HELP re Hardiplank siding (heat, color, installation, glue)
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We live in Texas, in a 5 year old formerly new home. Since this is Texas, we get some pretty intense weather extremes - scorching heat in summer, sudden rain or hail storms, etc. Of course there's nothing really protecting the siding, which we've been told is Hardiplank. Today I've noticed some issues. Maybe someone could please help me, or point me in the right direction in terms of which contractor I should call?
-- The planks are nailed on the top and appear to be glued on the bottom. It has to be glue because I don't see any nailheads on the bottom of the plank. For some of the planks, it seems as if the adhesive has worn off, and while the plant remains affixed to the house, the lower part is loose. Doesn't seem right to me. Shouldnt the plank be nailed on the bottom too?
-- The spaces between the various planks are showing cracks. Are those called joints (not familiar with construction lingo, so I'm not sure). i think caulk was used on these during the install. I guess we need to apply caulk and repaint? What can be done in lieu of caulking everytime. We have a large two story home that would take forever to caulk.
Should I get a handyman to make the siding repairs, or for the first question, is this a builder problem with installation.
Hi
Hardiplank is good stuff! I love it! I have been to factory rep seminars and have seen a lot of it! It does need to be installed and maintained correctly.
Google : hardiplank installation guidelines
and you will get the top sites filled with info including the installation guidelines for your area. It does sound like it is not the material itself in your case; rather some installation and maintenance items.
As QIS stated, Hardieplank is good stuff, one of the best. This does sound like an installation problem.
You need to contact the John Hardie company and have their manufacturer rep come and look at it. There is a guarantee, as long as it was installed correctly.
I recently inspected a NEW house in which hardieplank was installed incorrectly. The installer used a nailgun set too high, and blasted the nails almost all the way through......siding was falling off everywhere! Sad when good stuff is installed by idiots.......
I have never seen or heard of hardieplank siding glued.....
Also, pictures posted would probably help. Good luck!
Your siding was blind nailed. The preferred method for the sun belt.
Better builders prefer face nailing- and some siding installers. It reduces the chances of this exact discussion. The biggest advantage to blind nailing is there are no penetrations within the exposed face of an individual plank (which makes for a reduced paint cost- painter has less prep work before actually painting).
As far as the joints are concerned, there should be a 1/4" gap (to allow for expansion) between each plank, it should be caulked with a latex based material.
One thing of note- I bet the install was not done correctly. I bet there's no flash material behind the joint.
As far as your individual case- it's time to repaint the house. The weather conditions for the Austin/Round Rock area can be harsh. The average life expectancy of exterior latex paint is 5-8yrs. Regardless of what a manufacturers guarantee/warranty is.
Hardiplank is one of the best siding materials but it must be installed correctly. I believe blind side nailing is the preferred method because you do not want to expose nail head joints with hardiplank. The bottom should not be glued imho or nailed. The joints should have heavy duty felt paper underneath the joint for protection and no caulk(per hardie guidelines). The caulk will shrink and fade in color which will look like drips in a couple of years...that is why heavy duty felt paper is the preferred method. Hardiplank should only be installed by a certified contractor of hardiplank.
Face-nailing (at the bottom) is recommended in high wind areas, but you would not blind nail and face-nail, too.
The stuff waves and buckles enough without excessive nailing.
"James Hardie does not recommend the use of caulk at field butt joints."
I agree. Expansion and contraction of the siding means that the caulk fails before the paint fails, and then you have to paint the whole home sooner to make it look good.
Flashing at field butt joints: "As required by local codes."
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