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Discussion Forum

hardiplank REQUIRES air nailers?

junkhound | Posted in General Discussion on August 9, 2004 06:02am

Talking to construction guys on the job at a development up the street (58ea 3500 sq ft houses on 7.6 acres, 1.5 acres of which is storm drain pond.) yuk!, avg cost close to $400K. 100% hardiplank siding.

Anyway, the guys said they HAD to use pnuematic nailers, —

if they tried to use a hammer, they’d damage the house next door on the backswing.  <G>

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  1. User avater
    jimmyk | Aug 09, 2004 06:08am | #1

    Sounds like a typical McMansion development around my area. If I had $400K, I'd have a small house on 40 acres...I never will understand why people want to live on top of each other like that.

    1. User avater
      CapnMac | Aug 09, 2004 11:59pm | #11

      If I had $400K, I'd have a small house on 40 acres...

      Hmm, made me get out a calculator.  $400K - $125K / $5500 per acre and I get 50 acres.  So, for semi-productive (or interesting scenery) It would be 30-40 acres.  Still a good deal in my book.  1/8 of  a mill divided by $90/sf is just shy of 1400 SF, meets a definition of "small house."

      Now, to just get ahold of $400K . . .

      I'd be willing to bet my 1400 at 90 sf was better spent than the 8 to the acre mcmansions with useless formal living & formal dining rooms, too . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

      1. User avater
        aimless | Aug 10, 2004 05:50pm | #21

        Unfortunately, around here the 400,000 would only buy you 1 acre, 2 in less desirable spots (view of the prison, etc), and 4 if you don't need water or power.

        1. User avater
          CapnMac | Aug 10, 2004 06:22pm | #22

          around here the 400,000 would only buy you 1 acre

          Stop it, you're scaring me.  Infill lots in town are only $50-55,000 per acre ($16-19,000 per 1/3 acre lot).  I know the Bay area is higher than the sky, but I thought that Utah still had some open space left . . .

          Mind you, to find 40 acres (would that I could afford same) I'd have to look a county or two away from here.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

          1. User avater
            jonblakemore | Aug 10, 2004 06:48pm | #23

            BIL just sold a townhome in Alexandria, VA. The appraisal listed the value of improvements at $175,000 and the value of the 1/8 acre lot at $100,000.

            $800k for an acre, works out to $18.37 a ft.². 

            Jon Blakemore

          2. DanH | Aug 10, 2004 06:56pm | #24

            1/8th acre?? You'd have to stand the house on its side, wouldn't you?

          3. User avater
            aimless | Aug 10, 2004 07:58pm | #25

            There are a few places here and there where you can buy 5 acres or so for that money.  But the ones that are in places where it's actually nice, pretty view, few neighbors, etc. are outrageously expensive.

            I live in Utah county, and if you want to live within any of the nearby incorporated towns, you are looking at 40-50,000 for a lot (that's less than .25 acre), provided you can find one that isn't owned by a developer who wants to build your house. A full acre is only available in places like Highland and Alpine and few in the high end areas of Provo, and you are talking a good 400K to get that. Forget about the mountains - they are priced sky high within an hour drive from my house. You can find 40 acres for sale in the desert, but then where do you work, grocery shop, and rent movies? And what do you do for water after 5 years of drought? We do have open space, but it has no services and is way the heck out there. My husband and I have been casually talking about buying some 'recreational land' about 2 hours from here for years, but we want buildable acreage, and not all of it is because of earthquake, water, and perc problems.

          4. User avater
            CapnMac | Aug 10, 2004 10:13pm | #26

            want buildable acreage, and not all of it is because of earthquake, water, and perc problems.

            Gotcha.  It's actually a hair easier to pick out a spot "out beyond where the blacktop goes" to get away from it all, if some one is already part way down that road . . .  Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

          5. User avater
            aimless | Aug 10, 2004 10:56pm | #27

            You've got that right!

  2. edwardh1 | Aug 09, 2004 04:34pm | #2

    look on the positive side

    at least they are using hardie!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    in my town

    this is 90% wood

    http://ionvillage.com/

    and not much room here either

    http://ionvillage.com/homefinder.html?house_id=234

    with lots of porch "pickets" also wood to soon mold, warp, rot ,split etc etc



    Edited 8/9/2004 9:35 am ET by wain

  3. DanH | Aug 09, 2004 04:37pm | #3

    Never used Hardi, but used tempered Masonite when we resided ten years ago. Ended up pre-drilling all the nail holes, since it was so hard to get a nail started. (I'm sure a pro could have done it without pre-drilling, but I would have had a lot of smashed fingers and bent nails.)

    As it turned out, pre-drilling worked out nice since we could measure out on the ground where the nails went and never had a problem with drifting off a stud.

  4. bnixon | Aug 09, 2004 08:43pm | #4

    To answer your question.  No you do not "have to" have a nail gun to hang Hardi.  But then again you do not have to have a bull dozer to dig a pond, but man does it make it go a lot faster and a lot easier!

    To hang siding you will be ok using hot dipped galv 6d nails.  It will just take you a while.  To hang trim boards you will have to predrill each piece or they will break with just using a hammer and nails. 

    If you are doing a large amount of Hardi I would recommend renting the Hitachi Coil nailer with depth adjustment from Home Depot.  The depth adjustment is the key to hanging hardi.  You can not use a framing gun.  It will blow right through. You will have to adjust your depth for lap siding different than trim and if you use shingles or soffet you will need to set it to even less depth than the lap.

    Good luck to you on your project.

