Hardie Plank Siding

[2LOW4SNOW]

Does anybody have experience with James Hardie plank cement fibre siding?

I have been thinking of using it on my shack but have read mixed reviews. Trying to decide if it is worth the extra cash.

[AndyL]

No personal experience...

Down at the bottom of ridgeview place in cochrane you can find a bunch of houses with it... Have a good look down the sides - check the waves...

If it was me - it'd drive me nucking futz; but I'm a little OCD when it comes to lines. :D

[2LOW4SNOW]

I will have to check that out, thanks.

My shack is not new, so I'm sure it is far from straight and true also.

I have read you can avoid the waviness with a quality install and shim it out

[ALBERTA_IS]

My entire house and garage are Hardie and I see a few very small waves but by no means is it unattractive. It all depends on your framing. I higher advise people using it vs vinyl. Vinyl looks like shit and is cheap looking. Just my opinion but for our house it was only around $6k extra over vinyl. It gives a good fire proofing too. I don't have a negative thing to say about it. If your looking at Hardie check different neighborhoods to get a good idea what it looks like installed. I will try to throw up a couple pics of my house for you tomorrow.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[frozenrice]

^^The standard colour selections is somewhat lacking, but it can be custom coloured if you are willing to pay the premium.
As far as the waviness goes, a good part of it depends on the colour. If it's a darker colour it tends to show the waves a bit more than lighter colours. I'd still take a little bit of waviness with Hardie over vinyl siding though.

[B20EF]

Originally posted by ALBERTA_IS
Just my opinion but for our house it was only around $6k extra over vinyl.

I thought Vinyl only cost $3-$4K ish to do standard house. Thats a decent amount more. I could be way off on the price of vinyl though, I just googled it when I considered replacing my siding.

[frozenrice]

That'll probably cover just the labour on about 2500 sq of wall area. Depends on the size of house you're talking about. 2500 is the average wall area of most newer homes.

[sputnik]

Just put Hardie (iron grey) on my 1956 bungalow.

It looks awesome.

I have no waves at all. However I also have 1" foil back insulation under it as well.

[AndyL]

I'm 100% sure install has a lot to do with it (like almost anything) - but, from what I've seen, there's some "variation" in the hardie product. Which can appear to be vertical and horizontal waves.

The extra cost can be justified in new home, where they're starting to require fire ratings. One of the big things for me is the siding appearance, fire rating and hail resistance. It's definitely an attractive product in a number of ways.

Any product, it's best to go out and see real-world installs. Just my humble opinion.

[sputnik]

Another benefit of Hardie is that you can paint it.

[2LOW4SNOW]

Thanks for all the replies! This really helps.

For everybody that has hardi board, how long have you had it for? Was it pre-finished or painted on site? How has it held up so far?



Originally posted by ALBERTA_IS
I will try to throw up a couple pics of my house for you tomorrow.
I would really appreciate that.



Originally posted by sputnik
Just put Hardie (iron grey) on my 1956 bungalow.

It looks awesome.

I have no waves at all. However I also have 1" foil back insulation under it as well.

This was my next question as I am also thinking of putting some foam under the siding. I see that the maximum hardi recommends is 1" of foam. However, to create a thermal break to prevent moisture build up on the sheathing I figured I need about 1.5" of foam. Did you do anything special to accommodate for this?

[sputnik]

Originally posted by 2LOW4SNOW
For everybody that has hardi board, how long have you had it for? Was it pre-finished or painted on site? How has it held up so far?

Mine went up last October.

The horizontal planks were pre-finished and the corner and window moldings were painted onsite. The caulking used is colour matched as well.

Looks great so far.

[00sir2]

Originally posted by 2LOW4SNOW
Thanks for all the replies! This really helps.

For everybody that has hardi board, how long have you had it for? Was it pre-finished or painted on site? How has it held up so far?


I've had Hardie board for 5 years now, we've had zero issues and it looks way better than vinyl. Ours was pre-finished brown. If we build another home I wouldn't hesitate to use it again.

[Sugarphreak]

....

[BerserkerCatSplat]

We just finished replacing all the poorly-installed vinyl siding at our condo complex with Hardie, it's pretty solid stuff, especially compared to the flimsy-assed vinyl. Nice that it's paintable as well.

[2LOW4SNOW]

I'm surprised there are so many people using it, this helps me decide for sure. Sounds like a solid product. :thumbsup:

After the last big hail storm, I"m not at all interested in putting up vinyl. I currently have aluminum in a nice yellow / green 70's color.

Anybody have any experience with foam under the siding and moisture problems?

This article suggests a minimum thickness in order to avoid moisture build up. Link (http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/calculating-minimum-thickness-rigid-foam-sheathing)

[LOLzilla]

Originally posted by sputnik


Mine went up last October.

The horizontal planks were pre-finished and the corner and window moldings were painted onsite. The caulking used is colour matched as well.

Looks great so far.

Whats the sq/ft of the house? Did you do the install yourself? How much did it cost? I suspect we've got similar houses. Gotta do my 1200 sq/ft bungalow sometime and I'm torn between the foam backed vinyl siding or hardiboard.

