Replies

1. 
   Daniel_Casey | Jul 11, 2000 10:27pm | #2

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   Do you mean build the wall, attach sheathing, and install siding while it's on the ground?

2. 
   Guest_ | Jul 14, 2000 04:01am | #3

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   Yeah, that's what I've done for years with other types of siding, but never Hardi. You ever try it?

   And yes Mark, you might have an interest in this. hehehehe

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 14, 2000 10:51pm | #4

   *We do it all the time Jim. We'll be swinging some biiiig gables with the stuff attached on Monday. I'll see if I can learn to post pics. The stuff is heavy, especially since we install it over osb. We just stood up a forty foot long wall with it on. We used two wall jacks and it wasn't too bad.The Hardie rep told us to keep it tight without caulking the joints. We are told to keep it away from windows by 3/16" to maintain the warranty on the windows. We put our corner boards on over the siding so gaps there aren't needed. Don't forget to put the overhangs on...before you raise the wall. blue

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   Guest_ | Jul 16, 2000 04:49am | #5

   *Thanks blue, I made up my mind this morning to give it a try. The longest walls on this job are only 32 x 8 feet. I like to try new stuff and am surprised other guys around here apply the siding after the walls are up.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 16, 2000 09:39am | #6

   *Jim and Blue, Would you care to expound on your techniques? It seems very appealing to let my pump jacks and planks stay in the shop. How much work do you do on the deck. When pre-siding, are the windows already installed? If not, how are the proper flashing techniques at openings achieved? What about corner boards? Are these one or two story walls? If putting the siding on beforhand, how is the rimjoist covered? I'm definetely interested.Jon

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   Guest_ | Jul 17, 2000 06:29am | #7

   *Jon - yes, you put in the windows (and any sliding glass doors)and all exterior trim before you side it and raise it. It depends on what type of siding how you deal with the rim joist. Any sheet goods, like T-111 can be installed with the appropriate lap below the bottom plate. For lap siding, we leave a couple courses out and face nail the last one in after raising the wall and nailing the sheathing to the rim, or mudsill. You still have to use a ladder or scaffolding to tie the corners of the end walls in, but many long walls can be raised pretty much done. How far do you go now before you raise your walls?

3. 
   Daniel_Casey | Jul 17, 2000 09:56pm | #8

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   I guess I'm still a little fuzzy on "how" this is done.

   I just finished siding our new house with Hardi-plank and I was just trying to go over it in my mind about how I would have done this whith the wall laying down on the ground.

   How do you handle nailing in the middle of the wall half-way up? Do you just walk on the wall?

   One advantage I could see is that gravity wouldn't be working against you. What other advantage might there be?

   Do you still start with a fir strip at the bottom? How do you make sure it's level?

4. 
   Guest_ | Jul 18, 2000 12:55am | #9

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   Jim,

   We frame the studs and accessories, sheat and wrap with Tyvek. The wall is squared with two tapes, before sheating, while still on the deck. Plywood is applied horizontally. I just thought of another question. How do you deal with a 4 9/16" jamb? Do you block the wall up 1/2" to simulate drywall? Also, to what lengths do you go to ensure that the deck is level, so when the wall is squared it's not thrown off by elevation dips?

   Jon

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 18, 2000 03:53am | #10

   *Round here we install osb,Tyvek, siding, windows and trims before standing up the walls .We also sheet, felt, shingle, and install gutters to our truss before we lift them into place.Trying to figger out a way to hang the sheet rock before standing up too.

