Siding choices

[beckhamk]

We are trying to decide on the type of siding we want to put up on our cabin.  Its been really tough.  We are looking at going with wood or a fiber cement based siding.   Our two choices for wood siding are white pine or western red cedar siding.  I wanted to get opions from people on here on their thoughts on white pine vs the cedat - which one would you choose and why?

Thanks,
Kyle

[MountainDon]

What would the finish be? Paint, stain, oil?

[PEG688]

Hardi's the cheapest , easy to install , holds paint well , lasts a long time. Save the forum the trouble of explaining the differences between Cedar and Pine , use the Hardi.

In the final analyst on this subject price always wins. 

[MountainDon]

I do like the Hardi on our cabin. 

[beckhamk]

We are looking at certainteed's fiber cement its actually the most expensive- as its prefinished with a 30yr warranty.  My wood choices are my preference so thats why i wanted to get comments on the cedar and whitepine options .

In all cases we would be staining the wood if we went that route.

[PEG688]

Okay , so what exactly are you looking at using for Cedar or Pine siding?

Rough sawn bevel?  3/4 x 6, 8, 10?   1/2 x 4 , 6 Clear Cedar bevel? Western Red , Atlantic White?

In Pine what are you looking at?   Bevel in Pine is pretty rare around here, I've read of places the make the the "old fashion" way by turning a short log , then sawing the bevel out of the turned log , all the siding is very short , 6' and under. So what type of Pine siding are you looking at , specifically?


In general  Pine will rot way easier than Cedar . The quality of Western Red Cedar is way dowm from 20 years ago , so getting good stock is a issue unless you pay top dollar.

I'd give a general guess  that if you have pricing on wood siding that is cheaper than pre=finished Hardi you are looking at some very poor wood siding.   

[Alan Gage]

I was going to use Hardie on my house but in the end went with 1/2" WRC bevel with a 6" reveal. Everyone around here is going with Hardie and I guess I wanted something different. Love the look too. Price was double if I remember right, but it's a small house so it actually wasn't that big of a deal. I'm sure it was a lot more work though. All the pieces were coated on 6 sides with a WRP (Water Repellant Preservative) before installation, which required a lot of room. I did it in batches. All cut ends were coated during installation too. Final coat was put on after it was installed on the house. I used a semi-transparent stain. I was (still am) a little worried about maintenance. But the house has a 3' overhang and a rainscreen behind the siding so I'm hoping the finish will last a good long time. I'm also hoping recoat won't be that big of a deal since it's a semi-transparent stain so it won't peal like paint, so no scraping. Just clean and re-apply. Don't have to worry about runs either so it goes on fast.

Comes finished on one side, rough on the other. The rough side wasn't as rough as I was afraid it would be. Rough side out is what I went with. I think it looks better on my house and should hold the finish better. 

It was really nice to work with though. Lightweight, didn't have to worry about it breaking if handled wrong, and easy to cut with pretty much anything you want to use. Pieces up to 20' long were nice too.

If I had it to do over again I probably would go with 3/4". I like the look of the 1/2" but it is a bit brittle. I already caught one of the lower edges with a ladder leg when I picked it up and it put a nice split in the board. Either that or do a water board at the bottom of the wall so the siding isn't hanging over the lower edge.

I asked my supplier (Rich) if it was worth getting cedar because of the diminishing quality. I'd heard that complaint online and from my grandfather who put it on a house 20 years ago and hated it and from a cousin who put up houses for a builder and said the stuff was junk. Rich looked at me like he'd never heard of such a complaint. Said that all he buys is grade A clear and has never had a complaint. I have no experience with the old stuff but was very happy with the quality of mine.

I figured mine cost $2/square foot just for the siding.

Some pics of mine:

Stacked after applying the WRP:


20110913_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Mid-install:


20110918_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

After final staining:


20111011_001 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

Alan

[suburbancowboy]

If it is like here in utah the wood won't meet fire code.  Has to have a 20 minute burn rating.

[NM_Shooter]

Hardi is a pain to work with, but once it is up, you are done for quite awhile.  No rot, no mold, high fire resistance, bugs and porcupines are not interested.  It is more expensive, but significantly more durable.  If going wood, go with cedar.  Proper care will get you 25 years plus.

[boltpost]

I plan on using Hardi shingles on my cabin.  How are they hard to put up?

[NM_Shooter]

Dusty when you cut them, chip easy and prone to blowout if you have your air nailer over-driving.  The planks are heavy, and tend to be somewhat easy to break if you mis-carry them.  I've never worked with the shingles.  Probably a great product!

[MountainDon]

The ones I've seen come in small panels 4 ft x maybe 16" tall. They should install like the other hardie products. Read and understand the directions. D/L then onlibe ahead of time to see what they say.

Cutting with a circular saw (special blade) is best done from the backside; chips won't show that way in my experience. Cutting with a good solid guide is best as that helps keep the saw from sideways wobble which can lead to chipping. Use a sharp blade, always have a spare. maybe look into special shears for cutting without all the dust. Wear a good mask when making dust.

[boltpost]

Thanks for the pointers!  I'll be sure to post here with notes and progress when my build takes place.

[fcpnorman]

I have used both Hardie and Nichiha. I found the Nichiha product to be easier to work with and chip far less. It takes stain and paint very well and is a little more stable than the Hardie. They make several different blades for your circular saw for cutting fiber cement, including small blades for your cordless circular saws. I have also purchased blades for my jig saw that can cut fiber cement.
If you live in an area that has wildland fires, it is a must.

[beckhamk]

Hello all and thanks for your input.... After a long process of researching, opinion and what nots.  We have decided on the Certainteeds fiber cement boards.  With the wood we still had to stain and rent some equipment to get the stain on once up etc. and the cost seemed higher for the wood overall.  The cement board has 30year warranty and its already stained. So once its up, we are done. 

Thanks again.

[Don_P]

I'd appreciate hearing back what you think of them. We considered it on this job but are just using their primed, painting once on the bench and once on the wall. It seems identical to Hardi and was ~$1/piece cheaper, Nichiha was also in the lower price range. And we have a local Hardi plant 

[flyingvan]

If you use fiber cement, invest in a pair of shears.  I paid $170 for mine--there is no dust whatsoever.  Also you can get this cool hangar/gauge set online, I think I paid $28 for that.




  This clip holds one end of the board



   This guage (adjustable) assures the correct exposure

   You're still gonna need a diamond blade for rip cuts around windows and stuff

[John Raabe]

Thanks for that post Flyingvan. Very helpful and the pictures are a big help visualizing the tools.