# Fiber Cement Board Siding



## broke

Hello everyone,

Trying to do a little research here.  What do people think about fiber cement board?  We are considering this versus vinyl.  

What material do you prefer and why?  

What do you think about Tyvek wind barriers beneath?  This isn't needed with the FCB is it?  


Thanks.


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## woodworkingmenace

I saw on a program this weekend, that you have to "prime" the back of that, if you put it up.  Something about moisture wicking, either around it, or through it, (no, its doesnt have the same qualities as vynol), and that was the only "downside" to it.

Its going to be heavier than vynol, and not damage as much with baseballs, unless they crack when hit hard enough, but, besides the weight and cost would be the two perogatives in my notions...

Jesse


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## oldslowchevy

i have used the cement siding i don't like it!ok frist yes you should still use the tyvek with any type of siding in my opion.the cement siding is is a pain in the neck as in you need a daimond blade on your saw for al the required cuts you should drill an 3/16th" hole to meet at every stud on the wall(never nail just in the ply wood or osb as there is very little holding power) .this stuff is very very heavy.now once it is up on the wall you now will have to go back and caulk the over laps prep the home then paint the home and you will have to paint the home every few years.it is up to you really but IMHO it just doesn't seem to be worth it to me also most contractors will only warrinty for a year and vinyl for up to 5 years.vinyl is also much easyer to repair if damage does seem to happen.just a thought and i am sure you will get a few more respones to compair with


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## inspectorD

My opinion... Tyvek is for marketers... I have seen failures of tyvek in more than one situation,only sometimes due to faults of the installer.
Fiber cement board is not new, it used to be the old asbestos type where you had to drill holes. Now there are new products and you NEED to read the manufacturers instructions as to how the install goes.
I used a cement fiber board that looks like clapboards on the Corwall church in Cornwall CT 5 years ago. The product had to stay dry before the install. It was then hung from the top of the piece with roofing nails. Worked like a charm when you cut it with some power shears. Prime all cuts and leave a small gap for slight expantion of the pieces.
This stuff still looks like brand new ,paint and all.
I'm not a fan of new things unless they are proven, in this case I think still looking new in 5 years is not so bad.
We used 15lb felt paper as the weather barrier. I remodeled my second house from 1740 and the paper from the remodel done sometime around 1938 was in good shape....so much for marketing....


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## broke

> This stuff still looks like brand new ,paint and all.
> ....
> I'm not a fan of new things unless they are proven, in this case I think still looking new in 5 years is not so bad.
> ....
> We used 15lb felt paper as the weather barrier. I remodeled my second house from 1740 and the paper from the remodel done sometime around 1938 was in good shape....so much for marketing....




Yes, the result is more what I'm interested in.  I have heard many good things about the engineered stuff but need to research so I, hopefully, don't fall into those marketing traps.  Vinyl is just unappealing to me.  Fast, cheap, and easy isn't always better.  

I'm thinking the cement board looks more like a wood siding, although I haven't gone to see it in person yet.  They say it holds up for 100 years and I don't think it needs painting maintenance unless you want to change your colors.  

I read the cost is about the same as a high-grade vinyl selection ???? Anyone know?  Maybe they were just talking about materials w/o installation increases.

Tyvek scares me.  It just looks like a bad idea.  I saw something on TV where there was a lot of mold accumulating underneath which was causing health hazards.

The felt paper serves the same purpose as Tyvek?  

Thanks.


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## inspectorD

Tar paper or 15# felt or 30# grade D building paper in some parts of the US.It lets vapors out and does not react with concrete cement.Tyvek is great under vinyl siding, they go hand in hand however it needs to be installed correctly. Not done most of the time.

My opinion of housewraps is that sometimes I have seen stains and deceay on the house wrap and damage behind cedar clapboards when they are on the home only 5 years later. They were not primed but bare.Also these wraps stick to concrete and bond to it. I dont know if it can breath when bonded to concrete or mortar from bricks.More testing needs to be done on new products.
Tar paper has had some deterioration sometimes also but it is still my personal and less expensive choice.


