Hi folks:
I live in Southern California and have spec’ed hardiplank siding for my house from day one; however, my contracter is pushing masonite instead. He claims that the hardiplank he install many, many years ago split when nailed (even though he pre-drilled) and that the product sagged under its weight in time. He also complained about the need for specialty blades/cutting tools. I think he just doesn’t want to deal with the hassles associated with the product.
Does anyone have any pros/cons about either product or any experience with such products? Your insightful feedback would be appreciated. Thanks and have a nice day.
Lance
Replies
huge price difference...
more bottom line for the contractor to use the Masonite type product...
if it's split on him it's his installation methods... have him RTFM....
siding nailers with depth control are the way to go and no predrilling required...
Hardie is about bullet proof as you can get... it's about forever as where the Masonite even with a lot of maint is gonna need replacing in what seems to be no time at all......
installatin tools are a minor in the overall scheme of things.. saw blades are around 16$ a pop.. and about 4 blades later what's the big deal...
shears are about 150$ and it's a one time thing...
stick to yur original plan and go with the Hardie..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
one other item..
use the search function for Hardie board and Hardie Plank...
there is a wealth of information to be had...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Ask him to bring you a sample of each. Put them both in a bucket of water for a day or two. The Hardi will look identical to when you put it in. The masonite will be mush. Your mind will be made up.
Frankly, if this contractor couldn't install Hardi without splitting it, you may wanna look for another contractor. It ain't rocket science.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I agree. Hardy is the much better choice of those two.
I am with the last few posters. Hardiplank is the superior product. Any legitimate siding contractor is tooled up for this product.
Alas, there is no such thing as Masonite siding anymore. Masonite got out of the siding business 10-15 years ago.
There are one or two remaining suppliers that make good tempered hardboard siding, but the generic "masonite" siding is or poor quality.
If you can get good quality tempered hardboard it'll look better than fiber-cement and wear just as well, especially in southern CA. And, to the contractor's advantage it's easier to install. But I don't know how to assure you're getting the good stuff.
"Alas, there is no such thing as Masonite siding anymore. Masonite got out of the siding business 10-15 years ago."
Indeed, the Masonite plant in Ukiah CA has been getting dismantled over the last several months. Every time I drive past there's less of it - I'd hate to think of the environmental remediation they'll have to do on that site.
I thought there was a new and improved masonite siding out now called mirrowtech, or something like that, and they had gotten the kinks out of it as far as rotting goes. I remember one of the guys at the local building supply trying to talk me into it a while back. I've never bought the #### though... I only use hardi.
www.miratectrim.com/
miratec. It's a great exterior trim material.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
oh yeah, I remember it now... it's still something very similar in it's composition to masonite isn't it? I've only been using PVC trimboards... maybe a little cedar or hardie trim now and then.
it's still something very similar in it's composition to masonite isn't it?
kinda sorta. maybe a waxy masonite.
anyways ... it is a great exterior trim product.
holds paint well ... weathers well.
reasonable price and easy to work.
great alternative price-wise to PVC. nice second(or third / fourth) choice to offer
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Hardi is superior. If the contractor has had trouble he is doing something wrong. Ask him if he is reluctant if he will sub it out.
so where did you go???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Seriously, call another contractor....REALLY!
If this guy is trying to sell you on Masonite at the design stage, who knows what else he DOESN'T know about the industry and will lead you astray half way through the project!
FIND ANOTHER CONTRACTOR!!!!!!!!!!
One thing that disturbs me is that he's calling it Masonite. If he's careless about that name then he's likely careless about Hardiplank, and you have no idea what brand will actually be installed.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
We owned a home with "Masonite" (from LP) siding. It was built new in '86 and by '92 the siding needed to be scraped and repainted. By '98 it was crumbling apart at the bottom laps and needed extensive repairs and another paint job.
IMO the only advantage of this type of siding is that it's cheap. Since most builders don't care after their 1-year warranty runs out, they will choose it every time over a better siding product like HP.
I have a workshop built in '02 with factory-primed HP and it still looks brand new. The paint shows no signs of bubbling or peeling.
