Am preparing to build a new “old” bungalow. Curious about the material cost of a lap fiber cement siding as opposed to a good quality (if there is such a thing) vinyl siding. I know that labor, finish, etc. is going to increase project cost, but just curious about material cost. Also, this is third house I have built for myself, and I have always done install of the vinyl and no problems. What do I have to look forward to with install of fiber cement.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Fine Homebuilding's editorial director has some fun news to share.
Featured Video
Highlights
"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
We used fiber cement, loved it, wouldn't use vinyl again. There have been articles in FHB about installing fiber cement, the only thing that I would emphasize is to wear a mask whenever you do any cutting.
If you do fiber cement buy the shears for around $210 you can sell em when you are done. Last year I paid around $ 1 a sq ft. Used 8.28 inch board and lapped them 2 inches. My 73 yr old neighbor and I installed them. I used a saw the first day and went and bought Porter Cable shears the next day.
shears cut square and clean???????
Do the shears cut square...well I guess its up to the operator. We caulked the joints. The cut is fairly smooth. If you want you can smooth it up with a rasp. The blade they sell for fibercement has 4 teeth and doesnt work very well. I used a dry 7 inch diamond blade for one day and said forget it...too much dust and the dust can cause silicosis.
Up front material purchase costs will put F/C below most vinyl. But the labor is more intensive with the F/C in that it needs to be painted unless you buy the prefinished siding.
I believe I paid about .32 per lineal foot of 5 1/4" Hardi-plank this past summer. That's a 4" exposure.
I'm not sure how it would 'wash' in final cost tallies of f/c vs vinyl but I'll bet someone here knows. I'm fairly certain that F/C would end up costing a bit more but some of the pricier vinyl like the Cedar Impressions would probably make it a close call. But if you're installing and painting yourself and you've got more time than money, the F/C may be the right choice if we're talking price alone.
That being said, IMO, fibercement is the far superior product in many ways so it's tough to say we're comparing apples to apples. Fibercement may cost more than vinyl but it's still a fantastic value. And from a strictly aesthetic point of view, fiber cement siding blows vinyl right out of the water.
If you install F/C yourself, don't sweat it. You'll get the hang of it in no time and the flashing details are pretty much the same as wood siding. In fact I'd say it's actually easier than vinyl. I know tons of guys think they know how to install vinyl, but truthfully I've only seen a handful that really know what they're doing especially in regards to getting it to hang properly and ensure tight flashing details.
The only real hard part about installing F/C is actually physically handling it. It's a bit awkward and fairly heavy for it's size. Some complain about the dust, but it has never bothered me and I've always cut it with saws.
Fine Homebuilding - June/July 2001 - #140 has a pretty good article about installing FC, covers the basics from start to finish. Like other have said, FC is far better looking than vinyl. Really for looks, durability, etc I think its better than cedar lap siding. Last time I bought some, it was about $70/sq for the 6 1/4" (5 inch exposure). You also can and should blind nail with roofing nails or galv siding nails which isn't much.
The negatives with working with FC are the dust if you cut with a saw and the weight of the material. The FC shears work very well and cut clean and dustless, check ebay for a used pair. You can probably get some for about $150 from someone who bought them for their own house and don't need them anymore. The brands are snapper shears, porter cable and kett.
If you want so extra help, in my area the James Hardie rep will send out an installation expert to show you the ropes and get you started
Thanks for all of the input. I definitely believe that the finished look of the F/C cant be compared to vinyl and all input has put to rest some of my fears about cost and installation difficulties. I do definitely fall into the category of more time than money which explains building my fourth (and hopefully last) home.
FC AROUND HERE 1X8 CYPRESS IMPRINT PRE PRIMED 12 FT LONG IS LIKE $5.50 A PIECE.Really good stuff!!!!Wood- a flammable bug food.
FC all the way. You must get the shears though, look them up on Amazon. Also for the real fine detail cutting, get a cement board cutting blade for your jig saw. When you use the shears on prefinished FC, do your cuts from the back. I have the PC shears and they are great. Just finishing up a large cement siding job today in fact. Good luck.
The reason for the shears is theres no real dust as opposed to a saw. The dust from this stuff is silica, very very bad for you. Always wear a mask.
This last summer I paid $4.78 for a 12' length of Hardiplank 6.5" wide (5" exposure), or 40 cents a foot.
was that pre primed?
I paid .44 a lf for 8.25 and I live 20 minutes from where they make it!!
You guys are getting some good prices is sounds.
Oh, i've used and installed both.
FC is more difficult to move around, other than that its the way to go
Are those shears really that cats meow???-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WWPD
One of the things I picked up from a FC siding guy we used was to just grab 3 or 4 piece of FC and drag them. The side that is on the ground (only 1/2 at most any way) is the back side and the siding is so hard and durable that it does nothing to it. It's still a pain carrying it up staging, etc but moving from the pile to the cutting station work great that way.