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by LOLzilla
Whats the sq/ft of the house? Did you do the install yourself? How much did it cost? I suspect we've got similar houses. Gotta do my 1200 sq/ft bungalow sometime and I'm torn between the foam backed vinyl siding or hardiboard.
I was just about to ask that! :rofl: Mine's about 1300 sq/ft and it will need to be done in the next couple of years...


Originally posted by sputnik
However I also have 1"; foil back insulation under it as well.
Did you notice any difference in comfort and a lower heating bill with the foil?

[reijo]

A friend of mine used to do the lab portion of the Civil and Architectural programs at SAIT - where they build the house each term.

All those houses built at SAIT have used Hardie Board and he swears by it. Very durable - 15-20 yr. warrantee although you can get some fading in the sun. The installation is more labour-intensive due to the weight of the product (it is concrete after all) and, hence, more expensive.

But it is solid ... will stand up to hail much, much better than hail.....and better for a fire barrier when your neighbour's house is burning down.

I looked over the last house they built in the fall and it appears to be a good product. Basically, you get what you pay for.

R

[sputnik]

Originally posted by LOLzilla
Whats the sq/ft of the house? Did you do the install yourself? How much did it cost? I suspect we've got similar houses. Gotta do my 1200 sq/ft bungalow sometime and I'm torn between the foam backed vinyl siding or hardiboard.

1200 sq ft bungalow. However I only did the front elevation because the sides and back of the house are knock-down stucco.

I didn't do it myself and paid about $2700 (in Winnipeg) for the Hardie, the insulation and foam board.

The Hardie is a MUCH nicer product that foam backed vinyl siding. The curb appeal is much higher and the ability to paint it later on down the road is a nice option as well. I would never do vinyl siding again.


Originally posted by ipeefreely
Did you notice any difference in comfort and a lower heating bill with the foil?

There is definitely a difference in comfort considering the age of my house and lack of air barriers in old homes. I went from having tar paper and aluminum siding to a layer of Tyvek, 1" foil backed foam (sealed with tuck tape) and Hardie plank. Most of the Hardie is around our master bedroom and it is a much warmer room now.

Not really sure how much it directly affected our heating bill as we did the windows, doors and HVAC in the same year. To be honest I didn't go with Hardie to save money on natural gas but rather for the look and quality of the siding.

[LOLzilla]

Thanks for the response. The material costs sound reasonable. Knowing Calgary it'll be $110/hr to have somebody install.

I've got pop-bottle 1960's stucco around the house that is in good shape. Unsure if its worth while to remove it.

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by sputnik
There is definitely a difference in comfort considering the age of my house and lack of air barriers in old homes. I went from having tar paper and aluminum siding to a layer of Tyvek, 1" foil backed foam (sealed with tuck tape) and Hardie plank. Most of the Hardie is around our master bedroom and it is a much warmer room now.

Not really sure how much it directly affected our heating bill as we did the windows, doors and HVAC in the same year. To be honest I didn't go with Hardie to save money on natural gas but rather for the look and quality of the siding.

Thanks for the reply! :) :thumbsup:

[2LOW4SNOW]

This is all great information, thanks for all the replies!

I have read reviews that indicated that the hardi product can break down with moisture. So I have left a small sample of the hardi board in a bucket of water since about December and so far it looks pretty decent. I also soaked a sample and then put it outside in the freezing temperatures. No signs of delamination, swelling or obvious damage yet, just a bit of staining on the cut edges, which you would expect for a concrete product.

I guess now I just need to pick colors.

[AndyL]

Probably due to people using "hardie board" to describe the appearance, they're likely refering to smartboard (the MDF product) - which does turn to mush over time with water contact

[Lanks]

I have had Hardie plank on my house for about 4 years. I love the way it looks compared to vinyl and it still looks the same as the day it was installed.

[2LOW4SNOW]

Help me pick a color, I'm terrible at this.

Here are the three color pallets hardi offers. In each pic I am holding them up against the current soffit. I would like to keep the soffits, eaves etc in their current color of "old world blue". Not because I like the color that much. But because I don't have the cash to replace it all. So it would be nice to complement the blue color soffits.

http://www3.telus.net/public/lawrenc/Colors/IMG_20130307_104120%5b1%5d.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/public/lawrenc/Colors/IMG_20130307_104156%5b1%5d.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/public/lawrenc/Colors/IMG_20130307_104338%5b1%5d.jpg

It would be nice if the color also complements the brick chimney I have:

http://www3.telus.net/public/lawrenc/Colors/IMG_20130307_104431%5b1%5d.jpg

When I built the garage years ago this was the vinyl siding color that was selected to go with the blue (just as a ferefence). This will also be replaced with hardi board

http://www3.telus.net/public/lawrenc/Colors/IMG_20130307_104839%5b1%5d.jpg


Suggestions?

