I’ll be siding a friend’s new home with him on Lake Erie; below the eaves and the gable end band board he wants board and batten using Hardie vertical siding sheets. The style is Craftsman. The house will get weather and I’ll use stainless fasteners, my friend wants low maintenance and good value. House is up now, SIPs with 7/16†OSB skins (no studs) and covered with house wrap. I have no experience with the new fangled materials. I’ll do a careful job of flashing and details to exclude water.
The upper gable ends will get cedar shingles on Obdkye Home Slicker matrix, to keep their tannins off the house wrap and promote drying. A cheaper option under the shingles would be 30 lb. tarpaper over the wrap, or remove it and replace with the 30 lb. Is the Obdyke worthwhile?
For the board & batten I’m thinking about a thin rainwall design using the Hardie 4’ x 10’ x 5/16†sheets over full height 2†spacer splines cut from Ice & Water shield located behind the vertical nail lines, on top of the existing house wrap, with horizontal strips of Obdyke Home Slicker matrix (3/16†thick) at top and bottom to let air in and out, while excluding bugs. The rainwall space created will be the thickness of one or two layers of Ice and Water and the Obdyke matrix. I’m thinking about screwing the sheets in place @ 12†at perimeter with 24†in field, then nailing the battens on @ 12†to get to Hardie’s 6†@ perimeter, 12†in field fastening schedule. Coil gun with ring shank ss siding nails. Again the house is SIPs with no studs to hit and each sheet will weigh about 100 lbs. Corners will get a wide layer of Ice & Water. I’m leaning towards renting scaffolding also; we’ll be 10’ up, there will be about 45 panels. Comments on the thin rain wall design or it’s necessity and fastening ideas are welcome.
Choices for the battens are 1×2’s of Miratec or GP Primetrim, OR rips of Harditrim 7/16†planks. Am I insane to consider ripping 150 9’ battens of the Harditrim? How good will the cut edges look? I would make a cutting jig and stand upwind on a breezy day. Any concerns about water getting at the ends or scarf joints of Miratec battens, which are available in 1 x 2s; no ripping. I could hold the battens 1/2†above the water table board’s flashing at the bottoms, and overhang them with the band board at the tops. Battens of either material would be nailed on at 12â€, and caulked to the panels.
One last thing, what’s a good way to make a drip cap and flash above curved top windows? I’m thinking milling pieces of Azek for the cap and flashing onto it with flexible peel and stick like Dupont flex wrap. Top of the drip caps will be out of sight, Azek will conform to the curve.
Time to order materials soon, thanks in advance to you smart people who respond to this.
Replies
I am not a pro, but I am wondering why the rain screen behind the hardy panels.
AFAIK the rain screen is used for "leaky wall" systems such as lap siding where there are tons of places for water to be blown behind the finish.
And why the cedar shingles on the top of the gables.
I would go with hardy shingles. That is not an area that is "up close and personal". If you are using hardy panels down low where they are "up close and personal" I don't see any reason to change for the high parts. And those are the parts that are hardeer to get to to paint.
BTW, if I get the addition put on that I want to that is basically what I want to use. FC T-111 pannels on the end and FC shingles above it on the gable end. First floor level under the porch (up close and personal) would have a stain cedar drop siding.
I'm thinking rain screen behind Hardi because the house is SIP, if a drop gets in around a nail it will have no where to go and the house is very near a Great Lake. It might be extremely cautious, but won't cost much extra.I was thinking Hardy shingle also, but my friend fell in love with stained cedar shingles. I'm not going to complain, I love putting them up. It'll be alot of dipping.
I attended JLC live last fall and went to a seminar on water intrusion. The guy's name is escaping me at the moment but he's from Portland State U. Anyway, he recommends a rain screen behind everything, including FC, which he says can absorb 30% of its weight in water. The rain screen will help the wall stay dry which will increase paint life and minimize wetting of the structure.