I’m thinking of re-siding my house, which, for the last 35 years, has had 12″-wide Masonite siding. I’ve kept it in good shape with regular care, but I’ve reached the age where most us start thinking about doing what we can now to avoid maintenance in the future.
My question: I’m leaning toward Hardi-board siding, but not sure about how to do the soffits and fascia and trim around windows and doors. What options do I have?
I would prefer not to go with metal soffit and fascia. I’m willing to remove the existing stuff (3/8 plywood soffit, 1 x 6 redwood fascia) to achieve a good job, and maybe get better attic venting at the same time.
I’d like some advice because our local area is saturated with vinyl siding, and there’s no one here very experienced with cement board of any kind.
Replies
I like the combo of Hardi siding with Azek trim. It ain't cheap, but it doesn't need paint or, if you do decide to paint it (with appropriate paint) the paint holds up for a LONG time.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Everything fits, until you put glue on it.
Azek is not handled by by any nearby dealer (within 100 miles.) Is there an equivalent brand? Would it be better to go with Hardi trim, since it's sold locally?
Thanks.
There are other, similar, products -- can't recall the brand names off the top of my head, since Azek is the one carried by the yard I use. Someone will chime in with one or two no doubt. AFAIK, neither the Blue or the Orange Box carry it locally -- you need to find a real lumberyard. Google "PVC Trim" & "Idaho Falls".
As for the Hardi trim, I used it exactly one time -- and now avoid it like the plague. It's like handling glass -- brittle and easily broken, hard to nail. A regular PIA. That said, if it's all you can get, it'll be OK once/if you get it up. (But I'd be surprised if you can't find PVC somewhere near you.)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
I didn't realize that AZEK is a PVC product. (Pardon my ignorance.) And, yes, there are other brands of PVC trim/molding locally available, but I have never looked twice at them, just due to my knee-jerk rejection of plastic as a substitute for wood. But you and others who are experienced with it seem to have no similar reservations.
I'm still leaning toward Hardi, but even if I ultimately decide to go with stucco, I'd like a very long-lasting, paint-holding trim product like AZEK.
Alternate brand around here is "Kleer" some say its a bit more stable than the AZEK brand and produces less of a wavy effect. Also know that AZEK produces a 3/4" and 1/2" 4'x8' sheet that I've used along with the pre-finished hardi plank
Mike Smith likes to use an engineered wood product for time.I think that it is called Meritec..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
i'd guess that we wind up with 3 basic trims for the last 10 years or so:
mostly Miratec ( before that we used GP PrimeTrim )
some Azek when appropriate ( and before Azek we used Koma ... same thing )
and finger joint Primed Red CedarMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Hi rdesigns,
I'm leaning toward Hardi-board siding, but not sure about how to do the soffits and fascia and trim around windows and doors
I bought the 4x8 sheets of hardie and ripped it to make soffit material. Hardie also makes trim boards.
Once you're finished, don't forget to let you home owners insurance agent know.....around here we get the same fire rating as brick which provides a noticeable discount.
Pedro the Mule - Played in the sand mix as a kid, play in the hardie mix as an adult, same difference, I built something
Thanks for the tip on 4 x 8 sheets.
News to me, and now you've started me thinking again along a line that I thought would not be practical--in thinking this over for several years, I've wanted to do horizontal siding on the lower third, and have a board and batten look (vertical) on the top. But with studs 16" o.c., it's not practical to use narrow vertical boards. But 4 x 8 sheets give me the option of spanning over the studs and creating the look of B&B on any span I want that ends up being divisible into 48".
That is, unless somebody tells me it's not wise to attach strips of Hardi over the wide sheet. There's a good quality 3/8" plywood that skins the whole house. Would that, together with the layer of Hardi sheet be enough to attach battens with? Would you nail, screw or glue the battens where there's no stud beneath?
Hi rdesigns,
Would you nail, screw or glue the battens where there's no stud beneath?
Two things......it's heavy stuff....I wouldn't attach where I didn't have some sort of solid backing to screw or nail to....but "if" I did....I'd gorilla glue it and put in screws.
On another note though.....since the panels for the most part don't expand and contract, I'd put up the first one, slather on the paintable silicone caulk on the adjoining edge and push the next piece up tight, nail off the panel and wipe down the squeeze out....forget the batten as the panel will look continuous from the ground when it's done.
