and even the siding. I know that PrimeTrim isn't meant for siding, but what they hell...but I don't recommend trying to mill a tongue and groove on like 1000 sf of PrimeTrim. Like all experiments, we learned a lot, but it seemed to have worked out well.

   
1. 
   Piffin | Jul 17, 2002 02:52am | #13

   Doesn't look too bad! Did the foundation need an extra piece of rebar beacause of the added weight? LOLExcellence is its own reward!

2. 
   NPitz | Jul 17, 2002 04:02am | #14

   Actually, it's kinda hard to see, but everything that is stucco was existing - basically the first floor. Everything with siding we added. There's a heck of a lot of steel holding up that overhang in the foreground. But the siding definitely added some extra weight.

3. 
   RogerMartini | Jul 22, 2002 12:25pm | #15

   Kelly, what did you use to rip the Certainteed?  Any impressions/lessons?

   cheers,

   Roger

   Close enough for government work

   Edited 7/22/2002 5:25:39 AM ET by Roger Martini