James Hardie Siding
One of the most significant and visible decisions you will make when building or remodeling your home will be the selection of exterior siding and exterior trim.
Not only does this decision govern what the home will look like, it will shape in part, the amount of maintenance you will be building into the home.
While there is almost always a desire to either use, or replicate a wood lap or board and batten siding for a home, some of the choices that have been used in the past, such as aluminum, and vinyl are less than desirable.
Not only is aluminum siding very susceptible to damage, it tends to oxidize and looks very much like a wood siding "knock-off".
When vinyl siding and trim came on the market, it solved many of the problems associated with the aluminum siding, such as damage issues, and appearance. It was much more resilient to damage and many manufacturers even added wood grain to their products to make them appear much more like wood siding.
But once installed, and especially over the course of several years, this siding also looks very inexpensive and therefore does a poor job of mimicking actual wood siding. Typically, many of the vertical joints open up and the vinyl, being very structurally unstable, and it tends to warp over time.
James Hardie Siding
The James Hardie Siding Company developed a siding made from cement and reinforcing fibers. As a result, this siding offers many advantages over that of wood, aluminum and vinyl siding counterparts such as:
- Easily Painted
- Non-Combustible
- Rot Resistant
- Impervious to Termites
- Resistant to Shrinkage and Warping
- Will Not Melt
- Resistant to Impact
- Resistant to Wind, Hail Snow and Sun
- Looks and Feels Like Real Wood
- 30-Year Warranty
James Hardie Siding - Varieties of Siding Available
- HardiePlank - Lap Siding that give the appearance of traditional wood lap siding.
- HardieShingle - Shingle siding that gives the same warm feeling of cedar shingle siding
- HardiePanel - Vertical siding - more often referred to as board and batten siding
- HardieTrim - Compatible fiber-cement trim that is available for trimming out fascias, soffits, frieze trim, base trim and corner trim.
James Hardie Siding - The Installation
Although installation of fiber-cement siding is rather straight forward, where are some issues you should be aware of:
- Install a water-resistive barrier behind all sidings per local code requirements.
- Install vertical joints as butt joints without use of caulking
- Maintain a minimum of 2" clearance between siding and decking, paths, steps, driveways singles and other structural elements.
- Maintain a 1/4" gap between bottom flashing and siding - do not caulk this joint.
- Nailing - You can either face nail the siding or blind nail it.
- Paint siding as soon as practicable and per manufacturers recommendations.
For a complete guide for installing and of the James Hardie Siding products, please refer to this PDF for installing Hardie Board Siding.
To visit the official James Hardie Siding website, click HERE.
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