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   Guest_ | Jul 18, 2000 07:07am | #11

   *Danial - it depends on the siding. Sheet goods you can scurry around on without hurting it any...just make sure the rookies don't get mud on it. As for anything delicate like cedar bevel (or I guess hardi type) you can kneel on the sheeting above the siding you are nailing. "One advantage I could see is that gravity wouldn't be working against you. What other advantage might there be?" What else do you need? I don't know about you, but I'm a whole lot more efficient walking around on the deck than I am working off ladders or scaffolding. Think about how much you could do by yourself instead of having a helper hold the other end, or hand you something up or whatever. Just the fact that you aren't supporting all that weight all day...really, if you ever tried it, you'd see the difference.If by fir strip, you mean to flare out the first coarse, what would be different about that? Maybe this is just something you have to see to understand. The first time I saw it was my first day framing here in Washington. I was astonished how efficient and fast it was. That was over 20 years ago and I don't think it was new back then. All the production crews were doin' it, even then.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 18, 2000 07:21am | #12

   *I've never used windows like the ones you describe - with the jamb extensions already on when the windows are set (well, just some I built for my own home, but I put them in later). If you use that type window, you have a good question there. You could block up the top plate, say 3", so the wall is not exactly paralell to the deck, but is still in a flat plane. Yeah, that would give you enough clearance I bet. I like to check the foundation for level, shim the mud sill if needed, then string across to set the beams by. I usually pour my own foundations though, and have had good luck so far. But if you are already sheathing your walls before you stand them, you are in the same boat - no way you're gonna rack that thing once it's up, it's gonna be perpendicular to the floor, not necessarily plumb. Either way, there's no doubt it pays to get your floor flat and level.

5. 
   Larry_Pressley | Jul 18, 2000 09:40pm | #13

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   I am building a small one level 2bedroom house and plan to use reverse board and batt 4x9x5/8 pine siding over tyvec, and raise the walls with the siding in place. My question is do I need osb shething or would the thick siding and tyvec dircctly to the studs be sufficient? Trying to watch my budget.

6. 
   Guest_ | Jul 19, 2000 04:51am | #14

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   are you gonna use let in bracing, or steel straps, or what? How are you gonna keep your walls from racking.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 19, 2000 05:44am | #15

   *Jon, we typically have the windows on site and set the upper windows before we install the siding. Since most of our windows are wood, with 4 9/16 jambs, we block up the top plate using scrap 2x6 blocks. We put enough in to keep the wall in plane and rigid.We also install our overhangs, usually before we block it up. That decision is optional depending on the installer. After siding, I install all corner boards. I hang the corner boards down the appropriate distance plus 1/4". I don't know why I have to add 1/4", but I do. Every time I do it exact, it is short. So I give up, I simply add the 1/4"! Installing the corner boards can be tricky if you are butting to a belt at the bottom. The boards will bump into the belt (it's already installed) as you raise it. Just pry the corner boards out a bit prior to raising. Or, install the caorner boards over the siding and belt. That's how we do it. I like the look and it is easy to isntall.Usually, the siding is required to start at the top of the first floor doorwall. We usually run a 1x10 belt directly over the doorwall and the siding starts above it (the belt). We install the belt and one or two pieces of siding on the first floor walls before we raise them.That leave the rim joist. Heres what we do. As soon as the 2nd floor deck is completed, we hang over and install all siding as high as possible. It usually means that the top of the last siding is somewhere near the top of the rim joist. We then hang our first piece of siding down to cover the last piece on the rim. When we raise it we are done!The only ladder work we do is nailing the bottom of the preinstalled corner boards to the belt. All flashings, trim boards, sidings, overhangs and windows are done.I've thought about presheeting the trusses too, but can't find a reason to do it. I'd have to leave the overhangs undone to sheet the roof and the trade off wouldn't be worth it. Besides, when you are walking up a 12/12 roof, you don't care if its ten feet in theair or 50 ft. It's still a 12/12 roof and it's hard if you are old (like me) and carrying a sheet of osb! We usually have all our overhangs completed before we set trusses. There is usually some minor boogering to do to make the trusses plane properly and it would be impossible of they were already sheeted. I suppose if I was doing simple rectangles, it wouldn't be so complicated, but I'm not. On the last roof, I think I could have presheeted 12 sheets on one section, and I can install them in an hour up top. Whooopdee doopdee. It wouldn't be worth it to drag them off the pile and fiddle with them on the ground.I'll take pics of the next house that I'll do. That should clear up a ton of confusion.Oh yeah, I have a pair of rusting pump jacks in the barn. I haven't used them in more than ten years, and I don't intend to!grampa blue

7. 
   Larry_Pressley | Jul 19, 2000 07:33pm | #16

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   I will use steel straps at each corner, but I was thinking the 4x9x5/8 wood siding would be as strong as houses I see built with 1/2 osb and vinyl siding. What do you think?