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## asbestos

I just looked at a job at a house with 10 y/o FC siding on it and it looked brand new, just great. In the Pac. NW FC board is used a lot.  
Some manuf. say that caulking seams is optional. 
In my town, houses start at 450,000 and most are 600,000+  and many of the new ones have Hardieplank. I don't think you will see to many houses over a half million with vinyl siding.


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## Daryl in Nanoose

Here on Vancouver Island BC Canada it seems that almost every house built has hardi plank on it.I have used this on some projects and I just love it. You can use a carbide blade to cut it but make sure you use a good quality mask since it really kicks up the dust. I also use Stainless steel siding nails and fasten on every stud . As InspectorD said quote: Tar paper or 15# felt or 30# grade D building paper is the best way to go. I did not predrill but the nails do like to bend some times but thats up to you. All in all I would use it on my own house.


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## broke

Thanks for the input.  

What's a general price comparison for FC vs. vinyl?  

If the vinyl project is $100K, labor and materials, say, with Tyvek, *very generally*, about how much % higher would the FC be to do?  

I guess one would compare it to a mid-value vinyl from CertainTeed (think they said 'Main Street' was being used).


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## inspectorD

About all I can say is it will be more due to ,
It has to be painted when finished, and it is more labor to put in.The vynil siding comes in larger pieces .It is 2-3 rows instead of only 1 row at a time.
Get some price quotes then go from there.
Good luck.


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## bethany14

Hi All,
I'm reviving this thread 
I'm about to install Hardi Panels (stucco finish) on my 1938 Bungalow.  We're doing the job ourselves, so the first phase is just the front of our house.  I'm ashamed to admit it, but we left the panels outside under a tarp.  There are a few spots on the panels where moisture got in...now, they were pre-primed, so I'm hoping that has preserved their integrity...hoping   From what I've read, if they're wet for installation you need to worry about shrinkage.  Does that mean if they're dried out prior, I shouldn't have a problem?  
I'm a complete rookie, and am learning everything as I go along!  So, any input is welcomed with grateful thanks


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## inspectorD

When they say that the siding should not be wet when installed it usually means don't stack it . I have seen it stacked in piles out in the rain ,then some yokel starts to put it up dripping as they get the next piece.

So far no issues I have seen from the past product failures have showed up as of yet with the newer product.

Stay tuned .....................

Always install per manufacturers spec's.


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## bethany14

Thanks for the reply, InspectorD 
In the meantime I'll be deconstructing the stinky failing rotting old porch...


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## MTCquality

This is a common debate in the industry and there really is no comparison price wise. I am in the heart of the nation and a vinyl siding job (remodel) using the exact Certainteed Main Street .042 panel of 30 square considering tear off fanfold and wrap prices out at $12500. The exact same job in a Hardi plank siding comes in at $23500. Vinyl is considered cheap and quick and very minimal maintenance. It is fairly efficient and the seams are bearable if done correctly. Also if the job is done professionally by a dependable contractor should look good for up to 15 years or so with minimal fading and warping. Hardi Plank is a very good armor for the house and is much more expensive and labor intensive causing it to be a longer process which may or not interrupt your familys routine and schedule. Hardi is maintenance heavy and needs caulked and painted at least every 5 years. Now here is where I go borderline spam and Square eye will be upset with me......Kynar coated galvanized steel siding comes in 20 colors and has a 40 year transferable warranty. It can be installed as a seamless application and the panels are made right on site. The weather does not affect it,and as far as movement and warping, a fraction of vinyl. It is low maintenance and requires a hose bath about 1 time every 3 springs or so to prevent dirt build up (depending on location).Yes it can be dented with a BBgun and is easily repaired just lke vinyl. To install the above job in my area (without a franchise  ) would cost about $14000 with a 5 year workmanship warranty. Now unfortunately if you have an ABC seamless franchise in your town it is gonna be closer to 23500. Keep in mind all the above jobs i described include replacing all soffit and facia and wrapping all windows and providing proper licenses and insurance. 

I hope this helps.


