Improper Hardie Shingle Install – How Bad is This?
BJoeG
| Posted in General Discussion on
Homeowner, mostly DIY in past, but in midst of major reno led by GC and his various subs. Using 5″ exposure Hardie Shingle panels on extended garage, small addition, and part of existing house in New England. Job almost complete (~15 square installed) but I just noticed the siding guys have been installing the panels with a 6″ exposure vs. the specified 5″ exposure! It all looks good, but clearly not to spec. What might be the long-term implications? Clearly ripping it all off and starting over will be a huge problem….
FWIW – been generally happy with my GC but this is quite the WTH? moment…
Thx
Replies
Tearing off siding and redoing it isn’t that big a deal. A lot of what you’re paying for is the setup, scaffolding, getting the material out there, and all the measuring and problem solving.
Usually warrantees require that the siding be installed according to manufacturers specs.
Same with building codes. And also your homeowners insurance. Like if the siding blows off in a storm because the nails are in the wrong place or water gets blown up under there and creates a huge mold or termite problem, you’re screwed.
But before you go to crazy read the spec sheet and make sure the reveal hasn’t changed.
Then use your privilege as the guy who’s paying to politely ask “what is the reveal on this siding supposed to be?” Just a really short question no explanation or anything.
Don’t say anything about “I read on the Internet“
The negative assumption would be they’re shorting you on materials, i.e. your invoice says they ordered enough material for a 5 inch reveal, but they really only delivered enough to do a 6 inch reveal. so they’re overcharging you by 10 or 15 percent.
OR…if you’re like me, you could just be a really bad at measuring and math and they’re doing it correctly.
Thanks for the feedback. The instruction sheet is pretty darn clear, the packaging is stamped "5 inches", and the nail line is spelled out on each 48" board in two languages. I honestly think they misinterpreted the nailing line as the "overlap alignment" line. So much for having "Hardie experience". The only good thing is 75% of what is installed is on a garage or under a protected screen porch.