8. 
   Guest_ | Jul 20, 2000 02:26am | #17

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   Sorry Larry, I just reread your question. I misunderstood what you said earlier. If you are gonna use 4'x9' sheets, yeah, that will provide all the shear you need.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 20, 2000 09:33pm | #18

   *Yet another question. How do you make sure it's level? Do you just measure up both side an equal distance, snap a line and then start installing?Could there be a problem somewhere else that would cause it to be out-of-level?In other words, when it's stood up and I put a level underneath a coarse of lap siding like the hardi-plank, will it be level?

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 21, 2000 12:49am | #19

   *Daniel....Sell your tools!!!!....Basic understandings of "is a square still square if you put it on it's edge????....trouble in paradise....I'm losing my bedside manners...near the mean stream,aj

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 21, 2000 04:43am | #20

   *well, it will be paralell to the deck. If the deck is level, the siding will be level. But in truth, "level" is really not critical unless you're taliking something structural. Paralell and "right" are far more important in many cases.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 21, 2000 05:38pm | #21

   *As a comfort to adirondackJack - Don't worry, this was my first house, I GC'd it myself and did as much work that I thought I could reasonably do and I think we did a good job on all the things we did.I think Jim's explanation helped clear everything up.Since I'm not familiar with basic construction/carpentry, I'm a little (a lot) slow on some of this, but I'm eager to learn.Jim, others - Does this save time when building it all on the ground?Does the "paralell & right" apply when installing windows before the wall is up? Or should they be level?

2. 
   Guest_ | Jul 21, 2000 10:30pm | #22

   *Saves a tremendous amount of time Daniel. My son and I just sided a wall 8 x 32 in about two hours (we're gonna try lifting that bad boy tomorrow). I don't think we could have done it anywhere near that fast up in the air. Plus, like I mentioned in an earlier post, we slid most of the heavy stuff around, instead of lifting it and supporting the weight of it while we nailed it etc. About windows, what we do is center them in the opening. Since our deck is flat and level, and all the cripples are the same length, and we cross squared our wall before sheating it, the window should, in fact, be very close to level once the wall is stood. Mistakes do happen, but I don't remember the last time we stood a wall and something was out of whack.

9. 
   Fran_Strychaz | Aug 14, 2000 05:36pm | #23

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   I have another question for you Hardiplank experts. I'm installing Hardiplank now - after the walls are up since this was a remodel.

   Can Hardiplank be installed over the concrete foundation? If so, how? On the south side of my house the foundation line is very high at the two ends, but drops 3 feet for about a 12 foot section in the middle (There used to be two porches at those corners.) I'd like to have the Hardiplank cover the concrete from the lowest point of the wood which means I'd probably have to install about 5 rows of the planks. I'm using the 8 1/4 in. Cedarmill.

   Any suggestions will be appreciated!

10. 
    Guest_ | Aug 15, 2000 09:37pm | #24

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    I am tempted to try it, but dang, that stuff is heavy. Also, I'm worried about it being kinda brittle, especially around the nail holes. What do you say, anybody install the Hardi type siding before they raise their walls? Thanks - Jim

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 11, 2000 08:43am | #1

   *Is this for what I think it is?

11. 
    Guest_ | Aug 15, 2000 09:37pm | #25

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    Can you fasten some firring strips to the concrete wall to nail your siding to?