Siding - Asking the impossible

[knopfarrow]

Any recommendations for very-low-maintenance siding that will handle heavy snow, ample rain and occassional sun?  (Think Pacific Northwest Cascade Mountains.) 

I really don't want to paint/stain every 10 years -- 20 to 30 would be acceptable. 50 or 100 would be even better. Still in the design phase of my mountain "modern mountain" cabin, and I need to narrow the field on siding choices. I'd like to be a little unconventional (modern) from a design standpoint and use something that is creative and a little unique, but also tried and tested.  And of course, as most of us, I'm on a tight budget and need to make every dollar count. But I'd rather do it right the first time.

Front runners are fiber cement board (large panels) and corrugated aluminum -- perhaps both. I also heard mention of Everlast polymeric siding...? Any others I should be considering?

[MountainDon]

Cement Fiber plank siding. We used Hardie in the 12" wide. Love it. And it is fire resistant. Combine that with the cement fiber corner and door / window trim, fascia and soffit materials.

[rick91351]

We used Hardie for the trim boards.  But a Certainted product for the cement fiber.  I think it is a twenty five paint guarantee.  I know I am never planning on painting it. 

However Ellen did paint the trim boards.  But she can paint anything.  ME   



She laid down the sort of orange under color then she painted over it with the darker brown and squeegeed it off to match with the edge of her brush.

   

[knopfarrow]

rick91351 -

but a Certainted product for the cement fiber

Are those really cement fiber boards?! They look amazingly like wood in your pictures.  Looks really nice.

[hpinson]

Rick, that looks great!   

[rick91351]

Rick, that looks great!   

Looking pretty good - still a couple unfinished spots but its coming.

rick91351 - Are those really cement fiber boards?! They look amazingly like wood in your pictures.  Looks really nice.

Yeppers cement fiber.  Thanks they do look like wood.  This whole project has went pretty nice all in all.  Few clunkers but it was a pretty well thought out home by the 'Boss Lady'!  We have had people drive in to give the siding a look see.  This whole house exterior was designed for low fire danger and low maintenance.  I wish I would have known about the expanding paint soffit vents when we did this they would have been included for sure.  I just love that idea.  The porches both are turned away from the forest so they will not act as a heat sink and an ember trap.  Turning them away from the forest put them on the highway side as well about a quarter mile away so the house looks a lot smaller that it is from the road.  The metal roofing was as heavy residential as they sell.  Commercial weight was stupid expensive.    Just some things you might think of when you start really putting it to paper.         

[MountainDon]

Thanks they do look like wood.

.   Better check, but I think that is the major difference between the Hardie and the CertainTeed. CT can be stained IIRC. Hardie is a paint only product last time I looked.

[rick91351]

.   Better check, but I think that is the major difference between the Hardie and the CertainTeed. CT can be stained IIRC. Hardie is a paint only product last time I looked.

I never really looked into that Don. It is a good point.  I do know there was a Portland company that was staining Hardie products.  They were selling through one of the big box stores for a while. Sort of a 'local' service and from what I was told when corporate found out the stuff hit the fan....... So when we went to buy the siding that deal had went away.  I am thinking that it is the same company that is staining the CertainTeed product. 

[rick91351]

I never really looked into that Don. It is a good point.  I do know there was a Portland company that was staining Hardie products.  They were selling through one of the big box stores for a while. Sort of a 'local' service and from what I was told when corporate found out the stuff hit the fan....... So when we went to buy the siding that deal had went away.  I am thinking that it is the same company that is staining the CertainTeed product.

Well just walked in and asked the painter who is now quilting....  It that was paint or stain.  She replied paint like I should know.......  Hummm!     

[Dave Sparks]

It looks great either way?  What is your strategy to keep it that way in 5 or 10 years Rick?

[Dave Sparks]

Any recommendations for very-low-maintenance siding that will handle heavy snow, ample rain and occassional sun?  (Think Pacific Northwest Cascade Mountains.) 

I really don't want to paint/stain every 10 years -- 20 to 30 would be acceptable. 50 or 100 would be even better. Still in the design phase of my mountain "modern mountain" cabin, and I need to narrow the field on siding choices. I'd like to be a little unconventional (modern) from a design standpoint and use something that is creative and a little unique, but also tried and tested.  And of course, as most of us, I'm on a tight budget and need to make every dollar count. But I'd rather do it right the first time.

