My framing carp also did my Hardie plank siding. He had a bug about a lot of things, and caulking was one of them. In this instance, he didn’t believe in leaving a 1/8 inch space between the planks and the corner trim. Net result – planks are jammed right up against the corners in most places. So – I plan to put a cementboard blade on my skilsaw & run a kerf up the side of the house right next to the corner trim. Then I want to put a 5/32 inch backer rod in the slot & fill w/ a high grade caulk.
Comments as to my sanity? Practicality? Realize that I cost my work at ten cents per manhour.
Don
Replies
I used Cemplank ... just a different brand of Hardi Plank. The instructions that I downloaded from the manufacturer gave the option of leaving the 1/8" gap and caulking or butting the plank up against the trim. They did not recommend one over the other.
I did leave the 1/8" and caulk, but I think you would be wasting your time and letting yourself in for a lot of frustration if you try to cut and caulk the job now. Before caulk, siding in New England was just butted up tight against the trim and it lasted a long time.
Don,
I'm in the process of finding a good cauk for Hardi too. We've used OSI (worked well), DAP Elasomeric (worked really well, but would wash out if it rained in the next week), BigStretch (worked well, but same problem), now I want to dry the new DAP Sidewinder.
We butt our siding tight when it's a butt joint, leave a small gap at windows and butt tight to trim. Haven't had a problem in 10 years. I go back and look at some of our first installations and the look good. We build in the NW, so we get a lot of moisture and we've never had any problems.
I put up Hardi lap siding on my house. Everything was butted pretty tight. No problems with caulking. Unless your siding is really jammed in, I'd go with it...
EliphIno!
Don. you are gonna have a cloud of dust the size of your house. Sounds like a not too practical idea, getting a straight cut from top to bottom, what about the windows and doors?
I have a pair of shears, cutting that stuff with a saw is a mess.
Joe H