Pedro the Mule - It all depends upon the look you want
Since my last post, I've had a look at some of the Hardi products, and I see what you mean about not needing battens. They make a 4 x 8 sheet that looks a lot like the ubiquitous T1-11 that you used to see a lot of in this area, at least. It looked good, but was a headache for maintenance.
I'm thinking that once I get all the old siding off, it will be good to cover the whole house with building paper (tar paper) under the siding to act as a rain screen and air barrier. Any thoughts?
Hi rdesigns,
I'm thinking that once I get all the old siding off, it will be good to cover the whole house with building paper (tar paper) under the siding to act as a rain screen and air barrier. Any thoughts?
Granted there are things I don't know about your specific home but.......tar paper is fine but personally I would use a 1/2" polyiso (closed cell) foam board with fiberglass surface instead. I've used that on all of my rent houses and not ever had a single issue in Central NC.
Pedro the Mule - A little extra insulation with thermal break
I just finished doing a house with the same old Masonite siding last week. We used 8 inch Hardi, Azek corners, pvc brick mold around the windows and Azek fascia. The soffit was plywood and in good shape so we left it but gave it a good coat of paint. We also scraped and sanded the sills, filled in with Abatron Wood Epox and applied 2 good coats of oil based primer and 2 top coats. The old wood windows will get replaced with vinyl inserts later this month. Since aluminum and Hardi don't mix I broke new head flashings from 20 oz copper. It looks great and should last a long time.
Hardi makes a nice, but heavy vented soffit 24 inches wide.
The before picture is terrible but it gives you the idea.
Edited 6/12/2009 11:18 am ET by florida
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Hardie makes ventilated soffit panels. My only grip with them is painting them is a bit of a bother. Trying to get good coverage on the inside of the perforations without filling the holes completely. If you're interested, I'll take a pic or 2 of some I've used.
If you don't mind going to the trouble, I'd like that.
Thanks
Not sure these are real illustrative, but here they be. First one is the side of my shop from about 15 feet away. #2 is the same spot, but zoomed in as close as my camera could get. #3 is the "raw" (uninstalled) soffit.It comes in 12 foot lengths. When I was working by myself, I cut those in half so that I could handle them alone. Covered the butt joints w/ 1/4" thick poplar battens.
Last summer I had the same problem and decided to side over the masonite with Hardi Board siding. The problem I encountered was that the Hardi Board was thinner than the masonite so I solved that problem by placing a thing strip of wood at the top of each course of masonite just at the bottom of the previous course. This moved the Hardi Board course down about 1" but it actually made the house lok better in my case. I used the previous row of masonite as a reference for the Hardi Board. Because the home had 3/4" think celotex material on the outside of the studs and also the masonite siding I used 16d galvanized nails.
When shopping for the siding I found prices to vary as much as 40%. Because I was willing to wait about one week the place I bought it from was able to get a better price too.
Price:
Yeah, I see Home Depot with a price of $12+ for an 8-inch x 12 foot piece of Hardi lap siding, and Lowe's down the street had it for $5+. The 4 x 8 sheets were the same--$28.
I used Hardie for my soffits which are 24" deep. I used a 12"x12' board with continuous soffit vent and a 10"x12' board to finish.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
Oh, yeah. I second the Hardie/Azek combo. I really dislike the Hardie trim.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
I can't buy Azek locally--what kinds of problems have you run into with Hardi trim?
what kinds of problems have you run into with Hardi trim?
It's fragile for one thing and it's really hard to work with and I don't think it looks very good when finished. I'm totally sold on the siding and soffit material, but hate the trim. I don't know of anyone that likes it.
There's numerous brands of PVC trim, Azek being just one. http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
You want low maintenance? Stucco the walls. Do a good job and you'll never have to touch it again unless you plan on living another 50 years.
Do wrap the building with felt before you put on the strapping for the metal lath. And pay particular attention to flashing everything properly.
It would be a criminal waste to scrap redwood fascias and rakes etc., unless they are very badly degraded. To avoid having to paint them every 5 years or so, scrape, sand, and stain with Sikkens Cetol 1 + 23; that should last you 10-15 years.