    1. User avater
      Sphere | Aug 09, 2004 08:50pm | #5

      y'all gotta read better...he was being facietious.  An attempt at humor ( hey JH, I got the gist of it). 

      Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

      Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 

      1. Wylcoyote | Aug 09, 2004 09:24pm | #6

        I've had good luck with Hardi board using a Bostitch roofing nailer using 1.5" galv roofing nails.  the big head on the roofing nail keeps it from sinking below the surface.  You do have to predrill at least partway through the Hardi if you have to shoot a nail less than 1/2 from a corner or edge...

        Obviously this only works if you are blind nailing or don't mind seeing the outline of the head of the roofing nail underneath the paint, which you can't do with the wider hardiplank.   If you are using the new wood look stains for Hardiplank (which I am using of late) you definitely would need to blind nail the roofing nail.

        i tried to use stainless ring shank nails, hand nailed. this is an OK "plan B" if the roofing nailer thing or the Hitachi coil nailer is not an option.  You should count on bending about every 10th nail when you can't the *#&#^ thing started through the plank (Hardi seems to have some differences in density from section to section) and stainless is softer so be prepared for bend nails, banged fingers, etc.

        tried the Senco framing nailer and I could not get the nails from shooting all the way through the plank.....so went back to the roofing nail.

        Wylie

        Success is a combination of work, risk and luck, in that order. Muriel Seibert

         

      2. User avater
        IMERC | Aug 09, 2004 09:31pm | #7

        Zero lot lines are way a pain aren't they....

        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!

        1. User avater
          Sphere | Aug 09, 2004 09:52pm | #8

          setbacks? we doan need no stinkin...oh you get it..lol 

          Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

          Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 

          1. User avater
            IMERC | Aug 09, 2004 11:04pm | #9

            I worked on a job a bit ago that a wheelbarrow would not fit between the houses...

            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!

          2. junkhound | Aug 09, 2004 11:14pm | #10

            A few of'em where they didn't plan the reverse layouts right have bay windows facing each other   ---   one could open both windows and one could cheat with the neighbor's wife without either of you leaving home!

        2. User avater
          CapnMac | Aug 10, 2004 12:09am | #12

          Zero lot lines are way a pain

          Actually they can be knee-slappingly funny, like when some friends of mine were looking for a lot in Williamson County.  The sales yerk actually was touting how the backyard had a lot of resale value since it was "big enough for a pool" . . .

          That Cat Mini Excavator is nice, but nothing I'd want to dig a pool with (especially in Williamson Co. . . . ) Five, yep, 60" clearance, edge of slab to PL, maximum.  Farther apart than triple-stack, back-to-back apartments, but way too close for me . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

          1. DanH | Aug 10, 2004 12:23am | #13

            Not a problem. Just hire a crane to lift whatever you need over the house.

          2. User avater
            CapnMac | Aug 10, 2004 01:08am | #14

            Just hire a crane to lift

            LoL!

            Just had a mental picture of a D or E size cat with a rock bar being hoisted over a 1/3 million house (with the street 10-12' lower than the house slab, and a lovely 12/12 "circus tent" roof over . . . )

            Then a dump truck for the spoil.

            Hmm, gunnite or concrete pumper . . . ?Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

          3. DanH | Aug 10, 2004 01:17am | #15

            I've seen them lift some pretty good sized equipment into the courtyards of the building where I work. Nothing as large as a Cat, but a good-sized skid loader, compressor, etc.

          4. User avater
            CapnMac | Aug 10, 2004 01:36am | #16

            a good-sized skid loader

            LoL, you should see some of the North Austin/Williamson Co sites, 12" of rocky sod, 3" of scrabble, 40-50' solid rock; or if you are lucky, 10' of fractured or semifractured sedimentary rock over 30-40' of sloid stone.  It's great pool digging <g>

            Gets even better down by Ed H, too . ..

            The double extension jib needed to get up and over the house was what was boggling my mind too--30ton road crane might only be able to carry a small skid loader with that much boom that far out . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)

          5. User avater
            SamT | Aug 10, 2004 02:48pm | #19

            >>Not a problem. Just hire a crane to lift whatever you need over the house.

            View Image

            SamT

            Arguing with a Breaktimer is like mud-wrestling a pig -- Sooner or later you find out the pig loves it. Andy Engel

          6. DanH | Aug 10, 2004 04:10pm | #20

            Actually, they had just read "The Not So Big House" and were a bit over-anxious to put it into practice.

  5. OneofmanyBobs | Aug 10, 2004 04:39am | #17

    I know people who have bought more expensive houses on even smaller lots.  On purpose.  They want no yard maintenance to do.  The "association" does it all.  The houses are maintenance-free.  All hardie siding and plastic trim and gutters and porches.  They don't care that they're living like insects in a hive.  Thousands of expensive little homes crammed in a couple developments.  All the same but slightly different.  Looks like a Disneyland version of a neighborhood.  But, this is probably the future.  I went out there last week.  Scared me.  My neighborhood looks more like "Deliverance". 

  6. dbanes | Aug 10, 2004 05:07am | #18

    I dunno about requirements on the thin stuff, but as tired as my old arms are, I need the gun on the 3/4 thick trims and such...

    Shouldn't we be talking about a nailing trick? Any way here's mine; at least this works great on re-siding where horizontals are used (after tearing off cedars) add in horizontals for your course pattern, top nail 1 or 2" to either side of the stud and when bottom nailing the next course, you get a shot directly into the stud, a real strong hold against up-lift and no mis fires into a preceeding nail...

    The entire cost of the extra 1x for this is like about 100$  a real classy move on a re-side...

    Scribe once, cut once!

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