I'm a retired finish carpenter, US Northwest coast. I put primed 8" Smartside on my own two-story house three summers ago. I chose to vent the wall behind the siding. That took a bit of time. I then pre-painted each piece with one coat of SW Superpaint, rolled and back-brushed, and then did a second coat once the siding was on the wall, also rolled and back-brushing. I primed all nail heads before the final coat. I flashed behind every joint and caulked every seam with OSI. I faced nailed every board by hand to eliminate overdriving the nails; no air nailer was used on the siding. It took 400 hours by myself, working evenings and weekends, but that also included tearing off layers of old siding, fixing the sheathing, replacing the soffits, replacing all the windows, and building a new front porch, so it wasn't a normal siding job. This summer, for the first time, I checked all caulked seams for shrinkage and cut out and re-caulked and painted small sections around four windows and three joints on the west and south walls. The siding and joints everywhere else looked as pristine as the day it was installed. I have absolutely no complaints or concerns with my decision to go with this brand of siding. One final thing, I left a unpainted 1-inch triangle-shaped piece out on the patio exposed to the weather the summer I did the job. It's still sitting there. The edges have swelled only slightly and cracked slightly, but I still can't chip even a small piece from the edge with my fingernail. I'm beginning to think it's indestructible.

Lots here, but here are the points I am most interested in. "If the band under the windows is a sub-sill that is good but if it is flat casing trim it will require special flashing to prevent water penetration. I've seen that mistake result in a major lawsuit." I don't love the look of a sub-sill. I didn't know it served a purpose. Can you elaborate on this point? I was planning on doing flat casing like this: <div><a href='https://www.houzz.com/photos/the-artisan-craftsman-exterior-phvw-vp~14566829'><img src='http://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/3a31985a03bf268a_3-6177/craftsman-exterior.jpg' border=0 width='320' height='212' /></a></div><div style='color:#444;'><small><a style='text-decoration:none;color:#444;' href='https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2116' >Craftsman Exterior</a> by <a style='text-decoration:none;color:#444;' href='http://www.houzz.com/professionals/home-builders/c/Evans-City--PA' >Evans City Home Builders</a> <a style='text-decoration:none;color:#444;' href='http://www.houzz.com/pro/brennanbuilders/brennan-builders-inc' >Brennan Builders Inc.</a></small></div> Windows are already ordered and openings are already cut. Posts are changing. Doors will be bigger than pictured (8 foot) and wider (3'6"). Fake dormer has been removed. We aren't doing keystone head trim. I like the trim of the photo above. We will be using the stone (my husband really likes it). We will be using plank siding on the front of the house - shakes only on front and rear gables (cost reasons). We will be using inner and outer corner trim, as well as starter board and frieze board. Thank you for all of your feedback!

We are also having a million dollar house built and while watching our siding being installed in the rain, several things the installers said raised red flags. I downloaded LP SmartSide installation instructions and found that our nails are seriously overdriven, the ends of the planks are not painted, the butt joints have no space between them, and given all of that, I doubt that the flashing was done correctly, or anything else for that matter. We gave a copy of the instructions to our GC and he said he would have someone come and check it. We have been extremely upset, knowing that we have NO warranty on our siding as it is. I even called LP and they confirmed. They said he is going to have to bite the bullet and replace all of it. From what he said the day we met with him over this issue, he thinks he’s going to fix it. There is NO way to fix it. If they try to cut the boards to create gaps, they’ll cut the Tyvek under it. As it is, I think a lot of Tyvek will need to be replaced when they remove the existing siding because it will be full of nail holes. Construction has moved along very slowly and we just want to get moved in. Replacing the siding will have to wait, but it’s going to be very unpleasant if we need to hold back back enough money to cover new siding when it comes time to make our final payment and move in. Any suggestions on dealing with our GC on that, or do we just pay in full and ask for a written agreement that the siding will be replaced within the first year? No way the original installers will be doing the replacement. It took them FIVE MONTHS to finish the install. The siding was on pallets outside through many rainstorms. It’s the textured, but it should not have been out in the rain as it was. We’ve lost so much sleep over this!

We have LP siding prefinished by Sprenger Midwest: http://www.sprengermidwest.com/prefinished-siding/ We have Foothill for our main color and dark slate in the gable. Honestly it isnt contrasting enough if I had know it wouldnt be contrasting enough I would have stuck with the same color. But it can always be painted one day. But we got samples from our lumberyard and put them up on the framing to get an idea of how lighting affects the color. It does change appearance when hung vertically. We didnt do that with the gable color. It was a last minute choice that my husband wanted. I should have told him it was already all decided and purchased lol!!