For the soffits, put up cedar or redwood (if you can get it) vee-joint siding with continuous aluminum vent strips. Either buy powder-coat painted aluminum or spray paint them yourself with an automotive finish. Back the vent strips with FG window screening before you install them to keep bugs out.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Thanks for the response.
Stucco has been very much in my thoughts as an option. My house is only one story, so the job of scaffolding would not be too bad--although I would have to go around at least 4 times: 1) Felt/metal lath; 2) Scratch coat; 3) Brown coat; 4) Finish coat.
You mentioned strapping for metal lath--why? Common practice here is to apply the metal lath directly onto the felt. And how thick should the strapping be? Unless I misunderstand your suggestion, it seems that strapping under lath would make a really thick scratch coat.
Finally, wouldn't cement board siding last as long as stucco? I know it needs paint, but it holds paint very well, much better than the Masonite siding I now have, and it's not subject to the same rot and moisture problems.
You could apply cement board and do a 2-coat stucco with no lath. Board and stucco first coat on side then go around again.
You could apply cement board and do a 2-coat stucco with no lath.
My one and only large stucco project was done that way - it's a good system, especially working by yourself.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
Do you use any mesh tape or similar to bond the sheets together? I would be afraid of cracks forming where the sheets join..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
Do you use any mesh tape or similar to bond the sheets together?
Yeah, just like under tile.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
We spend a lot of our time pulling lath and stucco off old clapboard houses. The stucco is easy, detailing around windows and doors so they don't leak apparently isn't. Around here stucco over siding seems to be a repair of last resort and frequently causes the house to rot too badly to be saved. I'm not saying it can't be done but you can't just nail up J channel around the windows, squeeze on some caulk and call it a day. Make sure you have all the details right if you go with stucco.
I was waanting to stucco my house. It already has 2x 6 window trim across the front. What would be the proper detail up against the trim? is there a plastic stop or does the lathe die and stucco right up to the trim. Trim is treated applied with coated deck screws.
No, the plastic stop would be J channel and that's where the problems arise. There's no way to flash to the J channel so the J channel butts to the trim with a bead of caulk between them. pretty soon the old wood and new stucco start moving, the caulk cracks, water runs under the stucco and the wood rots sight unseen.
Down here in Florida we almost always use aluminum windows. In some cases I've used aluminum windows with a flange, installed them on top of the old siding and run the lath over the flange. At least you can do a semi-decent job of flashing then. I don't think I've ever seen a stucco job over claps with the original windows that was done right.
I live in Pensacola, near the Navy Base. This is existing. The windows are aluminum, but they are non-flanged. To many to change.
Can you run the stucco up to the wood? Or what would you suggest?
I'd do anything else. There isn't anyway i know of to waterproof the cold joint between window and stucco. That's always the problem. The non-flanged windows you have are for a concrete block house where the windows are set on a pre-formed concrete sill with a lip then trapped by the stucco in the wall. In your situation the only weather barrier between you and the outside is a bead of probably latex caulk around the windows.
There's not a lot you can do short of window replacement. You can, assuming you have some sort of lap siding, get a head flashing over the window and under the next piece of siding up which will help a lot. All you can do on the sides is a good cleanup and a careful application of something like a polyurethane caulk.
As a GC I'd walk away from putting stucco on your house. Someone else can have that liability.
Well I used poly caulk when I got here. Theres no siding now, but it was asbestos shingles. I put the trim around the windows after housewraping, and butyl tape onto the windows, as they were flush with the wall.
Nothing leaks now, but my project for the summer is stucco the front of the house. Its all I can afford. Sand is cheap, cement by the bag, water. Mixer from friend. Lathe from friend. Labor yep its me.
You mentioned strapping for metal lath--why?
Did I say strapping? Ouch! I meant 1x3 furring; technically this isn't strapping but people tend to use the words interchangeably these days and I must have typed that without thinking.
As to why I suggested furring out the lath, it's to enable any wind-driven water that gets behind the stucco to drain out, and to allow the sheathing to dry better. When you nail a weather finish right to the sheathing, any water that does get behind it--and there is always some in a bad storm, no matter how carefully you flash things--will spread out between the two layers and stay there. That causes things like this to happen:
View Image
That chimney chase had been sided with cedar shiplap. The cedar did not rot--just as your stucco won't--but the sheathing sure did...and the framing underneath, and the roof sheathing it was sitting on, too. We had to demolish it and build a new chase from scratch.
