Has anyone worked with Hardie trim boards? We have 45 degree angles on our house, and any corner trim would have to be ripped. Any info we can get before going ahead would be helpful. Maybe I’ll try to contact Hardie – but anything to make a sale, you know.
Thanks, Shauna
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Replies
I have ony worked with hardi board in sheet applictaions, So I can't answer your question directly.
I take it that you are siding your house with hardi board, and now you are wondering about the trim. I have seen houses sided in hardi planks, trimmed out in wood trim. This may be something that you want to do. I'm not sure how well that stuff rips with a bevel on it. But ya never know, I'm sure someone will have an answer for you.
Hardie trim -- 5/4 or the thin stuff?
do you have an answer for either? I'm guessing she's using 5/4
We were thinking of using the 3/4 - definitely not the 7/16. We haven't ordered siding yet, but are going to go with the ColorPlus. (I hope it doesn't end up being a lot of work for little reward, but it sure sounds good.)
Shauna
(We can always go to wood, but this is a vacation home, so we'd like everything to be somewhat low maintainence/more durable.)
Edited 7/5/2005 1:33 pm ET by shaunaw
I'm currenty putting Hardie siding on my house with the 1" hardieplank trim. You can rip and bevel it, I did the 45* corners on the bays. But, it's really dusty, get a good mask. It's best on a breezy/windy day. Hopefully you're neighbors aren't too close by, because it's really bad. Get a circular saw for the project (probably won't be much good afterwards) and spend the money for the diamond blade ($50 ~ $75) made for cement siding. I tried a cheaper $15 dollar carbide blade made for cement siding and it really started to bog after about 15 10' long rips. It would have probably been ok for straight rips, but it was really getting bad on the 45* beveled edges. Unless you have an angled corner, I would not recommend beveling edges.As for prepainted.... I used the prepainted white. By the time I get done cutting and repainted the edges, then painting to cover the nails, the trim will basically be completely repainted. The prepainted siding is worth considering.
Thanks! We had considered the prepainted trim, but were hesitant because of all the touch-up you just described. I'd like to think the siding wouldn't be quite as bad, but if anyone out there knows for sure, I'd be interesed in hearing how it went.
Another question: how did you finish the corner where the bay meets the wall? Did you have to bevel that piece as well?
Shauna
I recently was at a house for a tore off roof that was sided and trimmed all in hardie..I am contemplating the siding for my house,
To be honest, the trim looked like crap..it seemed to be chipped excessivly ( could be the installer) and just didn't look quite right.
On top of that observation , we had a copper roof that went up behind a 5/4 trim board..when the roof did a wizard of OZ in a severe blow..that board shattered into a zillin pcs.
I'd go with wood or AZEK for trim,,myself. Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Iffin ya cain't spell it, don't eat it
Yes, I beveled that 45* so the siding came into a flat surface, like a normal corner board. I didn't want the inside corners to look too wide. The painted siding hasn't been a problem at all since it's blind nailed. Very few places to touch up, mostly horizontal cuts.
Maybe a dumb question - but is there a reason not to use a table saw rather than the circular? Does the fiber cement really destroy the machinery?
Shauna
the cutting process creates this nice big cloud of fine abrasive dust that will eventually wear out just about anything - including your lungs unless you take some precautions.
Just about any diamond masonry blade will cut the siding just fine.
Thanks to everyone for the info. Looks like we'll get our order for Hardie siding placed tomorrow, and since we have sixteen angled corners we'd have to cover (yep, 16 - never again buy someone else's crazy foundation with stupid angles) we'll probably skip the Hardie trim.
Shauna
I've trimmed houses sided with HardiePlank with the 3/4 HardieTrim and I think it comes out looking pretty nice.But I've also trimmed HardiePlank houses with cedar and MiraTec and I much prefer the finished product as well as workability of MiraTec. I've never used Azek or Koma so I can't comment on those. Ripping and cutting the HardiTrim is such a pain I don't really think it's worth it. But FWIW I think the chipping Sphere mentioned was probably an installation/cutting problem as opposed to a problem with the product.
Edited 7/5/2005 7:18 pm ET by bluemoose
Nice work!
"Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
My experiences are the same as above, except I have not used the prepainted Hardie. The 5/4 looks good with the lap siding. Dusty stuff and use an old cheap portable table saw or old circular saw and a very good mask. Don't cross nail thru the bevel just caulk the joint.
