Fiber cement siding?

[2zwudz]

     Does anyone have any experience with fiber cement siding?  Is it hard to work with?  Does it hold up as well as vertical steel pole barn siding? How does the cost compare to steel pole barn siding?  Which would you use for a cabin?

Thanks
Mark

[MountainDon]

I installed Hardie cement board siding on our cabin. I used the 12" wide plank type. Using a set of adjustable hanger guides (Solo Sider) it was fairly easy. I used the nail gun for most of the work, nailing near the upper edge that gets hidden by the next row. I set the pressure low and had to finish each nail with one, or two, hammer blows. It's easy to overdrive and that's a no-no. Using the air nailer was easier than hand starting all the nails. If you have a roofing nailer they work well.

Installed as per Hardie's instructions for nail spacing, clearances, caulking and painting it should last quite long.

It can be cut with special blades on a circular saw. There are also shears that work well.

I've never used steel siding so can't give a comparison.

[glenn kangiser]

Steel holds up for a very long time.  There are buildings I put up in the 70's that still look good today.  Steel runs between $3.50 to $5.50 a running foot in 3' wide sheets around here.

I don't especially care for the look of the fiber cement board but I don't care for steel siding on a cabin either.  I prefer natural wood, but that is just me.

[n74tg]

I used 8.25" (7" exposure) Hardie Plank on my house.  It went up just fine.  I used a plain old generic diamond blade on my circular saw to cut it, that worked fine too (just be aware of where your dust cloud is, so you won't breath it).  I made my own hanger straps out of a Simpson 12" strap.  They worked great too.

I used my framing nailer set on 80 psi with #8 galvanized.  Very few nails did I have to come back and finish off with a hammer.

If memory serves each 12' piece cost me right at $5.50 per.

This stuff paints great.

I also put a 3/8" spacer between the Hardie and the housewrap covered wall; it serves as a drainage space/vent.  It's the white plastic stuff you see in the pic.  There are plenty of other pics of the siding in the blog, address below.

[archimedes]

I used the 8.25" siding on my cottage and it came out great.  The stuff is very durable and holds paint great, much, much better than wood.  It's no fun to work with though.  If I had to do it again though, I would use something else for the trim, maybe cedar, and use the Hardie for the siding.  The siding was great though and relatively cheap compared to most anything else.

[MountainDon]

Here's a picture of the SoloSider tool. They are adjustable for the amount of overlap. There is sometimes a slight variation the the Hardie planl width. The dial let's you make 1/16" adjustments. They come in a pair. Once the plank is placed on the tool you nail in at the upper edge in a couple spots then slip the tool up and out, then finish nailing. Do a google on SoloSider. I got mine through an Ebay vendor.

[MountainDon]

Regarding window and door trim. I used the /4 hardie product. Install it first and then the siding. Caulk as per Hardie instructions after it's up.

[Don_P]

We finished up with their newer artisan series siding today, nice stuff, 5/8 thick so it gives the heavy shadow lines of traditional siding (were were matching "the big house" as much as possible). Side note, twice as thick produces twice the dust. Not cheap ~12.50 per 12' stick at 6" reveal. The trim is 1-1/2" thick cement board, we used the 2x4 and 2x6 sizes @ ~$25 and $30 each. That stuff is not light and is tough to shoot on. We used Miratec for the fascias, it is 1" thick. For regular hardiplank this is also a common trim material, much easier to deal with than cement.

I wonder how much silicosis this stuff will end up causing.

[MountainDon]

I wonder how much silicosis this stuff will end up causing.

Only to those who ignore the precautions, I think. I wore my half mask respirator when I cut mine. I dislike wearing it but dislike the idea of developing lung problems even more. High altitudes demand good lungs. It would be a real drag toting an O₂ bottle around.

If you do a lot of Hardie plank, the regular thickness, the power shears work well enough, but are spendy. No dust though.