I fur out any type of exterior finish, not just stucco, BTW. It's just basic, good building technique.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
If I understand the terminology, "strapping" runs across, or perpendicular to the framing, but "furring" runs parallel to the framing. So, your technique (furring) means you have vertical furring strips over the felt, but under the metal lath, such that the scratch coat of stucco is held away from the felt, the felt then becoming the true weather barrier against any water or condensation that makes it past the stucco? The vertical furring strips allow for drainage that horizontal strapping would not.
With careful flashing and other detailing, I can see this being a really weatherproof system.
Thanks.
That's pretty much it. It's not really rocket science, LOL....
Doing the flashing is the finicky part. Just remember that the point of flashing is not to stop water from entering the building envelope--nothing short of an extruded, one-piece, plastic house can do that--but to redirect what water does get behind the siding (stucco) back to the surface by the shortest possible path.
Think like a drop of water in the grip of gravity and you'll do fine....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
You mean think like a drip?
No problem.
this is definetely a case of one picture being worth a thousand words. have read about furring out for siding didn't know how to justify doing it since no one i know of locally does it. now i will i may not be able to do it every time but it will be signed off on if the homeowners chose not to follow this best practice.
this is definetely a case of one picture being worth a thousand words
There are a few more photos from that same job posted in a thread titled ROT NEVER SLEEPS. You might want to look at those, too, to see what the damage underneath the sheathing was like.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
It would be a criminal waste to scrap redwood fascias and rakes etc., unless they are very badly degraded. To avoid having to paint them every 5 years or so, scrape, sand, and stain with Sikkens Cetol 1 + 23; that should last you 10-15 years.Amen.
That goes for Cedar also.
To anyone with cedar or redwood siding and trim in good shape thinking of tearing it off just to avoid painting please may I recommend just selling your house and buying a condo or one with Vinyl siding so when it is worn out you can go ahead and tear it off.I have worked on 200 year old homes in New England with 90% of the original wood siding still in good shape just in need of a new coat of paint to look at good as they did the day they were built. Nether Vinyl or Hardi-plank has yet to stand the test of 200 years exposure to New england weather. I have my doubts they will last that long.
Pealing paint does not mean the siding or trim is bad there are many reasons paint peals off but good quality cedar or redwood installed well will last a very long time if maintained to remove it is a shame.I find it such a shame that even today when we talk so much about building Green we still tear out perfectly good materials wasting resources just to put in what I would consider inferior man made substitutes because we are to lazy to do a little maintenance.Now of course if it has gone to long with out maintenance and needs to be replaced then Hadri-plank siding is way better then vinyl and I also like PVC trim products like AZEK and KOMA with Hadri-plank. I do not understand you guys taking about 4x8 sheets around here Hardi-plank Is 5 and 6 inch planks 12 feet long installed similar to clapboards but blind nailed with roofing nails. usually with a 3.5 to 4 inch reveal. To look like traditional clapboard siding common here in New Englend. Now of course we still install a lot of cedar clapboard siding here in New England even on New homes. (up scale developments do not even allow Vinyl siding) And It is still my siding material of choice really when you install cedar pre-primed on both sides correctly a paint job lasts 10-15 years. So really I do not see all the fuss about maintenance issues with wood siding unless it was not back primed and was not properly installed and/or the painters did a bad job or painted when the siding was wet. But each to their own I say.
The cedar fascia on our house was shot in 10 years. Not all cedar is created equal. And unless the redwood was heartwood and well painted initially it would likely be in poor shape by now too.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
"The cedar fascia on our house was shot in 10 years"Sorry you had to replace your fascia so soon but I must ask. Why?
There are many reasons for materials to fail long before their time. Especially Fascias and it has little to do with them being Cedar or not if they were cedar and rotted in 10 years then if they had been pine I bet they would have been rotten even sooner.Around here the leading cause of Fascias rotting is failure to clean gutters or leaking gutters. Another is ice dams that get water in the soffit and behind the fascia. And one more is roofers installing no drip edge or installing it too close to the fascia so as to have the drip edge in contact with the fascia allowing water to run down it by capillary action. If any wood including cedar is continually exposed to water it will rot. It was not the fault of the cedar though. Wood siding and trim is much less forgiving to improper flashing details and poor maintenance then other materials but that does not mean if it is in good shape you should tear it off in favor of some new low maintenance product.