[ALBERTA_IS]

As promised, sorry they are late. The house siding was installed by our builder and the garage I did myself. A couple of the lines look a little weird on the garage from my iphone camera but I can assure you it is very straight. I used Gecko clamps to ensure every piece of siding was properly spaced and every piece was checked with a 6 ft level. You will need to make very minor adjustments here and there but it is relatively painless. You will also need a Hardie nail gun and Hardie nails ( made by Hitachi ). I got all my Hardie from the Cedar Shop ( talk to Brad ) and they gave me the gun rental for pretty cheap.

For the garage pics there will be black trim around the windows and doors too. Just haven't got around to it yet. Made sure you put your trim on first and butt up 1/8 inch to it. Overlapping the siding is no longer accepted in our temperature zone.

Color is Iron Grey, smooth siding ( does not have grain )

Enjoy

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3dd28b3127ccef2c723c80ddc00000030O01AbNmzlm0cMQe3nww/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00108043966620130309151733958.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3dd28b3127ccef2c7e3ff8cbb00000030O01AbNmzlm0cMQe3nww/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00108043966620130309151740814.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a3dd28b3127ccef2c6206f6dae00000030O01AbNmzlm0cMQe3nww/cC/f%3D0/ls%3D00108043966620130309151733192.JPG/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[codetrap]

Looks good! :thumbsup:

[bignerd]

I would go with the first color on board number two.

Neutral so it will go with the blue but still has warm tones to match the warmer colored brick on the chimney.

Number 3 from row 3 could also work as it is also neutral and ties into the darker bricks on the chimney but might be too dark overall if the whole house was done in it, hard to tell.

I am looking at the colors from Left to Right.

[sxtasy]

Looks nice Alberta is, but looks like you forgot to flash your windows?

[ALBERTA_IS]

Originally posted by sxtasy
Looks nice Alberta is, but looks like you forgot to flash your windows?

Still not done! The hardie around there will be removed for the windows. I just ran it like that so I could trim the excess perfect before window/door install. By no means am I an expert install :D

[gram]

if you really want to contrast the blue you can use the opposite side of a color wheel (this is how house designers usually do it) The best advice I can give you is go in to a paint store and ask them what paint they would recommend for the desired result of the soffit that you want. They have done this a million times before and always get it right. Then ask for a sample of what they give you (their recco) and get the hardi that is the closest to that. I have a feeling they are going to tell you to stay in a yellow to orange range (beige etc) with that sofit color.


Good luck

[2LOW4SNOW]

Originally posted by bignerd
I would go with the first color on board number two.

Neutral so it will go with the blue but still has warm tones to match the warmer colored brick on the chimney.

Number 3 from row 3 could also work as it is also neutral and ties into the darker bricks on the chimney but might be too dark overall if the whole house was done in it, hard to tell.

I am looking at the colors from Left to Right.

I do like Number 3 from row 3. I find it pretty tough to envision what the entire house would look like. Might have to photoshop something up.

This dark blue color really limits things. Thinking more about replacing it after all. Just really don't want to fork out even more cash.

[gram]

Here you go.


Take a picture of your house and upload it here. Get the closest color they offer to your samples and voila!


http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/explore-colors/painter/index.html?screen=painterScreen


This can't be any easier:clap:

[ALBERTA_IS]

Here try this:

http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/design-visualizer.shtml?utm_source=vanity-domains&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=JamesHardieDesignCenter.com

[nickq]

Any update from members with Hardie board siding? How has it held up to our weather?

[s_havinga]

Remember, you can always spray your soffit / eves if you need to. It would be a lot cheaper then replacing and makes it so you don't need to limit your siding choice. Same could be done with the brick fireplace.

If you drive through the new communities, you will notice that everything new is using dark colors. our house we went with Evening Blue, because my wife wanted a blue house. My favorite is still Iron Grey. If you don't like the grey / blue, I would go with Timber Bark as it is the darkest beige/ brown.

I'm surprised you found so many negative reviews, the only negative I have heard of is the cost.

A lot of spec homes are doing JH on the front and vinyl on the other 3 sides. It makes the curb appeal nice but keeps the cost down- but it wont help you next time the hail comes around.

[sputnik]

Not sure what you mean by "our weather".

I have Iron Grey Hardie on the front of my house in Winnipeg. Its been on for almost 4 years now and still looks like new. When I rebuild my garage I will be doing the entire exterior of it with the same stuff. I love it.

http://i.imgur.com/2ktYyUc.jpg

[jdmXSI]

When our condo complex redid our siding, we were going to use Hardie board but decided not to because of the warranty claiming process. If theyou deem it was installed incorrectly, they won't honor it's 25yr warranty. We ended up using a canexel product.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Wrinkly]

To best compliment the blue soffit, I would go with either Navajo Beige, Cobblestone, Sandstone Beige, Monterey Taupe, JH20-30 (can't see the name), or Autumn Tan. Not necessarily in that order).

Whilst I like the Timber Bark, I think it would be too much with the blue.

Let us know what you go with! :thumbsup:

[RawB8figure]

Can any recommend a good installer in calgary?

[s_havinga]

Exteriors by Design did a good job on my place. Larry- 403-999-7928

[Sugarphreak]

...