The shears really do cut very well. The are the same concept of metal shears, they remove about an 1/8" of FC as they make the pass. They cut clean and quickly with no dust at all. The only down side vs. miter or circ cutting is you cut one at a time vs. gang cutting the same pieces with the circ and miter. I have the 404's and they work very well. You would think you can cut curves but only if they are very very gradual, they make another pair for curves. The paper cutting style shears are suppose to work well but the manual one is $500 and the air powered over $1000.
http://www.snappershear.com/snappershear/index.htm
I'm sure a hardie sales rep in your area has a pair that you could try out. After dealing with the dust, the shears are a major help. Especially where you are in FL, wearing a dust mask in that heat gets old in 30 seconds.
yes
but
painting and repainting and caulking wood gets old fast too.
true....BUT fc siding accepts paint very well.
Also, opt for a little extra money and apply a paint such as SW Duration....very good stuff....even on wood....
does GREAT on FC siding at least in my experience.
>> fc siding accepts paint very well. << and... paint holds up better on FC since it doesn't expand and contract as much as say wood.
Yes.
If I had a cat I'd ask him, but take my word for it.
Joe H
yes, pre-primed.
for what its worth, i was very happy with Certainteed's Weatherboards FC siding...May want to do a price comparison with Hardi....cant remember the cost difference
I asked this question in another thread but got no resonse (probably just got buried).
Anyway, how do the two compare in terms of "ease of installation"? When I looked into hardiplank & Certainteed's F/C, both indicated that you need to nail the siding into the framing as opposed to into the sheathing. Also you need to take greater care in handling as they would be more likely to crack if you picked it up incorrectly.
This wouldn't be as much of an issue for someone planning to contract out the siding, but for a DIY'er, it's something to consider.
I think it's good practice to nail any siding to the studs whenever possible. (As opposed to just nailing it to the sheathing.)View Image
Your probably right, but does it really help that much w/ vinyl to nail into the studs? If the wind catches it, wouldn't it be more likely that the siding would pull off over the nail heads than it would to pull the nails out anyway - this is a definite shortcoming for vinyl.
Obviously F/C is far superior to vinyl, I was just wondering how difficult F/C is to install compared to vinyl.
Nailing into the studs helps especially with vinyl. Vinyl is supposed to be installed with the nails a hair proud so that the siding can float in the nailing slot with expansion and contraction. Therefore it loses the increased holding power that other types of siding benefit from with the friction created between the sheathing and the nail head.View Image
Plus, it's easier to nail into the studs especially with vinyl since it is typically hand nailed and there is nothing more fun than hand nailing into some bouncy sheathing...
I'll defer to you on what's better since you've likely installed far more siding than I'll ever even think about. I was simply going by what was on the manufacturers web sites RE: installation. ALCOA says that nailing into the sheathing is fine - unless it is a soft sheathing like rigid foam or homosote.
You are correct about the nails supposed to be proud. It drives novices crazy, they just want to drive those nails home!
I've never used Certainteed's FC, but I've actually heard most people who've used both (the Hardi and the Certainteed) say that they like the Certainteed better. I think Mike Smith might use the Certainteed now that I think about it.
That being said, I have no complaints about the Hardi either. I've installed it on both of the houses that I've owned and lived in.View Image
Costs tend to be local, and vinyl in particular has increased with the supply/demand squeeze on petroleum. It would only take a phone call to get actual pricing from your local supplier(s) to answer the material cost with certainty. The folks here can give their experience with labor costs.
"Am preparing to build a new "old" bungalow. " For a historic look use 5" exposure(or less) FC siding. It sometimes costs more because it's sometimes special order. Or, use the standard wider stuff but lap it 2" or whatever - believe it or not, sometimes it can be cheaper than the special order stuff. Don't use the wood grained stuff - again - not the proper historic look for a bungalow.
As far as actually getting a historic look with vinyl - it's difficult at best. I've seen some cool looking semi-historic look houses done in vinyl on one or two vinyl manufacturer's web sites but have yet to see it done in person.
A bungalow style home would typically have 1x4 trim around the windows and doors with a protruding window sill. Again, may be somewhat difficult to get that look with vinyl/metal.
using hardie on my home-trimed corners and windows with wolm. and butted siding--also making raised panels out of the big sheets--chalked all the seams and corners--get the better chalk-about 3.00 bucks a tube instead of alex plus--i'm painting it with a product from p p g called timeless-i put 2 coats on--fantanstic product--should never have to paint again- the look of f/c is so crisp compared to vinyl you'll be glad you did it as i am.
thanks all who have responded. 1st time that i ever used this board and am pleased that all responded.