Siding Project using James Hardie fiber board
Below are pictures from a siding project I managed at my own home. I originally planned to contract out the work, but after several quotes, I found the price of labor much too high to justify hiring a contractor. For comparison, the costs of all material for the roughly 500 square feet of siding replacement was $1500.00. The lowest quote I received for the project was $7200.00. Probably in the end, the costs came out to about even with the lowest quote. The nice part was the learning experience to replace siding. Our house was built in the early 1960s, prior to any energy conservation programs or requirements. There was spotty insulation and no exterior sheathing board under the masonite which means no exterior water barrier or house wrap. The exterior sheathing and house wrap were added prior to the install of the siding. The house wrap on the gables was a bit of an overkill since the gables have vents, but I felt more comfortable having he overlapping wrap to minimal overlap specifications just to be sure no moisture would get trapped.
I decided to go with the James Hardie siding product based on recommendations from general contractors I know and the environmentally friendly factors. I had heard people complain about cracking and having to pre-drill holes, but I only cracked one board due to negligence on my part during handling. The nailer and 6d shank nails that were recommended in a Fine Home Building article I read worked great. I never cracked the board during nailing and primed the nail heads prior to painting. James Hardie products are not as expensive as perceived. When running numbers for comparison, I found the cost between James Hardie HardiPlank Lap Siding Cedarmill was only about $250.00 more than vinyl for the square footage I had to cover and a lot more natural looking for the wood siding appearance I wanted. I decided to use the primed material since I was warned that matching the color of the painted options is difficult for a truly even look when going back and fixing dings, scratches, and covering any nail heads that were exposed.
The environmental friendly factors: Sometimes, we do not think about why a product is environmentally friendly from a full life-cycle perspective (e.g. impacts of ethanol). The key is to consider the full product life-cycle from the time the product is made (e.g. factory emissions) to the time the product has lived out its life (e.g. landfill). These factors make the JamesHardie product a winner in my evaluation. The only product in my opinion that would be truly green is the use of reclaimed lumber as a siding alternative. You can find out more about this product's environment benefits here: Products Comparison Guide and a resource that I often use is the Green Home Guide website:
- What's The Best Affordable Sustainable Siding Option?
- A great article for comparing fiber-cement and vinyl siding can be found in this article: Which Is Greener: Fiber Cement Or Vinyl Siding?
- For insulation materials, you can find the alternatives to the pink insulation currently categorized as a carcinogen by CA: Green Insulation Guide
See other furniture and projects here