Tib...I'm considering Nichiha Sierra shingle siding among other things. I just ordered samples in three colors from Carolina Colortones. Google search didn't reveal houses in any of the colors I ordered. Did you find any houses in the Dark Chestnut?

i ordered the samples in the Charcoal and Barnboard in addition to the Dark Chestnut.

I'm working with a woman named Anita from Carolinacolortones right now, ILoveRed. She's wonderful. She is searching through the pics of their projects and they are trying to identify the different colors, and as she does, she sends me the pics with the identifying color. It's something I think they need to work on with their site! More pics and with the colors identified.

I have really enjoyed by interactions so far with her/them. I have samples from them of the Dark Sequoia (way too red for my taste, but you might love it considering your name!), Dark Chestnut - very nice but need pics. Not sure it has enough pop to it; and Dark Teak, very nice. It will likely come down to the Dark Chestnut or the Dark Teak for me. She is trying to find pics of the Dark Chestnut for me and more of the Dark Teak.

This is one they have identified as being Dark Teak, but the siding is something called "Spanish Moss" and it doesn't look green or brown/green at all to me (or to her), so it makes me wonder how well the Dark Teak is reflected in that pic as well. It looks very different than the sample I have of it from them.

I'm excited about the Nichiha, though. I have read only positive things about Nichiha, and their samples are very nice.

Do you have Anita's contact #. I would love to reach out to her.

did you have a pic of a house in Dark Teak?

No, I do love red but I want a more " earthy" color for my siding I think. The Dark Chestnut is nice.

Tib...look at this thread. If you scroll down, this house was built on GW in 2007 and was Nichiha. Not my favorite color but really beautiful. I don't know what the color is. There was another house about the same time that was a beautiful gray.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4186133/flare-detail-on-shingle-style-home?n=10

Below is the pic they know is Dark Teak, but look at how gray the siding is. Spanish Moss???

Here is her contact info. She works Tues. - Thurs.

I suspect the color in those pics you put up is the Nichiha Sierra in Terra. they offer Hazelnut and Terra, and I got samples of each and dislike both of them, hence my expanding my search and finding Carolinacolortones. The Terra is SO red and the Hazelnut is too yellow. Bums me out because of the added cost to have Carolinacolortones do the coloring.

Is that the only two colors they offer without doing the Carolina colortones?

and that picture looks very gray to me as well.

can you get the siding primed and paint the product? Similar to other fiber cement products?

Thanks for Anita's info

Most welcome :-)

Those are the only two "natural" colors, I believe. They offer paint colors, as does Carolinacolortones.

Yes, you can get the siding primed and even paint or stain it yourself. I meant to ask Anita if they bake it in any way to have it preserved longer than if I did it myself. but I really don't want to do it myself. there will be way too much of it, and as she pointed out, their machinery gets it done uniformly, which is important with stain.

I will look into the cost differential of having CCT do it and hiring painters to do it once it's up, but again, I am more interested in something that will last and not fade, so if CCT has something in their process that does that, that will be a major consideration for me. If you ask her, let me know what she says.

Yikes, Lily's mom. I'll definitely look into that. Thank you!

Thanks Lily. We have already had a less than good experience with fiber cement siding as well. That's why I would rather use cedar. But, dh is afraid of woodpecker damage more than trying fiber cement again. The Nichiha seems to get get reviews but I will definitely stay away from staining and thanks for sharing. Our bad experience was with Certainteed and cracking issues.

i think the Nichiha might be a better product.

what product are you using on your sweet yellow house?

Thanks Tibb...I will contact Anita next week.

I'm leaning once again toward LPSmartside now, Ilovered, only painted a color rather than stained. I think I cannot afford the fiber cement plus having it colored. But the stained LP smartside is not good looking close up, but the solid paint is fine. I've seen it on a house.

Lily...whatever we choose, we are going to try to find installers that are very experienced and know what they are doing. I agree that proper installation is critical no matter what the product.

may I ask what color your yellow is?

eta....thanks for the heads up on the fly ash in the Nichiha. I didn't know. I have been researching like crazy now and may be ruling it out.

Tibbrix....they are selling the LP Smartside like crazy around here as a good substitute for the fiber cement which seems to have lost favor. The Certainteed was the product that was most used around here which we now know of course was not a good product. So now everyone is gung ho on the LP Smart side. I'm not convinced but more importantly neither is my builder. He went to some kind of show on Sunday in Indy and looked at the product and told my dh that he didn't like it.

Im afraid that in 5-10 yrs houses all over the place with this product will start failing. No documented problems yet however.

HSo what is the answer?????

my choice of course is cedar, but won't fly with dh and our builder. Looking again real seriously at James Hardi shingle siding.

eta...tib, I have seen the painted LP on several houses closeup and touched it. I think it looks good and is virtually indistinguishable from fiber cement. Just to be fair.

Received samples of Nichiha from Carolina Colortones. Wow. I am impressed. Heavy, thick and colors look more like cedar (not so homogeneous). This is the Barnwood. The middle one.

the Nichiha is really, really nice. I've let it go, though, because I just can't afford it, esp. with adding the cost of Carolinacolortones.

Wanted to let you know, though, about a product I learned about today. There has been someone building a house around the corner from me today, and the siding is SO gorgeous, and I've been meaning to stop in and ask the contractor what it is. I looked exactly like dipped cedar. I finally stopped today, and felt is and was bummed because between the look and feel of it, I was sure it was cedar. Turns out the guy who is building it is the owner - he's building his own house for retirement - and he told me it's a PVC product called NuCedar. He was raving about it. and I'm telling you, it is GORGEOUS. He had his painted in Sherwin Williams Intellectual Gray, but it has this beautiful translucent look to it. He's got black windows. It's just beautiful. I went home and looked it up, and called them and they are sending me a bunch of samples.

