I run a small remodeling company in the Pacific Northwest and last fall replaced some siding on the end of a manufactured house. The owner had a fridge leak which did some floding while he was away. Another comapany replaced the siding on the front and then sent a couple of clowns over to do the end. They put up plywood and some crappy batten strips. I was hired to replace that junk with some T1-11 and some batten strips to match the front. All seemed to go well. Early in the spring, the owner called to say that his siding was “bulging”. I went out to the site and sure enough, two of the panels had spots that were bulging between the studs – the upper half of the 4×8 sheet bulging in about an inch or more and the lower half bulging out the same distance. Only two of the sheets had the problem and only in one or two of the spans between the studs. I did not span the home’s joint with panels, but left a gap and hid it with a batten. The client’s neighbor said that the panels were butted too tight, but I put them up the same as always and have never had a problem before. The sheets are not delaminating, so the product does not seem top be the issue. Another contractor suggested foundation settling as a possible cause. I am hoping that someone may have encountered this before and might have a solution. Please Help!!
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Replies
I don't have an answer for your, but what kind of "t1-11" siding did you use?
Really T1-11 plywood? Hardboard or OSB t1-11 patern, such as LP ABT or SmartSiding? T1-11 patern fiber cenment?
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
The T1-11 was 5/8" real plywood - good quality. All sheets pulled from an inside wherehouse at my local lumber yard. If there is a moisture problem, I doubt that it was in the plywood. Might have been some in the wall from before. Guess that I will just have to take one down and see.
Did you paint the T1-11 or was the home owner to do this? Sounds to me like you either have a moisture problem still which has caused the bulges or you indeed did not leave enough room for expantion. The only way to know for sure is to pull at least one of the sheets and see what is up.
Around here they sell two types of T-111. One is pretty good and more expensive. The other is junk, has voids in the layers and generally will warp and bubble. They look similar but the problems will show on the low grade stuff.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
> I am hoping that someone may have encountered this before and might
> have a solution.
I had the same problem with a batch of T1-11 I bought from Home Depot. A year later, it was all bulged out. I put a bunch of screws into it (had to attach it to an old semi-trailer) and that pulled it back flat. It's been another year, and I don't know if the problem recurred - I don't work in that area anymore.