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How to Paint Fiber-Cement Siding

comments (12) February 10th, 2012 in Blogs

Patrick McCombe, Associate editor

Video Length: 2:36
Produced by: Colin Russell

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One of the products we're seeing more and more of is fiber-cement siding. It's got a number of advantages: it's rot proof, it's insect resistent, and it's relatively inexpensive. We had pro painter Jim Lacey show us the right way to prep and paint it.

Jim's tips include:

-Make sure the fiber cement is free of dirt and mildew

-Do not prime the siding (it comes pre-primed)

-Use 100% acrylic paint

-Caulk transitions where fiber cement meets trim

-Use a quick-dry, flexible, paintable caulk that is designed to bond to fiber cement and your trim material

-Smooth caulk with your finger; wipe away excess with a damp rag

-Don't put too much paint on your brush (less is more)

-Work from top to bottom

-Follow the grain pattern

More Free Painting Videos

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How to prep and prime cedar siding

How to fill nail holes and paint exterior PVC trim

Stop paint from bleeding under masking tape

PROJECT HOUSE LINKS:

posted in: Blogs, siding, painting, project house

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Comments (12)

larsonbrent writes: Find out what things you need to consider when you are shopping for the best laptop hard drive for your computer
Posted: 11:21 pm on May 11th

larsonbrent writes: Things to consider when shopping for the best hard disk drives
If you are shopping for the best laptop hard drive, you're going to have your work cut out for you, especially buy laptop hard drive online. Finding a reliable hard drive to purchase is not going to be as easy as 123. You may have to spend some time looking around on the Internet and doing some comparison shopping so that you can find a hard disk for sale that will satisfy your expectations and meet your needs as well, before you make a determine you can just know about the laptop hard drive cost in the field. Using a laptop means that you're going to need enough space to store your files, install your software and do everything that you want to do on the computer. There a lot of things to consider when you purchase a new hard drive for your laptop. Below, you will find with some of these things are and why it's important to shop around for hard disk drives for sale so that you can find the precise laptop hard drive that you want to buy.

1,Look for a hard disk drive that has enough space to meet your needs
Knowing how much space you need on your hard drive can be a difficult thing. Often times, people don't think they need much space but then they come to realize that they needed more than they originally thought. For instance, some people think that they just need to purchase a hard drive that is going to cover their files. For instance, if they have about 10 gigabytes of files, they may purchase just a 20 to 40 gigabyte hard drive. The problem with this is that you are not accounting for the operating system. If you plan to run an operating system like Linux or Windows on the computer, then you need to purchase a hard drive that has enough space to properly run the operating system and store your files. There are other things to keep in mind as well, for instance, what software are you going to be putting on the computer? Software can take up a lot of space on a computer, especially games and software that is very complex. These types of software titles can get up into several gigabytes of space, so you need to have a big enough hard drive to accommodate for these applications.

2,Remember that it's okay to go over what you need but it's not okay to go under
Of course, you can easily see there are so many laptop hard drive for sale online, when purchasing a hard drive, it's okay to purchase more gigabytes than you actually need, just like me, I love installing lots of games, so I bought a big sony laptop hard drive in advance. However, if you were to purchase less gigabytes than you actually need, this is not going to be okay because you won't be able to do the things that you want to do on your computer. Be sure to shoot for more disk space. Keep in mind that installing a hard drive on a laptop can be more complicated than installing a hard drive on a desktop computer. You also need to accommodate for the installation costs when you're going to have a company install this for you. Look online and do some comparison shopping so that you can find the best laptop hard drive for a price that makes sense for your budget.

Need more info about laptop hard drives or purchasing, please go harddrivestore.org

Thank you, useful.
Thank you, useful
But to be frank, it doesn't tell in detail what should we do to choose a best one, agree?
I don't think it's good to buy a new hard dirve, why not change the laptop? Lol.
Posted: 11:21 pm on May 11th

larsonbrent writes: Find out what to look for when you are shopping for a hard drive
Posted: 11:30 pm on May 9th

larsonbrent writes: What to Look for in a Hard Drive That You Are Purchasing?
When you are going to buy laptop hard drive, it is extremely important to look for one that is going to be fast and large enough to accommodate all of your files and data needs. It
Yeah, it's just what I need, I'm about to have a new one
I always use Dell Hard Disk Drives, what about you, guys?
Gateway!!!lol
Posted: 11:30 pm on May 9th

suburbangeorge writes: I'm going to be redundant. I posed something similar on "there's a beter way".

Don't apply caulk the way that they show. Instead of leaving behind a tail of caulk that needs to be tooled with your finger(messy and wastefull of caulk) point the tip of the caulking tube toward the uncaulked part of the joint. With practice, you can maintain a small bubble of caulk in front of the tip. This lets you know that you have filled the joint. The bubble is excess caulk over what is needed to fill the joint. The tip travels over the just applied caulk and tools it. You don't need wipe away gobs of caulk. Just wipe it with a wet finger or rag and you're finished
Posted: 11:28 pm on October 5th

statelypenguin writes: I work as a painter in "high-end" new construction, and as I've watched the quality of work go down, down, down on our houses, I've always turned to Fine Homebuilding to show me that the job can still be done correctly.

However, this video really bothered me. Pro painter Jim Lacey? Is that a plastic handle brush? What about painting the bottom edge of the siding? Why are you brushing the entire wall in the first place? Furthermore, when caulking the siding to the corner boards, we've always caulked the bottom edges of the siding as well instead of just the vertical, otherwise water could still get in.

I'm not saying you aren't a pro and I know that sometimes you have to make crappy videos that dumb everything down for homeowners, but come on; it shouldn't mean you have to cut corners, especially in a FHB video. Leave that to the custom home builders using the cheapest labor and materials possible.
Posted: 5:51 am on April 10th

designthis writes: Mr. Lacy left at least a 1/3 of the labor out and would make the client very unhappy and probably void the warrantee. A lot of time needs to be taken to paint underneath the bottom drip edge. Imagine standing on the ground and looking up at the second floor, you'd see primer, but no paint underneath all of the boards. This is the hardest part of the job. And not doing it is cutting corners!
Posted: 8:35 am on March 5th

patrick_mccombe writes: Thanks for the comments. The caulk Jim is using is a high-quality arcylic latex exterior caulk. It's not painter's caulk. We should have done a better job explaining that.
Fine Homebuilding's video audience includes builders, remodelers and DIYers. Our aim is to produce content that satisfies the needs and curiosity of all three groups. The Building Skills video series, as the name suggests, are basic skills for those just starting out in their homebuilding pursuits. If you feel the content is too basic for your needs, I hope you'll check out one of our our other video series, like Master Carpenter, or There's a Better Way. Patrick McCombe Associate Editor
Posted: 4:49 pm on February 16th

Nails9 writes: Great Video! I really like the tip about not letting the paint drip or run. Also, paint with the grain, and top to bottom. That's genius.
Posted: 8:00 pm on February 13th

CBuilt writes: That is a poor video. I have never seen painters caulk recommended for a joint between PVC trim and cement siding-- especially a tooled caulk joint! Seems to me it will crack with the first movement.
Posted: 9:20 am on February 13th

CLK3RD writes: Our experience is that the total cost of cement siding (LABOR + materials) is considerably higher (multiples) than other siding types.
Posted: 5:59 am on February 13th

geoffhazel writes: That had to be the most useless video I've ever seen on Fine Homebuilder's site.

Caulk it. Use 100% acrylic paint. Use two coats if you have to.

Posted: 4:09 am on February 13th

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