Share experience with LP Smartside lap siding
Considering this product for a job, and looking for comparisons to painted wood clapboard, and fibercement.
The attached pic is from the LP website. Looks to be about a 6″ reveal, which is the narrowest they sell. Available preprimed, but I see no options for factory finish coat as is available in fibercement products.
Installation instructions show it hung with concealed nails.
Replies
I recently re-sided my whole house with it.
I used the 8" stuff which left about a 6-1/2" reveal. The dealer I bought it from was Lansing Corp., and they will have it pre-painted if that's what you want, but they said I'd get a better finish by doing it myself, which I did. (2 coats of SW Duration)
I'm really pleased with it, but it's early days. Even tho it's an OSB-type composition, it is considerably heavier for its thickness than the typical OSB sheets, which I assume means denser. The resin or glue that binds it stood up to a little test I did where I left an unpainted, unsealed offcut in a bucket of water for over a month with no sign of deterioration. I also like the fact that LP makes a full line of trim, fascia and soffit to go with it, and they make 4 x 8 sheets of the same material.
It's easy to work with--you can lift a 16' length of it in the middle with no fear of breaking, and it cuts like real wood. It takes and holds paint really well.
LP has some pretty detailed installation instructions as to how to detail butt joints and siding-to-trim joints, sealing of end cuts, etc. I followed all these exactly, but I have since noticed pro siding crews that ignore them--so if you hire it done, I'd recommend you get familiar with LP's instructions for quality control.
I'd not even consider LP siding after their record.
Son's house was built in 92, he bought it in 2000. Knew it had LP siding, some already starting to rot, but rest of house was solid.
Replaced the siding 2 years ago., 100%. Anything withing 2 ft of the ground had evidence of disintegration. Ants loved it.
"Considering this product for
"Considering this product for a job, and looking for comparisons to painted wood clapboard, and fibercement."
I am currently residing my house with Hardiplank after a disaster with LP OSB "Inner Seal" siding. As far as comparisons go, I love the idea of OSB siding; it handles, cuts and nails like ordinary wood, thus making it easier to work with than Hardiplank, which is heavy, relatively fragile, and requires special saws and so on. And I know that "Smart Side" is supposed to have solved all the problems with the earlier OSB product, but for my money, it's just too early to tell. Only when Smart Side has been around for 40-50 years, and it's proven to be truly resistant to moisture even when not maintained (since "stuff" happens), will I be a believer. But not now. OF course, some of the same could be said for Hardiplank, since the handling and installation rules are pretty strict for it as well, but I think it has a better track record than LP's OSB siding.
I do wish someone would bring back tempered hardboard siding. Best attributes of both the OSB stuff and the fiber-cement stuff.