Hello –
I need to make a desicion on the siding I will use on my new home. My new home will be in West Virginia and many builders there use T-111 but I have heard some negative things about T-111 and need some advice. I am looking for long lasting, low maintenance siding.
Any suggestions?
Replies
Check out James Hardie's website and look into fiber cement siding products. Very reasonably priced and light years better than T-111.
Thank you very much. I am on the site now.
I am looking for long lasting, low maintenance siding.
that pretty much rules out T-111.
it's gotta be installed right ... flashed ... cap flashing .. z flashing .... caulked ... and have a healthy does of paint to last.
I'd go vinyl before T-111.
and nowadays ... you can get hardi for close to vinyl pricing.
Where in W. Va? Davo might be close.
Jeff
I bought a lot in Morgan County, W.V. 20 minutes outside of Berkeley Springs.
I love the area! It's my first home and I really am trying to make the best decisions possible.
if your digging in deep and plan on staying in your new house for many years, why not use a siding material that will last. Up here in new England we use cedar shingles, of cedar clapboards. Installed and maintained your house will look awesome for years!
Definitely not T-111. I did a garage with it on my first house some years back. It split and rotted after only a few years. The back side, which faced away from the sun, actually grew those saucer shaped fungus things that grow on trees in the woods. It was properly primed and painted after it was installed. I'd never use it again.
Vinyl is durable and the lowest cost siding. You can go with upgraded vinyl, too. Vinyl will need to be washed every year. For quite a bit more Hardie fiber cement siding is a lifetime product. It won't need cleaning, but will need paint every 15 years or so. Paint is not hard to apply because the old paint won't peel, so prep is not too bad.
Vinyl gets a bad rap. True, it is not a high-end product, but often vinyl looks bad because it's installed on a house with no substantial trim around the windows and doors. Then it makes the house look like a trailer. But, integrated with a good trim design it can be quite attractive.
I'm thinking Hardie Plank is more reasonable than you might suspect.... .32 per lineal foot here in MA. That's for 5" exposure.... about $77/sq.
Edited 10/26/2004 7:54 pm ET by dieselpig
Thanks for the informaiton. I was looking at Hardi earlier today and it looks like the best buy for me.
Do you know anything about using SIP's for construction? I am concerned about insullation value and cost. I read somewhere that SIPS can be used for the Basement walls too.
I know little about SIP's and will let others answer the pros and cons. For basements, you may be thinking of precast insulated concrete panels, which are different in construction (being concrete) from wood based panels used above ground. I've never used them. There is another thread current now about them.
I have used insulated concrete forms (ICFs) for basements. These are the Lego style blocks that are stacked dry, reinforced with rebar placed inside, and poured as a solid wall. They are a good product. They have a high insulating value, the strength of reinforced concrete (the strongest of any basement type in residential construction), and are easy to waterproof effectively. I recommend them for consideration.
Brick!
Too exspensive!