House Siding Replacement

[tucker 238]

We are residing our house as the outside is all asbestos and only recommendation has been James Hardie boards. This is extremely expensive so wanted to check if there were good, cheaper alternatives.

Located in Texas

TIA

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Take a look at the Louisiana Pacfic Smart siding. Nor sure if it's less, but its a good product. 

[idigTexas 2289]

Hardie board is expensive, but depending on how long you intend to be in the house, may be worth it to you.  I had my house done in December and am glad I did.  The installer matters.  Make sure you get multiple bids.  I ended up spending half as much as one high pressure sales outfit wanted to charge me with their "today only" deal.  Also, it's a shitty time to replace.  Prices on all siding options are still high due to last hurricane season.  I was able to place my order just before the price hike.  An honest contractor will tell you this.  People will laugh, but there are some.  I can recommend someone for the Austin area, but have none for elsewhere. 

[Jkwellborn 6744]

Hardie or something similar.

[UTPhil2006 3812]

What part of Texas? You can pM me if need be 

[deadshank 24653]

If you’re Gulf Coast part of Texas then you’d have to be insane not use Hardie.   LP Smartside is just meh to OK.  

Use the Hardie plank (lap) siding and not the panel variety.   Flashing technique at wall, window and roof junctions are VERY important.  

Ask your salesman and / or installer if he knows what a “flush mount” nail gun attachment is.   If he doesn’t then you  know you’ve got an idiot.  You can easily download JH’s install instructions.  Hardie my be the most incorrectly installed siding on the market.  It is a vastly superior product.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

3 hours ago, deadshank said:

If you’re Gulf Coast part of Texas then you’d have to be insane not use Hardie.   LP Smartside is just meh to OK.  

Use the Hardie plank (lap) siding and not the panel variety.   Flashing technique at wall, window and roof junctions are VERY important.  

Ask your salesman and / or installer if he knows what a “flush mount” nail gun attachment is.   If he doesn’t then you  know you’ve got an idiot.  You can easily download JH’s install instructions.  Hardie my be the most incorrectly installed siding on the market.  It is a vastly superior product.  

The flush most allows you to nail without breaking the surface of the planking ?  I thought they liked the blind nail attachment method now ?

I have contractors who like the LP better for a few reasons, but my specs always call for Hardi plank.

[deadshank 24653]

31 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

The flush most allows you to nail without breaking the surface of the planking ?  I thought they liked the blind nail attachment method now ?

I have contractors who like the LP better for a few reasons, but my specs always call for Hardi plank.

Flush nailer attachments keep the nail from breaking the surface of the Hardie and keep the nail head on the outside surface of the material.  Over-driven nails are a problem with Hardie.  Blind  nailing is still in effect.

I do use LP Smartside for deer  blinds, so there is that.

 

 

[Dewey 3293]

Hardie is good stuff, just extremely fragile til it is installed, still breakable after. Once it's on, theres no replacing a single piece (shiplap) really. Whereas other materials one might be a little forceful, hardie has to be cut exact, which can take sometime if it's an old house. I hate the 12' lengths, sofit mostly.

As far as weather getting to it and cost, nothing better. Cedar, if you treat the backside and continue to treat the front on an annual basis, will last your lifetime and then some. Its costly, but looks better, way better.

As for the nail gun, you better be adjusting your pressure and using a guard. I hate installing the stuff, means a mask at all times, fragile material and like I said, exact cuts, cant get away with being off a 1/16". I'm not a hammer head by any means, but I cant stop a helper or anyone on the job from trying to force one end, no matter how many times I tell them not to. Then I'm back to cutting a new piece. Rant over, I work mostly old houses and would kiss the owners on the mouth if they ever selected an easier product to work with.

[Nueces River Rat 5539]

I concur with dead shank on what he said about the Gulf Coast.    Just a quick drive around Rockport and Port A after Harvey showed how useless going the cheap route went for some folks.  They wanted the big dollar coastal look, but paid for it in nickels and dimes.   Plus it won't be long until  new building codes  are adopted as a result of Harvey for the coast.   