FF
I think at this point we'll use MiraTec (or similar) for the trim. Maybe I'll think about HardieTrim again when I don't have to think about ripping/beveling so many pieces of it.
Shauna
IIRC, any cuts on the MiraTec need to be primed prior to installation.
As Norm might say, Please read, understand and follow all installation instructions.
FF
PS Good luck!
Do know about priming, but have to confess ignorance of IIRC. Those initials would stand for....?
Shauna
http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=iirc&Find=Find
Very funny!! I'm sure it's 'If I recall correctly', but I kinda like 'If I really cared'. LOL
Shauna
Sometimes I come up with some whoppers trying to figgure out what someone is initializing.
Rip-wise, stick with wood or koma / azec.
Carpenter / Builder, Rhode Island
I would like to ask a related question about Hardi siding. I have a customer interested in replacing Masonite staggered edge panel shingle siding with Hardishingle staggered edge panels. I have been unable to find any information estimating installation time per square. I am also sondering if it would be wise to pre paint the product before installation, as the staggered edges and edge joints would be a pain to cover once installed on the wall. If any one has experience with this Hardi product and can offer some advice it would be appreciated. Thanks. Fred.
From what I've seen the panelized stuff goes up significantly faster than the individual shakes, but the material cost is significantly higher and there is more waste. Based on the material/labor costs I have been using the individual shakes, and it takes 3 experienced siders (2 'hangers' and 1 cut man) about 2 hours per square, maybe less depending on how many edge cuts - I was using them in the gable ends only which required angle cuts. That time is easily doubled or trippled for less experienced siders (jack of all carpenters). I have never used the panel shakes, however the builder building next to where I am building is using them and it looked to go nearly 2x as fast. To my eye, the staggered panels look a bit too "contrived" though. Re painting, my painters spray it after install. There was someone who posted a pic here of some panel shakes that they prepainted and it looked really nice - they did a multi coat process with some kind of stain (I think) and the color variation made the stuff look more like cedar. My guess is that prepainting would be more time consuming than spraying them after they are installed.
Matt
PS: something to be aware of: My material suppliers only sell the hardi shake products by the square - so if you need 2.1 squares - guess what? ;-)
Edited 7/6/2005 7:14 am ET by DIRISHINME
Thank you for the reply. I am aware that this siding is available in my area only by the pallet of two squaire per each, and they are not cheep. Certanteed makes a sinilar fiber cement product that they will pre- finish, but they want $276 more per sq. than Hardi does for the unpainted ones. At that rate we could paint them with a tooth brush and still come out.
We are a jack of all trades company, with one man who is very familure with vinyl siding. That will not help us much in this case. We have used both Hardi Plank, and Hardi Panel siding in the past, and think that it is a good product.
If a person was to pre paint, how would you do it with out a foot ball field to lay them out in to dry to a point that they wouldn't stick together when stacked?
I've worked with Hardi trim boards a few times, in fact I'm doing a jb with it now. Here's what I think about it and a few more fiber cement observations on Hardi, Certainteed, Miratec, and pre painting fiber cement.
Hardi Trim: brittle, handle it carefully.
Difficult, if not impossible to nail corners together without predrilling.
The edges are very poorly finished. We have had to sand the edge that is exposed on the outside corners to make them presentable on the smooth trim.
I've cut them with my wormdrive saw and had a helper spray a mist of water on the leading edge of the blade. this keeps the dust down, and makes the carbide blade last. I use only enough water to do the job, but it is a bit messy. (Yes I use a GFI and am quite carefull that the spray is directed foreward)
Miratec and GP Prime Trim: they scuff too, are prone to pillowing etc. at nail holes. There will be problems with it if it's not kept painted and caulked. Easier to work with than Hardie. Comes in 16' lengths, Hardi only in 10'.
Hardi siding: I would never recommend prepainting it scratches too easily. (Think about sliding a brick across a newly painted surface and you have a good picture.)
We do almost all of our cutting with a shears. No dust and no dust masks to wear on a hot day.
Certainteed brand: Their wood grains are better than Hardi's.
Their smooth finish has poor edges, They're rough and don't have a neat edge like the Hardi.
Certainteed's primer on the smooth product is not consistient prone to overspray and bubbles, though their product is more smooth than the Hardi. On the last job I used it on all the butt joints opened up almost 1/8th inch. This from a product that was dilivered on a pallet as a full unit with the factory wrapper and placed, as a unit, in a garage. Yet when we put it up it shrunk. I've never had the Hardie shrink.
That's my experience with these products. Hope this helps,
Woody