We replaced our vintage 1976 no-name hardboard siding with real Masonite brand siding around about 1988. About eight years ago we repainted. Didn't even need any recaulking. Still sound as the day we put it on, and it looks a lot better than most fiber-cement jobs I've seen.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
you were lucky!
very...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Not at all. I had used some pieces of the same grade Masonite in repairs on the original job, and so I knew how it performed. Everyone else in the neighborhood was getting steel, and all that looks like cr@p now, while our siding is still as sharp looking as the day it was installed.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
What was wrong with the fiber cement jobs you have seen?
Concrete siding comes in a variety of textures and profiles including flat.
The price is not significantly higher and after replacing dozens of masonite jobs I have not seen a reason to keep using it in comparison to concrete board.
I will say that long term exposure of water and freeze cycles to unpainted C.Board will break it down and cause delamination. But if painted properly it will hold paint better and not peel or bubble as fast.
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
- Fiber-cement planks are shorter than hardboard, meaning you have more joints.
- Fiber-cement is thinner. This produces less of a shadow line.
- Fiber-cement flexes more, and is more likely to show ripples (just like vinyl).
- The corners on fiber-cement are sharp and unattractive. Good hardboard has a relieved corner.
- Fiber-cement wicks water worse than good quality hardboard, exposing the framing to moisture.
- Not an appearance issue, but fiber-cement is significantly harder to install.Folks who bad mouth all hardboard have never seen the good stuff.That said, finding good quality hardboard is a crapshoot, so FC is pretty much the only game in town.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
Different manufacturers make thicker boards.
Profiles with a bead at bottom improves on the thin look.
If you want a relieved edge you could run a belt sander on the exposed edge.
If unpainted you may get water wicking but simply painting correctly would solve this.
If walls are so crooked to show imperfections they will likely show up in hardboard, also you can divide the wall into 12' segments and hide the imperfect wallks and eliminate joints.
The only installing difficulty is more joints the cutting is just as nasty with the hardboard but both nail up about the same.
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
Folks who bad mouth all hardboard have never seen the good stuff.
Probably not, because good hardboard siding is just about a contradiction in terms IMHO. With thousands of people spending millions of dollars to replace the bad stuff (and their rotting homes), can you blame them?
BTW, FC is not hard to install, does not wick water worse than hardboard, and will show bad framing no more than any other siding. As for shadows and joints, well those are more install issues that are easily resolved.
Anyone wanting to use hardboard on the outside of their house should read "Review of thickness swell in hardboard siding" by the US Forest Products Lab. It's available here: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr96.pdf
To each his own, but after pulling the stuff off once, no more wood composite material for me thank you.
Hardi is actually coming out with a new thicker siding that has T&G joints. I believe it is 5/8" thick.
Bruce
I heard that this has been sold in australia for quite a while now.
that has got to be some seriously heavy stuff....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
The did a test run in the US in North Carolina or South Carolina. According to the Hardi guys it will be all the rage. I think it will be heavy and dusty.
Bruce
I agree with you completely.
Don't they realize how dusty it is now?
Don't get me wrong, I like the product, but I wish they could figure a way to make it less dusty.
The shears work well on the siding but I despise the trim-far to fragile, cutting is a mess, and the lengths are way to short-lots of waste.
shears....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
A big "THANK YOU" to all the folks who responded to my inquiry. I am currently GCing the building of a new home. While I have spent 2 years preparing for the project, things come up daily that I need information on. The project is about 75% done and I have utilized the FineHomebuilding breaktime forum several times with GREAT RESULTS! Have a great day.
Lance
Hi there
I thought the idea with Hardiplank and Hardi type sidings is to buy them in a manufactured color and skip the paint. No?
HD
They come either way.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
When Hardi first came out, pre-painted was not yet available.
Something to consider is flammability. I have burned piles of Masonite, and that stuff burns like no tomorrow.
It makes little blow torches that are kinda pretty at night from about a minimum of 10 feet away. Otherwise the heat will set your jeans on fire and singe of the eyebrows. Singeing off eyebrows is actually a good thing for me. But anyway, that stuff is near impossible to put out.
For fun, I threw in some Hardi scraps one time, and the fire was so hot the Hardi was glowing almost orange. After the burn, the hardi was still in one piece. The cellulose part was probably burned out of it, but the plank was intact. It would crumble, but the fiberglass? strands still held it together.
So, if you want or need to have a fire resistant siding, chose fibercement.