I have Hardie board on part of  my home which is now 14 years old.  The thing I do like about  it's easy to wash dirt off vs the other exterior wood  and brick surfaces which require power washing.  Makes me wish I would have done the whole house in Hardie.  

[tucker 238]

Central Texas. But sounds like Hardie is still the way to go as long as installed correctly?

will pos rep when I’m no longer impotent. 

Edited February 28, 2019 by tucker

[kevwun 15897]

Wrap your house in Tyvek too while you are at it.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

SmartSide LP is the Masonite of Tomorrow.  It's essentially OSB with a vinyl paint on the exterior.  It's shit.  Don't do it & don't ever buy a house that has it.

 

We do siding & recently completed a S Austin job.  While you're @ it, this may be a good time to stretch your budget & swap out some windows if you still have single pane units in place.  & YES, we would probably require a new house wrap vs. what you probably have - shitty felt.

Ring me up (PM).

[Bernard 879]

Get it in writing that they’ll install in accordance with Hardie guidelines. Download the installation guidelines. Get familiar with them. Hardie warranty does not cover poor installation techniques, which are extremely common. 

Bernard

[horn4life 3783]

Lots of great comments here regarding Hardie, installation and poor installation relating to warranties.

I also think that in Central Texas depending on your personal taste that Cedar looks great.  If you take care of it and seal/stain  the backside. I did the back of our single story and it looks great and I used the 12 foot cedar lap. Rather than just hit the lip with a nail gun I used screws to hold everything tight.  The Cedar is not as uniform and rigid as cement board, and the additional screws made it rock solid.  I used nearly invisible deck screws and have a nice clean look with the rustic natural look of cedar. 

 

[Gil Bang 26020]

I stained your mom's backside.

[Jkwellborn 6744]

It was already stained. I’ve seent it.

[LebongJames 1813]

Worked for Hardie for years. In Texas you don’t  want to install any other siding.

I know multiple guys have said PM them but look at Titan Siding if in Austin. They were the number one Hardie partner in Central Texas.

[deadshank 24653]

1 hour ago, LebongJames said:

Worked for Hardie for years. In Texas you don’t  want to install any other siding.

I know multiple guys have said PM them but look at Titan Siding if in Austin. They were the number one Hardie partner in Central Texas.

Who do you work for now?  I have known the original JH rep in Texas for years. He's moved on to distribution now. Great guy.  Worked his tail off when fiber cement siding rolled out.  Damn near killed him from working so hard. The only crappy product they produced was their roofing, now discontinued. 

[LebongJames 1813]

9 hours ago, deadshank said:

Who do you work for now?  I have known the original JH rep in Texas for years. He's moved on to distribution now. Great guy.  Worked his tail off when fiber cement siding rolled out.  Damn near killed him from working so hard. The only crappy product they produced was their roofing, now discontinued. 

I work for Lubrizol, a chemical company as the regional sales manager for our CPVC division. Still focused on the construction industry but more plumbing and fire protection now.

Probably before my time but what city was he based out of?

The roofing was definitely before my time but it was a thing of legend at sales meetings of how terrible it was to sell that product.

Edited March 5, 2019 by LebongJames

[deadshank 24653]

19 minutes ago, LebongJames said:

I work for Lubrizol, a chemical company as the regional sales manager for our CPVC division. Still focused on the construction industry but more plumbing and fire protection now.

Probably before my time but what city was he based out of?

The roofing was definitely before my time but it was a thing of legend at sales meetings of how terrible it was to sell that product.

He was based out of Houston.  Yes, the roofing was a difficult sell.   Expensive product to handover to, for the most part, moron roofers.  Correct installation of JH siding was a difficult concept to convey to cornice guys.  Roofing install guidelines were completely ignored by most roofers and jobs were botched everywhere.  

