Ive never installed it, so I need to know an approx. labor rate to charge. It’ll be on a typical ranch condo in wisconsin. thanks and go badgers! March Madness!Yeah!
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Fine Homebuilding is excited to be the official media partner of the 2024 Building Science Symposium series! This event offers builders, tradesmen, architects, designers and suppliers to discuss topics ranging…
Featured Video
Builder’s Advocate: An Interview With ViewrailHighlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Yeah, Go Big Red!
Have you installed other types of siding? If you've done cedar, I'd use that kind of installation figure but add in for extra caulk, touch up stain, and if you don't have some specialized tools, better figure about a thousand bucks to get yourself set up with a good nailer, saw with dust bag and diamond blade, maybe a set of shears and a lot of expensive nails.
What kind of trim are you using?
Using clapboard cedar as a guide will probably get you in the low ballpark. Since the FC isn't tapered, you have to start your base courses with a row of treated lath to kick the bottom out...same over doors and windows if the layout calls for it. When I can, I try to talk the customer into letting me install a water table first. It looks nice, is functional, and gives a good base to start the installation.
There's been a lot of discussion here about shears vs. diamond saw. I've used both and personally, if given a choice, I'd go for the shears....quiet, fast, controllable, no dust...about $220. You may need some drills and holesaws and a carbide blade for a jigsaw. On the drills, HSS (high speed steel) bits won't last...get the bi-metal or moly coated.
Handnailing it is a bitch so a gun is good
Edited 3/10/2003 3:26:37 PM ET by Notchman
whats a water table? would that be some sort of dripcap?
"What's a water table?"
Well, I'd seen one on an abandoned building out in the desert years ago and saw that it shed water away from the foundation and prevented mud splashes up onto the siding. I never knew what it was called until I ran across the term here...apparently it's a fairly common architectural feature in the Northeast.
I like it as a feature that sets a border around a building that creates a nice finish to the bottom of siding. It's probably not the ticket for every situation but, a couple times, for me, it's been a solution for visually evening out minor but visible misalignments between foundations and walls on old houses that were sloppily built.
The picture I'm attaching is of a geodesic dome I'm in the process of finishing. The owner wanted some definition at the bottom of the siding. In addition, the basement foundation wall is above grade a bit, so I used scraps of FC siding to create a couple of courses of shingles below the water table.
You'll also note that, at the HO's request, the FC siding alternates between 7" and 3 1/2" exposure. The weird paint scheme was the HO's color experiments.
BTW, I've seen some interesting patterns laid using FC siding, including some big diamonds on a vacation beach home in Fla. HGTV program I think. It's fun to think and work out of the box sometimes!
thanks for the pic., thats what i thought. nice detail. I am intrigue by that stuff.( cement siding) I like how it covers the nails, I guess I am pretty skeptical though about how it holds up!
Lose the skepticism, friend...it's good stuff! Takes a little getting used to, and it's best to have a helper (don't try to carry it flat), but what I like most about it is how it takes paint (or you can stain it, or get it prestained).
One more tool I forgot to mention that's good to keep on your belt is a pair of side cutters, or better yet, the nippers that have the cutting face perpendicular to the handle. When you notch out for over a window or whatever, the hand cutters clean the corners out nice and square.
Do a search on this forum for FC discussions...you'll learn a lot. There are some differences of opinion on the 'how to's' but pretty general agreement about the durability and other assets of the products. Certainteed also makes a good product...pretty much the same.
What type of siding do you typically install? Is the ranch condo a single story? Hip roof or gable? The reason I ask is I'm on the left side of the country and if I do the siding, its generally cottage lap masonite (16"x16'). The cement board is much more time consuming due to several factors. Give me a little more info and maybe I can help you out.