Also many wood windows and wood siding failure is due to improper flashing details that allow water were it should not be. Like I said I have worked on 200 year old houses built the right way to begin with that still have all there original trim and siding and even wood windows with no rot. I have also been called to replace all the windows trim ad siding on houses only 30 years old that had not just trim and bad siding but rotted sheathing and framing. If not installed correctly and maintained wood rots.I still stand that properly installed and maintained cedar trim and siding will last a very long time. Even clear pine properly installed and maintained will last. Much longer then 10 years even in areas like fascias you just have to install it in a way that keeps from trapping moisture.
It is not just wood getting wet that rots it if that was the case a wood shingled roof would not last long. It is trapped water that causes rot.
The cedar failed because it was cheap 7/8" rough-sawn fascia material painted with cheap Olympic "stain". Not WRC but the junk from down south. It curled badly and split. Replaced a couple of pieces with the same, only primed (both sides) and painted with hardware store paint. That held up a little better but still warped badly.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Well, you know what they say: You get for what you pay.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Yes I guess I should clarify. Grade A clear grain cedar (not Cheap) properly primed and installed will last a long time. Warping and twisting trim is different problem then rot. That is often due to poor quality wood. Boards that would be rejected for trim is now cut up and then finger jointed even though they remove the knots the twisted grain is still there.
Also good cedar siding was once rift sawn you pay extra for that today.But So many people tear off Old Siding and trim that is in Great shape not that has failed. Simply to avoid painting. That is what I refer to when I say it should be a crime.
Especially since the quality of the old cedar and red wood used years ago was better then what is readily available today.
I agree that lots of good cedar and RW siding is torn off (or, more often, wrecked by nailing other siding to it). But the OP had a house with poor quality hardboard siding, dating the house to the 60s-80s, and the cedar fascia was predictably the rough-sawn 7/8" carp I described.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
wrc is considered a "naturally durable wood" this would be heart wood the sapwood of wrc rots as well as any other wood . doesnt mean it wont peel paint but if the wood can breath (not sure if paint hurts more than helps) it will last a long time. can't convince the wife but grayed cedar i believe will last the longest and no painting needed.
I live in the middle of cedar country, but the stuff I get from my lumber yard is often of such poor quality it looks like it is rotting already. Because all the old timers who grew up using old growth cedar still think it has the same properties, they spend a lot of time scratching their heads as their decks and trim deteriorate before their eyes.
hardi makes 4x8 siding. comes in woograin,t-11 style,stucco,etc. eat your wheaties though,it's heavyYOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'TMOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THEDUCT TAPE.
Further comments on Hardie Soffit.
When using soffit materials that are to be painted, I prime and paint them on the ground, before cutting them. Then, up in the air, all they need is touch-up, or, at most, one more coat. Especially with something like Hardie whose edges don't need to be painted, this saves lots of time and uncomfortable work.
Edited 6/13/2009 5:58 pm ET by WayneL5
This thread, with its input from a number of experienced guys, has got me thinking along a new line--a combination of stucco and Hardi-plank.
I'm thinking of having a stucco wainscot about 3 feet up, then horizontal Hardi-plank up to the soffits, with the gable ends done in Hardi panel that imitates vertical board & batten. (Actually, it imitates the old T1-11.)
I would start by stripping off the existing Masonite siding, soffits and fascia, and covering walls with 15# felt. I would also detail around windows and doors with galvanized flashing and that wha-d-ya-call-it stick-on stuff they make for sealing around windows.
The lower part of any house gets the most abuse from lawnmowers, overspray from sprinklers, splashed rain, etc. The stucco would be able to take it, and would be fixable. No scaffold work required for the wainscot of stucco.
The upper part would begin with Z flashing to kick water out before it could get behind the stucco. Trim around window and doors would be AZEK-type PVC. Soffit and fascia: Hardi products.
Any suggestions? Reservations?
Hi rdesigns,
The upper part would begin with Z flashing to kick water out before it could get behind the stucco.
That would be my focus.....no water behind the stucco.....if you want to go to the extreme....how about caulk behind the z flash and Ice & water shield on the facing back edge of the z flash to the sheathing with the felt in front of that.
Pedro the Mule - I like water but not behind my construction
Interviewer asks 100-yr-old man: "What do you attribute your longevity to?"