Front runners are fiber cement board (large panels) and corrugated aluminum -- perhaps both. I also heard mention of Everlast polymeric siding...? Any others I should be considering?

I have a neighbor who used steel siding. That was 35 years ago when he painted it.....

[rick91351]

It looks great either way?  What is your strategy to keep it that way in 5 or 10 years Rick?

Just basically keeping it clean and caulked.

I have a neighbor who used steel siding. That was 35 years ago when he painted it.....

Steel is a good choice.  We had one done in town like 35 - 40 years ago.  Still looks good today.  It was heavy enough it would not dent very easily.  It would work good up here as well I think.  They were like 12" panels but looked like a five inch lap siding.  Went on an old Arts and Crafts style home.     
   

[flyingvan]

Native stone veneer is hard to beat if the materials are there

[knopfarrow]

Anyone have direct experience using corrugated aluminum as siding? 

I like the look of it when combined with other materials, but ventilation, condensation, and rodent/pest infiltration are concerns, aren't they?. It's likely to have snow up against it on my build for a handful of months at a time (even with large roof overhangs.)

[rick91351]

Anyone have direct experience using corrugated aluminum as siding? 

I like the look of it when combined with other materials, but ventilation, condensation, and rodent/pest infiltration are concerns, aren't they?. It's likely to have snow up against it on my build for a handful of months at a time (even with large roof overhangs.)

I do not, not in aluminum roofing but in corrugated steel, and not personally but a friend did it up here.  We are in snow country as well - granted not as robust as what you are talking about but decent snow normal three to four feet.  They have one guest cabin up here at their 'compound' that is sided in a wainscot fashion with corrugated steel.  They had the contractor take the bright finish off it with vinegar which cast a dull patina on it.  If you want to see it PM me and if I find time would run over and take a photo or two.

[Danfish]

In a wet environment (snow contact) aluminum will not hold up as well as coated steel.  Below is coated steel that has been buried in snow every winter for ten years:

[knopfarrow]

In a wet environment (snow contact) aluminum will not hold up as well as coated steel.

Interesting. I would have thought that aluminum would do better since it won't rust. Based on your picture, that corrugated steels looks great, even after 10 years. 

I'd love to understand the chemistry/physics of why aluminum will not do as well? 

[flyingvan]

Aluminum DOES corrode, but this corrosion usually forms a tough protective layer and is self limiting---unless there is some galvanic action where ions get stripped, then it'll corrode right through.  Lime leeching from mortar, runoff from bare wood shingles, direct contact with dissimilar metals like iron, tin, steel, and especially copper.  The real advantage to steel is it's much tougher and dent resistant.  Looking around at aluminum sided houses they are pretty beat up, especially at baseball level.

[Dave Sparks]

Not many aluminum ships or boats that go out on the ocean. I once walked down a dock to look at an aluminum sail boat.
She had sunk at the dock because her keel broke off. The bolts that fastened her had long corroded away and the bottom paint was all that was holding the keel on.

[db4570]

I like the idea of the Hardie cement planks.

Can anyone give a rough idea of the material cost?

Is it easy for a DIYer to install?

Do you use regular wood carpentry tools, or do you need special blades or saws?

Does it just nail on like a regular board?

Thanks!

David

[rick91351]

As far a price it is all over the place you would just have to check locally.  Several cement brands and styles.  Hardie has some paint able and some that is pre-painted.  Hardie last I looked their colors were not available nation wide but they use somewhere in the middle of the county for a break point.  They have it also available in sheet goods.  They have a very good web site would be better for you to visit than us trying to explain their product. 

As far as the DIY    Depends on your skill set your bringing to the table I guess.  I hired mine done for the most part because I wanted it to one look right and two get it out of my hair before the snows.  They did it in three full days with a big crew.    Yet I did do a lot on the trim work the following year.  I had used it before so I sort of knew what to expect.  I find it very easy to work with almost enjoyable.  BUT I AM NOT experienced enough wade off into a whole job and know the tricks of the craft even thou I have used it.   