[ROFL BOX 6649]

9 hours ago, deadshank said:

moron roofers

[luke duke 6414]

Glad you managed to catch yourself on the vent.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

2 hours ago, luke duke said:

 

Glad you managed to catch yourself on the vent.

 

Shit no, man.  I don't get up on those crazy type fuckers any longer - that's why I'm the contractor.  I stick to the easy shit.

[deadshank 24653]

Just now, ROFL BOX said:

Shit no, man.  I don't get up on those crazy type fuckers any longer - that's why I'm the contractor.  I stick to the easy shit.

Too chicken for a chicken ladder.  Although, that guy needs a better chicken ladder.

[Horns99 157]

Worked for Hardie for years. In Texas you don’t  want to install any other siding.
I know multiple guys have said PM them but look at Titan Siding if in Austin. They were the number one Hardie partner in Central Texas.

Think I had about 5 estimates & Titan was the most expensive of all

[zork 629]

https://buildingadvisor.com/materials/exteriors/sheathing-wrap/

 

[LebongJames 1813]

I don’t know who you compared them to but that is a little surprising to me. 

Are they all for the same product?

I know Titan was big into Color Plus which is the factory applied coating instead of having to paint afterwards.

[msbesq 387]

We built our house 21 years ago in a suburb of Houston with Hardie Plank and brick. The HP has been incredible. It has never chipped, cracked or peeled. We repainted last year, only because the paint was dull, otherwise the HP was in perfect condition.

[The Dude 1246]

Could those that offered earlier in this thread DM me the details of solid contractors for Hardie install?  I’m fixing to go out for quotes. Bonus points if they do windows too

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Just now, The Dude said:

Could those that offered earlier in this thread DM me the details of solid contractors for Hardie install?  I’m fixing to go out for quotes. Bonus points if they do windows too

You want Hardie plank windows ?

[kevwun 15897]

The energy rating is outstanding for them.

Edited March 13, 2019 by kevwun

[bluto 4942]

Standard ww2 era Single story 1150 sq ft home with wood siding... lots of wood rot, especially around windows. Possible to only replace window frames and a few boards of siding or will it require full replacement? What kinda cost we talking for full replacement

[tucker 238]

17 hours ago, bluto said:

Standard ww2 era Single story 1150 sq ft home with wood siding... lots of wood rot, especially around windows. Possible to only replace window frames and a few boards of siding or will it require full replacement? What kinda cost we talking for full replacement

I was $30k+ for the whole house. We aren't replacing the whole house as only doing for the addition/ remodel part though so quote isn't precise. 

[idigTexas 2289]

18 hours ago, bluto said:

Standard ww2 era Single story 1150 sq ft home with wood siding... lots of wood rot, especially around windows. Possible to only replace window frames and a few boards of siding or will it require full replacement? What kinda cost we talking for full replacement

Mine was $12k+ for full replacement (except soffits) and paint with 25 year warranty on a house of similar size.  The original material was Masonite, which I imagine was a lot easier to remove than wood would be.  My house was built in 1982.  That only matters if the age of your home makes it more likely that they will encounter unforeseen issues (extensive termite damage to the frame, for example), which could increase your cost.   

Another contractor quoted me a price in the range of what tucker mentioned.  They wanted me to order that day, and did the whole "let me call my manager to see if we can do anything" bullshit.  I think I saw the same dude later that day selling speakers from a white van.  Beware of anyone who comes knocking on your door for this kind of thing.  It always pays to get a few quotes.   

. 

[bluto 4942]

Thx to you both. That 15k range is what I expected accounting for a few unseen issues

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Real wood is actually easier to remove vs. Masonite because Maonite will fold up into smaller chunks whereas real wood comes off typically in longer pieces.  Bits of masonite will also come apart vs. larger splinters of wood.

 

Not a great difference in time / effort, but I like real wood better on a demo.

 

Your mileage may vary.