MaxiTile versus Nichiha versus Hardi & other fiber cement siding
mark_g
15 years ago
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patty_cakes
15 years agoroutey
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Stucco versus siding versus brick
Comments (15)On a single-family residence the main advantage of a shingled wall compared to a brick veneer cavity wall is its simplicity. A shingled wall is relatively easy to construct so that it is weather tight but a brick wall is not. A brick cavity wall is really two walls, an outer one that leaks like a sieve and acts as a water reservoir, and an inner hidden one that acts as a weather/air barrier, drainage plane, and ventilation space because the water has to get out at the bottom through weep holes that are often missing, buried, or blocked by mortar droppings and moisture driven out of the wet bricks into the cavity by the sun needs to get out of the cavity before passing through the highly vapor permeable weather/air barrier, sheathing, and insulation of the back-up wall where it might be stopped by an interior vapor barrier or high perm wall finish and cause serious problems that can be very expensive to fix. A shingled wall has a primary weather barrier of three overlapping layers of dense rot-protected wood over a secondary air/weather barrier that can be detailed to act as a drainage cavity in an excessively wet climate but since shingles do not act as a water reservoir this is not often necessary. So, for both of these residential wall claddings, if the materials are well selected, detailed and installed, they should last far longer than you will own your house and require incidental maintenance but in my opinion there is a far greater chance that the shingled wall will be built properly, the initial cost should be lower, and the cost of modifications (for any purpose) should also be lower. In my opinion, the quality of typical residential brickwork took a bad downward turn in the 60's and another one after the '73 Oil Embargo and again in the developer years of the 90's. It is certainly possible to find a contractor who will provide a good brick wall but from what I have seen just in this forum, homeowners not familiar with brick cavity wall detailing, or who don't hire someone to oversee the work, are too often relying on luck. Here is a link that might be useful: water management in brick walls...See MoreMacadamia Nichiha Shake Photos
Comments (57)Hello there! We are in the early phases of construction and are pretty much sold on the Nichiha shake siding product. Like persnicketydesign and others, we would be the guinea pigs in our area for "macadamia" if we go that way (deciding between that and "maple"). Houses we've visited in person look soooo different than in the photos (and even in the samples), it scares us a little. For example, from the photos and samples we were convinced that we would go with "caramel" to achieve a nice natural cedar look. When we saw a whole house in caramel, we were disappointed... it had a pronounced plasticky sheen and it just looked like a big orange house. Then we saw a house done in "maple" - which we didn't like in the samples - and it looked much more natural. So maybe just a few questions to help us interpret the photos, if you would be so kind! Do you get much of a sheen with the macadamia color? Was it lighter or darker than you expected? The samples have a little bit of a pinkish hue... does that show on the house or does it dissipate over a large surface? Do you see some variation in texture or does it end up more of a flat beige or tan? That's pretty much it, thanks so much in advance for any insight you can provide. Your house is beautiful... really tasteful detail, less is more. Nicely done :-) Stephan (sr@vm1.com)...See MoreHardie Plank Peeling?
Comments (101)I have Hardiplank on SEVEN homes which I own. Speaking from experience the James Hardy product is pure junk. It is highly hydroscopic, meaning iT absorbs water readily. Once the siding has absorbed water, paint peeling is the likely result. We observe that on the south, west and eastern sides of our homes paint peeling is generally less of a problem as the sun exposure warms the siding and drives out most of the moisture absorbed in a heavy rain. The northern exposures are a different situation and that's where paint peeling is the biggest problem. In coastal locations Hardiplank is at its worst. Wind driven rain will force its way behind the siding and will often find its way behind the laps and will literally get between the siding and the paint forming large balloons under the paint filled with water! These balloons can be as large as a foot or two wide and unbelievably can hold 4-6 ounces of water for months until the peeling sets in. You pop the balloon and water runs down the side of the home! Additional areas where paint peeling and Hardiplank delamination often occur are any location where there is a high 'slash' effect off of gable roofs or splash from decks or porches back onto this siding. iF YOU READ THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS, THEY WANT YOU TO KEEP THE PRODUCT 'X' INCHES AWAY FROM DECKS AND ROOF SURFACES, HOWEVER THIS ISJUST NOT PRACTICAL IN MANY CASES. In a real sense this is Hardy's own admission that the product is not suited for geographic areas of the US which receive a fair amount of rain due to water absorption. I've read lots of painters saying the problem is the paint. Over the years, we've tried all the major brands including Behr and Sherwin Williams and numerous others, and in our experience the paint makes little to no difference. In our view the product is not suitable as an exterior siding unless the structure is located in an arid environment like the southwest. Many homeowners have been told it's an installation problem. Except in the rarest cases, I do not believe it. I have seen rampant delamination of the product 2" from a patio surface and 20' above as well. I have experienced the butt joints open up as much as 3/4 of an inch on hot southern exposures. All this means that the product is swelling and shrinking constantly and inherently causes paint to peel as a result. In short, the product does not appear to be suited for the purpose for which it is intended: SIDING. I would not put it on a dog house!...See Morex-posting: Exterior paint for fibercement siding?
Comments (12)Thanks everybody. And, after reading all the links (especially the one MightyAnvil posted) I'm more confused than ever! It looks like paint manufacturers change their formulations before enough time ever passes for anybody to even figure out if the old formula really held up as advertised or not. One has to hope that no company would go from a better formula to a worse one and that the reason for the constant shifts in ratings is because the various companies are leapfrogging over one another with their new formulations. If that is the case, we should eventually reach the point where every paint lasts 100 years or more. HAH! More likely, companies change formulas as various ingredients get more or less expensive so they can maximize profits. (I can just imagine some company pencil-pusher thinking, "Let's see now, if we use cheaper ingredients, we'll make more profit but only until our reputation starts to suffer and we begin losing market share. So, just how long can we slide using this cheap formulation before we have to start using good ones again so we can advertise 'Reformulated to last 25% longer!' If we play this just right, we can make money coming and going!") Beginning to think paint could be a "ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances" kind of deal with the only real info available regarding quality being that much more expensive paints are USUALLY better than really cheap ones. Dixiedoodle, did you find copies of SW's actual warranties posted somewhere on their website? I looked but couldn't find them. Just the basic descriptions (eg."25 years") but not the actual warranty language with all the various exclusionary language that is always included....See Morerobin0919
15 years agojodierd
15 years agoskk1
15 years agoskk1
14 years agomikeanton
10 years agotmw5219
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoberto87
8 years agoKaren Wischnefski
6 years agoEd(Edwina) and Stephen Ci
6 years ago
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