We are soon ready to have the Hardie siding installed on our remote cottage. Local contractor says his crew can do the work, but they have never worked with Hardie, just Canexel or real wood. As they work by the hour, I am trying to gage how a normal siding job would be estimated. Is there a standard way to estimate? By the board?. It is mostly a two story, lots of windows, so I know it will be time consuming, but I don’t want to be paying for their learning curve and want to make sure what I get charged will be within a “normal range” or set a price limit up front. They also don’t have scaffolding, but I am thinking we should rent some to speed the job up.
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Replies
I have nothing valid to add at this time.
My response however, will hopefully bump up your post so that someone might see it that has something of value to add.
Eric
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
Siding crews here charge about $3.00 sqft for hardie and trimmed windows, corner trim and building paper to start. A friend of mine does and makes about 35/hr and two guys at around 15/hr average. And of course that includes all scaffolding and tools but no materials.
where is your "remote cottage "
dealing with a contractor who is going to side a2-story that doesn't own staging and is charging by the hour does not sound portentious
my guess is they don't have the right tools or techniques to do fiber cement... what about trim ?
what is the trim strategy ?Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Is this the house with the "green lumber" thread?
If so, you should keep questions in the original thread so it is easier to follow.
Cementicious siding, Hardie is one brand, has been around long enough for most carpenters to have had some experience, or exposure to the product.
By the hour? Make a big deposit in your check book.
What Mike said.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
I wouldn't be too concerned about staging. Sometimes it takes longer to set up than it does to side. Around here, most siding is hung off of ladders and/or ladder jacks. As far as the learning curve with Hardi, it's not too steep. You read the literature, the sider reads the literature, you make sure they do what you readG>I would recommend using something other than Hardie trim, like Miratec... setting Hardi trim is not satisfying.http://www.tvwsolar.com
Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after"
Yes same place, sorry about not picking up the thread, that seemed so long ago...
My chequebook is running very low, which is why I need to satisfy myself what a good siding company would charge, so I can set a limit here, but I don't want to waste people's time giving me quotes if I don't think I will really use them.
Edited 6/23/2009 9:41 pm ET by confused2
Canada, Manitoba/Ontario border. Trim strategy? We will be using the Hardie trim, except over 2 curved windows which I think we will be doing Palite or Azek. They have never used that either.
I would also suspect they do not have the correct tools and will have to buy them.
how is the siding finished?
is this a factory finish... or primed
do you have matching caulk ?
i'd drop the hardie trim and go with miratec or azek... then paint the trimMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Pre-finished, except for the trim which only came in white. Too late for anything else. I painted it last weekend. Yes we have matching calking.
Westcoast where are you? Is that $3.00 US or CDN? These guys are billed out about $28- 32/hr CDN, except for the head carpenter who is $38
I'm over here in B.C.
Ah, beautiful BC. Rainscreens are code there under Hardie aren't they? We have been comtemplating using a Homeslicker rainscreen system, but it probably is overkill for our application.
Yes rainscreen is code now and that is another $2/ft to the price here!
A lot of siding installers are going to use aluma-pole / pump jack staging rather than scaffolding. I have the latter because it's more flexible for me (as a GC) and we are always installing windows, which I'd much rather do from a 5' wide platform than a 14" or even 24" platform. Some of your siding work could be done using ladders and planks but I think I'd rent at least enough scaffolding to do one entire siding of the house at a time.
I think it's reasonable to ask for a fixed price on a siding install. There isn't anything hidden. If they want to be contractors they should know how to install FC, or learn, and not necessarily on your nickel. If they are good at wood siding then they should get good at FC pretty quick. They should expect to buy some tools for the job, such as shears and/or a FC circ saw and/or other stuff. No point in limping along without.
Make sure that all of the manufacturer's instructions are quoted in your contract. You should make yourself completely familiar with the correct installation methods before the work starts.
That's my take, (to get a fixed price) that is reasonable. I just don't know what is reasonable.
Contract??? what is a contract???? :) None of the local contractors use them.
If you already have a good working relationship with this contractor my comments may not apply, but around here, siding is very competitive and fairly straightforward to bid. If you trust this contractor and he does quality work, that may be worth more than a few hundred or thousand dollars you could possibly save--you didn't say how large your cottage is.
If it were me, I would get a couple of bids from reputable siding contractors. Siders are set up with all the scaffold and tools required. Their scaffold is usually quicker to set up and they have a system for efficiently getting the job done. This should translate into less money for you.
As for the bid, you need to define the scope of work to be done:
Is there old siding to remove and if so, who is responsible for disposal?
If there is existing landscaping, how is it to be protected?
What type of house wrap are you using and who installs it?
What type of trim (doors, windows, corners, etc) and who installs it?
And, perhaps the biggest issue of all, what flashing details do they use?
This is what comes to my mind right now. I'm sure others here will be along soon with great information.
Thanks, some good points to ask.
We have been working with this contractor and for the most part have been happy with the quality of the work. It is a new build, so nothing to take off. Typar in place already.
No landscape to protect (infact, they need to protect themselves - we suspect the fellow finishing the fascia last week fell off the ladder - one side is pretty rough uneven terrain.)