Hey Folks,
I am about ready to install fiber cement siding on a job that I am doing and I wondered about fastening it to the building. I have not nailed this stuff before and I would like to use a pneumatic nailer. I don’t have a siding gun, but would a roofing nailer work? If not, what are the best hand nails to use? What’s the best way to cut this stuff? Is there a shear that I could rent somewhere that does not make dust?
Thanks!
Adam
Replies
Contact the manufacurer. When this suff first came out they had certification trainers on staff. They still might............. Horse's mouth sort of thing to be safe.
Best to you and yours, Chris.
Some say I know too much.
roofing or siding nailer will work. They make shears for cutting or blades for your saw. If you go with the blade I set a box fan to clear the dust. Siding nails you can get with ring shank. I also use stainless finish nails in the exposed areas when I need to persuade a panel to lay flat. Hand drives need to be predrilled, or it is a real pain in arse to drive.
Most people use roofing guns for blind nailing fiber cement siding. Use the longest nails your gun will fire, and yes, they need to be in the studs. HD galvanized are best. The previous poster covered the cutting part quite well.
We just put up 150 sq ft of HardiPlank Shingle panels on a small garden shed. We scored it and snapped it - worked fine. But the fastest was cutting with a fiber cement saw blade. Yeah, made some dust, but much less than expected. Could get by with holding your breath during the cut, but the dust mask is much safer. These panels were 16" deep, but they cut quite quickly - the siding was only 5/16" thick. We used 2" galvies in a framer, because that's what a friend had. Couldn't see buying a box of 3000 ring shank nails when we only needed 300.
get the shear for cutting, use the blade only when the shear breaks down or won't suffice.
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I hung siding for a living for more years than I want to admit. If you are only going to do a small job as was mentioned above get the longest hot dipped galv nails you can for your roofing nailer. You can use some cheap carbide blades to cut it. You will go thru one a day. The shears work good but are slow and are hard to make window cuts with since they have no way to plunge into the siding. I prefer a saw, just use a dust mask.
I don't think the shear is slow at all. And I even make the window cuts using the shear, using it like you would a jig saw. Worked fine. Also what is nice if you are doing the job by yourself is the gecko (link below):
http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-International-Tool-Shear-SA902/dp/B0000AQKA2
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We did a house a while back using framing guns, shooting 8-10d HD galv nails into studs, and SS finish screws where we didn't want nails showing. Also used old carbide framing blades, but it was tough going with a lot of dust. Used both the box fan and a mask.
I use a Bostich roofing nailer with 1 3/4" coil nails. I also face nail the joints with a bostich 15 gauge finish nailer and galvanized nails. Hand nailing is also an option, I often hand nail when nailing the last few rows on a gable end.Easier than hauling the nail gun and hose up a ladder.
mike
I use a diamond blade in an old chopsaw for most cuts. We have the shears - they stay in the truck.
McFeely's makes a SS screw that is designed for the job - they are very nice - we use a roofing nailer to blind nail.
I just finished puttin up 3 squares of Hardi shingle using my Hitachi framing gun and 8d ring shank HD galv. nails for all the blind nailing. There were allot of areas that had to be faced nailed so I bought a box of stainless steel ring shanks from McFeely's.
I was going over 1/2 plywood shear walls and just bent down the nails that didn't hit studs from the inside. I also face nailed some of the shingles that didn't lay down flat and tight to the wall. This was a concern around the window trims as I didn't want any shingles that were being caulked to move at all.
I cut everything with my Skilsaw and Marathon carbide blades. Yes, I went through a bunch. Where I live, it gets pretty windy, so I didn't notice the dust much. I will admit that I'm sure glad that part of the project is over with.
Jim