Thanks

MTC


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## Tekarica

Recently spoke to a guy who has installs vinyl siding for a living (past 15 years) who is putting FCB (cedar shake) on his new house.  Reasons he gave me as to why are:
1.  New FCB comes pre-painted and paint is guaranteed to last 30 years.
2.  New FCB comes with 100 year guarantee. 
3.  New FCB costs the same or less then vinyl.
4.  He feels FC will replace vinyl as the most commonly used siding material.
Pretty compelling reasons...Is he correct?


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## druryp

Hi.  We have it and love it.  It sucks up the paint  and hold the color so well.  Plus this:  we had an estimate w/ vynl, w/ the trim wrapped and w/ the fiber cement and we just paint the trim and it came out very close!!!  It is wrapping the trim that really costs.  Love the f.c.


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## saraplay

In 1998, I was in search of a wood look siding and learned about the Hardie Panel.  It was a little costly, but I found a cement siding at a local building supply company.  They carried what they called "seconds".  I looked at the boards and they really looked like wood.  My husband, his brother and a friend installed the siding.  We painted it with a really good paint and it looked fabulous.  We sold that home and bought a house and had it moved to some acreage we had purchased.  We totally remodeled the house including using the cement siding again since we liked it so well.  By the way, we used the Tyvek wrap.  We did this in 2000.  We were still able to purchase the boards at a really good price.  We saved an enormous amount of money using this product.  Both homes still look like they have new wood planks on them.  The panels really hold the paint, no fading or chipping.  I am now in the process of finding these panels again as I am starting a remodel on a 1920's house.  I hope I can find these boards at a great price.
My opinion is that you can't go wrong with CEMENT SIDING.


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## TaskBoy

"My opinion is that you can't go wrong with CEMENT SIDING."

-Agreed! We just had our house done by siding pros--that's all they do. I read a lot of "opinions" in the older parts of the thread and some it is just plan hooey. Folks should download James Hardie's install PDF and get the truth how easy this is to work with. I was home daily watching how it was done and it is easy. I could have done the install but we have a two story and I didn't want to be the guy up high on the ladder or scaffold. HardiePlank is cross-cut with an electric shear for dust control and a diamond blade only as needed (like rips). You only caulk the butted joints if you choose, not under each lap as someone stated. Hardie says you leave a 1/8 gap bu we opted for tight joints and no caulk (joint still backed with a piece of Tyvek per Hardie). We did Tyvek under the whole job, btw. The HardiePlank paints awesome, too.


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## builderbob

I friend did his house 12 years ago, looks brand new.
I tried my hand at it with scraps he had left over (my house is mostly brick, but I hardieboarded the few places that had paneling).

Just make sure you use GE SiliconII PAINTABLE.  It's important that it's the paintable version.  And it's CRITICAL that it's 100% silicon. it's about $6 a tube, but will never shrink/dry/crack.
If you use crappy caulk, you will have to recaulk and paint.

It's like cooking.  Your dish is only as good poorest quality ingredient.

I also put an extra coat of primer on mine before I hang it, and primer all my cuts.  Helps to not be in a time crunch.

The stuff they make now is not as hard as the stuff they made 10 years ago.  The older stuff seems more like rock, and the newer stuff just seems softer and a bit more fragile.  The old stuff probobably had some asbestos in it is my guess.

 I've hung both, and as long as you use a framing nailer, and the diamond saw blade (I recommend table saw, circ saw will work), you're good to go.  The also make a power sheer that they recommend, because you get no dust (wear a hepa mask when running the saw, and try to have wind blowing it away from you).

The hardiboard also gives you more sound insulation over vynle *which has about zero).

-bob


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## DaveyDIY

I picked some up for free
My luck it happened to be the color we wanted - Boothbay Blue
So I figured I'd go pick up what contractors had left from doing a house
Thought I might be able to see what it looks like & how easy/hard to put up
Well 2 truckloads later I hafe about 6 SQUARE at my house
That's almost enough to do the whole back of my house!!

The wife likes the color
Which is good, with 6 sq free I wasn't changing the color


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