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Is there a need to drill for nailing? How does an air nailer work of this stuff? How soon do you need a finish coat?
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dave , take a look at this ...
< Obsolete Link > Mike Smith "***Cedar lap fiber cement***" 10/26/01 3:43pm
*Believe it or not, no need to drill. It nails just fine. An air nailer is a good choice. Because it's a very stable material, unaffected by moisture, sunlight, etc. you should be able to go a long time. My siding was applied in January (in New York, 18 miles from the Canadian border) when it was well below zero. It went through the entire rest of the winter and summer, being painted in the fall. There were no apparent effects from the wait. To be sure you might want to contact the manufacturer. They may have a specific recommendation or warranty requirement. Since acrylic paints cannot be applied in the cold, you'd risk a lot by trying to rush the painting for the sake of the siding. Much better to wait for good painting weather.
*Some time in the future I will need to reside my house. Several neihbors recommend vinyl siding. While the vinyl siding looks ok I am unimpressed by its looks or durability. Also this is a wildfire area and Hardiplank would, taking the manufacturer word, be a better choice. A local termite inspector claims that Hardiboard is so brittle that he has accidentally caused damage as he knocks on the walls near soil level. He rejects hardiboard.I'm interested in finding out how good Hardiboard really is from people who know. Does it last. Would hail or baseballs harm it more than any other material? As for installation I have seen it installed and other than nailing acute angles they didn't predrill. They hand nailed most of it. They used an 1/8" masonary bit chucked in a cordless drill to predrill the holes at the very tip of an angled piece that sided a dormer. This was only the second house they had sided with Hardiboard clapboard so they didnt know much about durability.
*I'm skeptical that the termite inspector was looking at the Hardie brand of material. I think it's impossible to break it by hitting it with your hand. It would certainly be stronger than metal or cedar siding. Of course vinyl won't dent, so it would be hard to compare. To my feel, it's a very strong material. It wouldn't surprise me if it would hold up to kids' baseballs or hockey pucks. I would recommend contacting the distributor for a few sample pieces and judge for yourself. Throw some things at it and try to set it on fire.Has anyone out there been through a hail storm with it?
*Hardie itself seems to work fine without predrilling, especially with a gun. but if you use any of their lower priced competitors (such an cem-plank) be prepared to pre-drill the last nail at the end of each piece or have that corner break off almost every time. So, how big was the hammer this inspector was using to "knock on walls" ?
*I put Hardie on my house. I invite your inspector to knock on the walls until his knuckles bleed. He won't knock any chunks of the siding off.Andy
*The hail question with Harddie Plank sidding brings to mind all the jobs I've had replaceing vinyl sidding that was damaged at the reviel line by hail. The face giver with the impact but the raised portion cracks in a heart beat.
*I built a new rent house this year. I put it on the whole house. The reason I did was because of insurance.It is rated as a masonary veneer.It will pay for itself in insurance alone. All of it was hand nailed. (hardie backer)I think it would take a hail storm better than any siding excecept masonite.How big was that guys hammer ? Painting does not need to be rushed. The siding I bought was primed already . They have unprimed also
*Tim, I'm with you, except that I think Hardie requires that the siding be painted within 6 months of installation to get their paint warranty. Having said that, I painted mine 2 years after it went up.Andy
*I used the "Certainteed" brand of fiber-cement siding on the last house I did. They give you 2 yrs to paint theirs before it effects the warranty. It's not quite as floppy as the Hardi and I thought the grain pattern looked a little better. Shot it on with a coil roofing nailer. Vulkem in the butt joints at installation. Have you seen the stain that Superdeck has come out with for it? I mistook it for cedar at JLClive recently. I wouldnt even consider any other kind of siding right now.JonC
*Another point is that there is a secondary market now where you can buy pre-painted fiber-cement siding. Check with siding suppliers.Andy
*Cement siding is a pain in the rear, you can use a nail gun on the lap siding but if you use hardi trim you definetly need to pre-drill then nail
*aoverfelt,Maybe the inspector had that confussed with that older product from years ago. You know it was about1/8" thick , had asbestos in it , I believe it was some kind of cement based product. It was very brittles , the kids would crack it with their basketballs.Can't see anyone punching a hole in the fiber-cement siding being sold today , unless it was intentional.
*hand nailing has worked fine for me. The only time I needed to pre-drill was when it was below freezing temp. and the ends of the siding sometimes cracked. Unsure of the time you should have to put a finish coat on. I think that a primer should last a good while. This stuff takes paint nicely........
*I gun nailed mine, painted it after almost a full winter, and the only bad spot is where I bumped it with the tractor bucket doing landscaping. I used primetrim and the 5/4 thickness looks great. Would definitely use it again. For the diy'er it can be a bit slow. I probably averaged about 1-1/2 sq. a day. More for the first story, less on the 2nd story rakes.
*Does HardiePlank come in nominal 1x12 size, like for use as corner board trim?We are putting hardie plank panels on an office condo and the architech says there is no good composite trim piece available and is using treated wood for corner boards and other trim, which kinda destroys the idea of getting a maintenance free parapet wall. Architech says the composites in trim sizes give problems based on recent reports, and that HardiePlank does not come in 1 x 12 nominal, hence his use of the wood.
*architect has never used GP PrimeTrim....
*Mike, I may be 100% wrong here but isn't GP prime trim basically masonite?
*mark... it bears a strong resemblance to masonite...tests show more decay resistance than red cedar or redwood... loves paint...available in 5/4 & 4/4.. from 4 " to 12".. we've been using it since '95 and no complaints... i do like a sub-fascia behind it .. but so far it's the most compatible product we've found for all the exterior trim... solid redwood and red cedar price itself out of most of our jobs... and fingerjoint trim just sucks... so...
*Frankly I'm not sold. I've never found any wood that rots faster or more completely than redwood and cedar. I mentioned in a post last year that i have used Trex 5/4 stuff for corner boards with hardie siding. other than that I've never found anything that i thought really would stand next to the lifetime durability of hardie.