What looks the best to us is you divide you exterior up to give you the best coverage and nail on your verticals.  We looked at a lot of houses and how they were done and butting boards together looked pretty bad to us.  Some of the marriages just do not look good.  So you run your planks to your verticals or another way to look at it you are just in filling.  Hardie makes or markets these guides you can buy at Lowes, HD or off Amazon that help hold you boards and keep everything straight.  When you are done then you caulk your joints where they butt your verticals and where ever you see that it is needed.

The guys I used they of course had the tools of the trade.  They make large speed squares and one guy is the sawyer and everyone is yelling measurements to him and he cut.  Yes you use a regular like worm drive saw but you need cement fiber blades.  Good dust masks are a requirement!!!  My part of the project I wore them and still was plugged up with dust.  As far a blade Hardie markets their own brand.  I used Exchange A Blade for what I did.  You use a siding nailer the looks a lot like a roofing nailer.  I bought a inexpensive one off Amazon.  And the nailers use the coiled wire correlated siding nails. Then the sideing guys pound or set the nails on each plank they did with a regular framing hammer. 



When they finished what I hired done. 



I did agree to doing this large board because it never made it up the hill and I was going to have to do a lot to finish this job myself. 



So what the heck did I bite off myself?  Boxed up under the porch pillars to sort of match what the siding guys did.  That took two 4x8 sheets of Hardie

 



The tapered porch pillars took over 50 Hardie  1X4 front and back and a whole bunch of other sized boards I was given by the lumber yard..     Plus the infill took a massive amount of scrap pieces I had saved from the siding crew.

Plus got that big board ripped and put up there. 



How it looked when I got done and Ellen finished painting.  The infill on those porch pillars took a crazy amount of marking and cutting. Everything was close to the same angle but NOT! and up and down the ladder and moving and on and on.  Me I am so glad I chose to hire the majority of the siding done.  But if I had the time and was young I might just waded off in to it.  We did not start framing until like the first of September and had the siding on I think in November.  So I had my hands full enough.....   






           

[MountainDon]

If you can do wood lap siding you can do cement fiber siding.

The special circular saw blade has been mentioned. They work well. Buy a spare so you don't get caught part way through with a dull blade.  There are also special shears for cutting w/o creating the dust. The dust has silicone in it so a good respirator / mask is needed.

Nailing it is no problem.

There are special hanging tools made that make a one person jib possible and easy. I used solosider.  There are versions for different thicknesses of materials.

Follow the instructions to the letter. They're availableonline so you can read up ahead of time.

[Don_P]

There is usually ~ a $20 and a $50 blade, the more expensive flavor pays back if you are doing much heavy trim cutting and especially ripping. Another handy thing to have is a jig saw with the diamond blade for light boxes, outlets etc.  I predrill and hand nail often, near ends or notches, etc, a 10 pack of 1/8" drill bits. Silica dust rather than silicone... one slicks stuff up and the other grinds it down 

Price everything, the trim adds up fast. I just bought 5/4x8 fascia in Hardie for ~$2/ft, the siding is around a buck a foot here at 7" exposure in primed. Miratek is a borated fiberboard type trim that is supposed to outlast us and takes paint well, much more fun to work with dustwise and you can do anything you would do to wood with it, routing, detailing etc. It comes in 16' lengths vs Hardie's 12'. I can do nicer detailing in it but I think the Hardie will last longer.

The biggest factor with siding is what is it going to take to get to the wall to work reasonably comfortably and safe.

[MountainDon]

quote] Silica dust rather than silicone...  [/quote]

Ya got me there!!  Brain fade, or a brain fart!   


Yes the trim and fascia cement board prices add up. Where we are located though use of anything combustible, like standard wood, will increase your insurance costs or maybe make insurance against fire (wildfire) impossible to get.

[db4570]

Thanks for the detailed responses. It looks like cool stuff, but maybe a bit expensive and labor intensive to install.

I am trying to find the ultimate siding for a rural cabin/house, and I'm thinking vinyl might be the answer, if I can figure out how to make it look less... vinyley.

I have also been flirting with steel corrugated, but need to see how it would look on a small house/cabin.

The Hardie stuff looked real good as far as mimicking real wood. That wood grain effect you got, rick91351, is really special.

David