Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 13, 2000 03:14am | #1

   *
   If you put it up and finish it off according to the instructions it will still be there when the rest of your house has rotted away.

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 13, 2000 07:23am | #2

   *Just finished about 25 squares on my new home, and while I didn't have a "bad" experience with it, it isn't quite as easy to work with. Aside from the obvious differences, (cutting, nailing, drilling etc.) the one thing I found is that it really magnifies any flaws in your framing. I routered let-ins(?) for my simpson straps in the 4x6's and then sheathed over them, and I'm glad I did. That stud that is bowed an eighth will look like an inch after you side the house. Be really anal when you go back and straightedge your walls. The stuff simply won't forgive shoddy framing.Also it goes a little slow 'til you get the hang of it. Myself and a helper were doing about 2-3 sq. a day.

2. 
   Hawkeye_ | Feb 13, 2000 08:46pm | #3

   *
   Thanks for the input. What are your thoughts on the aesthetics of these products? Do they truly look like wood once painted and will they do so in ten years?

3. 
   Guest_ | Feb 13, 2000 10:41pm | #4

   *
   Looks better than any wood you can buy today. Use the finish products they recommend (Valspar) and you should get much better (compared to wood) performance. Check out this web site http://www.tamlyn.com for information about vinyl materials designed to work with cement fiber siding materials.

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 14, 2000 05:52am | #5

   *I've recently stood five houses up with the stuff. It seems like it will stand the test of time. I'd rather work with LP siding because of the the longer lengths.We put it over 1/2" osb, and it semms to look fine. We don't make any special effort to straightedge the studs, but our studs are decent to begin with. Any obviously bad stuff is culled (about two studs per thousand).It's heavy and also brittle at or near 0 degrees F.I'm going to use some of it on my house.But I'd use almost anything.Blue

4. 
   gholland | Feb 16, 2000 07:58am | #6

   *
   So I haven't used it yet, but I did think about the problems of the long walls so I put some bays on and that will work to break up the surface. So theres my smarty pants answer to the problem! However we'll see how it works out! I usually shingle my homes but I'll try anything once!

5. 
   Guest_ | Feb 19, 2000 01:09am | #7

   *
   Certainteed makes the product also....I just installed 105,850 lineal feet on a single home....It was slow going and even though we really became comfortable with the product, I will bid this at no more than a few square per day for custom one of a kind high end homes(this one had forty eight corners.)

   They do make the product in shingle form among many other forms, such as sheet form...Check the web.

   near the stream,

   aj

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 19, 2000 05:21am | #8

   *How about appearence? Is there a smooth grade that you can use instead of the "wood" grain? I've never seen a smooth-milled clapboard that looks like all the fake woodgrain stuff on the market. I hate that exagerated grain look.Steve

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 20, 2000 04:10am | #9

   *Accoding to my calculations, you put 529 squares on AJ! At 3 square a day, you will need almost the entire year to install the stuff!Did you mistakenly add a digit?Was this scaffold type work, or was the wall still lying down. We install it lying down and can install approx one square per hour-maybe twice that on easy runs.Maybe I'll do a time study on the next wall that we do on monday.blue

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 21, 2000 02:50am | #10

   *Steve,Both smooth and grained are available and the Certainteed looks great....As good as siding can look.near the stream,aj

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 21, 2000 02:58am | #11

   *Blue...My math had an error for sure....Some day I would like to fly you out here to build a 48 cornered custom home with detailed corners, built up column style corners and all using your fastest production methods...This house was framed in two months by two men and sided and trimmed over another two months by four men. A hundred openings and five hundred feet to walk the perimeter...six dormers, three garage doors, two porches, two bays, five exterior doors, a few miles of facia/soffet...near the stream,aj

6. 
   Hawkeye_ | Feb 21, 2000 03:01am | #12

   *
   Anyone have any bad experiences with Hardiplank or other cement/fiber siding? Is cedar/redwood better? We are in SE Iowa with all weather extremes.