100-yr-old man: "Whatever anybody says, I have always tried to agree with them."
Interviewer: "Doesn't that sometimes mean you agree with somebody that don't really agree with?"
Old man thinks a moment, then says: "I agree with you."
Seriously, though, I do agree with your suggestions. Water is a house's worst enemy. Especially water behind stucco.
"Any suggestions? Reservations?"
One very minor one: I would be very careful about how high the stucco goes. Getting the proportion of stucco and siding right is very important to the success of your project. Maybe try running some tape on the house to see that different heights look like.
Good point. I have an architect friend who has sketched some combinations, and you're right--it can make a big difference.
It's tempting go half-and-half from the standpoint of material sizes, but this is almost always a mistake. You seen it on interior waincot once in awile, and it looks bad compared to 1/3 to 2/3 combinations.
I used construction 2x6 for fascia, then covered it with pre-formed metal that matches the metal roofing. I live in a very dry area, so I used 3/8 ply for soffit. With soffit to ridge venting in our dry climate (southern Colorado) that ply should last a very long time. I don't like the metal or plastic soffit systems.
I also used Hardi (we built 5 years ago). I went for the narrower (I think 6 1/4 width - five inches showing) version, blind nailed only (the wider versions have to be surface nailed). I think it looks more like the cedar bevel siding of decades long gone, which I like.
I bought a Kett fiber cement cutter for our house and it's only been used once since (my son's house). Wanna buy a Kett cutter for a good price? Email me if you're interested.
I'm seeing more and more homes around here with steel roofing used as siding. At first I thought it looked too industrial, but with the right trim and landscaping around it, I think it looks fine. That is some seriously maintenance free siding!
Hardi will have to be painted again sometime.
I like the idea of blind-nailing--I didn't realize Hardi came in that narrower width. As I mentioned earlier, this area is saturated (I might say, infested) with vinyl siding, and I've had very little exposure to Hardi products. I'm trying to learn.
I'll keep your offer in mind. I may not start this project till fall, to give my wife's flower beds a chance to show off. She has lots of stuff up against the house, which will be at the peak for the next couple of months.
reside it in masonite,another 35 and your drulling in the nursing home.lol
i put hardi on my house,not masonite, everyone hates masonite.but really,it's easy to work with,easy to paint and holds it well, a guy just needs to throw a coat of paint on it every 15 years and not let the sprinklers hit it.
YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T
MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE
DUCT TAPE.
Well, first off, there's no such thing as "Masonite" siding anymore, just other brands of hardboard. Back when there was "Masonite" siding, most of the bad stuff was other brands (though apparently Masonite made a few clunkers too).There is still hardboard available and some of it is reported to be pretty good. (I believe they avoid calling it "hardboard" and refer to it as some sort of "composite".) If you can get the good stuff I'd go with it in a heartbeat -- much easier to work with than Hardie, and nicer looking too.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
I've learned the hard way about the unavailability of Masonite siding and its cheap imitations.
I added an attached double garage/shop about 15 years ago, and sided it with what was available as a match to the original Masonite on the house, which, as I have said, is still in good shape with regular maintenance. Well, the imitation stuff I can't keep painted in spite of always scraping, priming and re-painting with top-quality 100% acrylic latex. The lower edges are all swollen with moisture intrusion, and the "hardboard" underneath is gradually turning to cornflakes.
I've got about 25 sticks of 8" stored under my deck, if anyone is really in need of it. Probably not in prime condition after being stored there for 18 years or so, but would certainly be better than the junky stuff.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
Thanks for the kind offer, but mine is 12" stuff. I suppose that was one more way of cutting costs back when Boise Cascade was building houses as well as supplying the materials in this region. The materials were good, but they did all possible to cut labor costs. For example, the house was built with 24' solid-sawn joists to span unbroken from one side of the foundation to the other.
We redid our house about 18 years ago and used PrimeTrim for the fascia and have not been disappointed. I understand that PrimeTrim is no longer made the same way, but someone mentioned a different brand of tempered hardboard trim material that is supposedly as good. Or you could use some of the new plastic trim products, I suppose.
For the soffits there really isn't any reason to switch from plywood -- good exterior plywood will last 50 years in that service if properly painted and the roof doesn't leak onto it.