Hi,
My wife and I inherited a 30 year old house that is showing water damage at the eaves at the gutter (blistering paint) and around the window. We removed the shade tree that was preventing the particle board from drying out.
The house is 90% brick. Most of the wood trim needs some repair and new paint.
We are considering Vinyl Siding or Hardi Board planking.
If we use vinyl, do we need to patch, paint, then cover? or replace the facia and then paint and cover? What should we look for in an installer?
We are converting the home into a rental, would it be worth replacing the whole with hardi board?
Thanks,
ktb
Replies
From your description I would look closely at the roof and gutter area. At thirty years roofs can do odd things. Make sure the gutters are installed correctly, and draining. It would be bad to reside and have leaky gutters.By all means use the Hardi board!
So really, you are talking about replacing the trim, not actually siding the home?
Anyway, IMO the cement board products have good sheet goods type products - ie siding, soffit material, etc, but the trim boards aren't great to work with and haven't received rave reviews here. Also with cement board type of products, they have to be painted, and ultimately are more expensive to install and maintain. Most often composite type materials are used as trim with the cement board siding and soffit products. It is essential that these type of materials are painted and caulked properly when installed and re-painted periodically.
Vinyl and vinyl associated products like metal trim coil are less expensive than cement board products both to install and maintain. The down side is that they may be more of a 25 yr solution than a 50 year solution. Regarding weather the to-be underlying wood needs to be repaired/repainted/replaced, it all depends on how deteriated the finish is and how rotten it is. I can't see that from here.
Vinyl products and metal coil wrap would be my choice for a modest home that you may not own indefinitely and "is just a rental".
Regarding selecting an exterior finish contractor, ask for references and check them out. More importantly go look at the work. A phone call to someone gives you indication if the individual on the other end of the phone is happy but they still may find substandard work perfectly acceptable since they don't know what they are looking at. If you know anyone in the building/remodeling/related business you may want to ask them if they know anyone - at least you would have the comfort of knowing that the person who gave you the recommendation probably wouldn't accept cr@p. With either product, borderline workmanship can mean that other important but hidden details possible weren't addressed. When talking to a contractor listen for words like weatherize/weatherproofing, flashing, backprime, water infiltration, drainage plane, and try to ascertain if this guy wants to produce work that is there for the long term. The main goal is keeping out water. Ask the prospective contractor what his ideas for accomplishing this goal.
Getting a contractor who is insured is also essential - ask for a "certificate of Insurance" - it is SOP, and although the insurance almost certainly would not be used it gives you an indication that you are dealing with a professional. Licensing may or not be required/necessary in your area. Don't go low bid. We hear a lot of complaints here about contractors but no one ever admits to going low bid, knowing that that puts part of the responsibility on the "contractee".
Good luck.
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Edited 11/23/2006 8:31 pm ET by Stilletto
I screwed up something in my post to Karl, so here is the message.
I recently finished up this exterior and it was all hardi, acrhes and all. The labor and materials will be much higher with hardi. Maintenence will also be an issue with hardi.
I would go with aluminum soffitt and fascia. Less labor and materials than hardi and the end result is comparable. You also have to field paint hardi when you are done to make the job look good.
I bid hardi on that house double my normal vinyl rates and lost my tail bad on that job.
I thought I had read in previous posts that hardi was superior to ...say wood as a siding because it held paint very well.
It was also mentioned that it is more expensive and labor intensive to install but less maintenance is why it was worth it.
I still have aluminum siding and was considering removal and replacement with hardi. This is the cement board siding, isn't it? Or do I have it confused with something else.
Awesome work, by the way. That house is beautiful!
I prefer vinyl over hardi by far. When installed correctly vinyl is a great maintenence free system. Each siding has it's advantages and sometimes these advantages are based on the area you may live in.
Fiber cement siding is a good product, just more labor intensive. The butt joints have to be flashed and caulked, and it has to be field painted after installation for a real finished look. It does hold paint good, but after you are done installing it some painting will need to be done. The joints where you are supposed to caulk will need to be touched up.
Hardi is a brand of Fiber Cement siding. And if you are replacing your aluminum siding with it, you may want to look into rain screen details as well. If you have wood siding on behind the aluminum it's really the only good way to go.
That house is sweet, the inside is far better than the outside. Thanks for the compliment.
That house really is beautiful!
thanks for your imput.
If my wife and I were going to live there, we would go with the Cement board.
It does allow, after all, a change of color with a coat of paint.
There are some homes in the neighborhood that have vinyl and they look crisp and clean from the street. (Something the neighborhood needs).
We removed a shade tree that was blocking up the gutter with leaves and not letting the siding dry out.
There is maybe 35' linear feet of full wood panels on the house as well as the area above the garage.
I had not thought of aluminum soffit and facia. We will look into that as well.
thanks for everyone's experience and wisdom!