She told me that if you pick one of their SW colors, there is no uncharge but you can also pick your own paint color from BM, SW, whatever you want, but there is an uncharge for any paint color that is not in their (limited) palette.

She told me also that they cannot use colors with LRVs lower than 25, I'm pretty sure she said it is. They put a reflective coating on the boards. It has something like a 30 year warranty.

My neighbor building the house said it's expensive, but I don't know what that means at this point. Seems like everything but Vinyl is expensive.

LP Smartside sales guy is coming tomorrow and bringing samples, and the guy building the house gave me a piece of scrap Azek so that I can hold it up against samples to see the white trim with colors. (REALLY nice guy!).

I'm excited about the NuCedar and am hoping I can afford it.

Btw, my BIL, a contractor, told me today that Nichiha is almost double the price of Hardie. Ugh. I'm off the fiber cement, at any rate.

Thank you so much- just ordered samples. This product looks gorgeous!

We did not find the Nichiha to be any more expensive than Hardie. The Nichiha shake is definitely epxensive. Just have to be thoughtful about where you use it. We're doing a mix of lap siding and shake.

Lizzie, which did you order?

I am completely jazzed about the NuCedar. Hope I can afford it!

Tibbrix....I ordered the super white and the Argos in both both textures and sizes. I'm excited to receive them!

Tib...I will spend time today researching this product. Thanks for the heads up!

Ugh. Apparently the NuCedar is mega expensive, like 30% MORE than Hardie!

They get you coming and going. Makes me crazy.

Lizzie, but what brand and product?

Just wanted to second rmverb. Nichiha and Hardie were the same price in my region. I am using a more contemporary finish but there was no real price difference. I would call around and get pricing before eliminating Nichicha if that was your reason.

That is what I'm going to do, homeport. I know I really want the NuCedar, but the price is scaring me off.

Tib...I can't even get my hands on a piece of the nucedar to look at it. I've spent the last two days researching and reading about siding. Went to the local lumberyard that will supply most of our new home supplies. They are selling the heck out of the LP but refusing to sell any more fiber cement after carrying the Certainteed FC exclusively and getting burned so badly i.e.: reputation, etc. Honestly, I wanted cedar to begin with and I think that's right back where I am. I think I have my dh convinced as well. The product is Shakertown. I may change my mind by morning but as of now, that's where I stand. What do you think you are going to do?

Lily...thanks!

Call NuCedar in Chicopee, MA, and speak to them about dealers in your area, how to get it, and have them send samples. They'll send you samples. They are sending me three color samples (at my request), a sample of their Board & Batten, and I think a sample of it primed.

I'm really deciding that, I don't need so much (my BIL/GC says I need in the vicinity of 1300 Sq. Feet) that the extra cost is going to deter me from going with NuCedar. Its properties and especially its gorgeousness is, to me, worth spending a bit more. However, I am really hoping that I will like at least one of the colors on their provided palette so I don't have to spend yet even more on having them paint them in a color of my own choice. I don't want to paint it myself.

This stuff is so beautiful.

Certainteed had a huge problem a few years ago and I guess a LOT of people got really burned. But so did LPSmartSide, and as far as I know, both have addressed those issues. I think Certainteed is now Allura.

Btw, when I get the samples, from NuCedar, I'll take pics and put them up here.

My neighbor used NuCedar shakes with their SW Intellectual gray, Worldly Gray on the trim, and he has black windows, and it is all beyond gorgeous.

Oh dear, the NuCedar samples arrived today. I don't think I can NOT get this stuff. The Ancient Marble and Wool Skein are off the table because I don't care for beige exteriors, but I really like the Quiver Tan, so I'm going to go with that. Still have to get pricing and all that, but that's my plan as of this moment. I don't want to pay an upcharge to pick my own color, so thank goodness I like the Quiver Tan. White trim and dark bronze windows. It'll look very nice, I think.

My neighbor's used the Intellectual Gray on his, which is also gorgeous.

Tib..I would love to see pics when you get a chance.

I'll put some up tomorrow.

It appears my camera, or at least the USB cable, has bit the dust. It is not connecting to my computer to download the photos.

Frustrating. Used the camera last week and it was fine.

Used my phone to take the pics, and the pics really stink, so sorry about that But here they are.

I asked for the "Rough Sawn" but this stuff also comes in smooth. I'm going to be doing clapboard and board & Batten in sections.

Closeup of the grain

Color: Wool Skein. Next to a piece of PVC trim (Azek/Wolfe)

Ancient Marble

This is what I'm going to go with, Quiver Tan

Btw, in those pics, you can see my icky "red" cedar siding which needs to be replaced, desperately, and how much the NuCedar looks like it. NuCedar also feels like wood. It's eerie. You feel like you're going to get a splinter, and you feel like you are holding a cedar shake.

Thanks tib. It's pretty. I take all of my pics with my phone or iPad so all of my pics are pretty mediocre.

What does the back and side look like?

the quiver tan is very nice.

eta...funny, you want to replace cedar and I want cedar!

the back is just the white PVC. Sides also don't matter. Apparently NuCedar has to go underneath the trim, or is mitered at corners, so you never see any sides. I read somewhere someone complaining about that, saying that is like vinyl siding and it looks worse rather than butting up against trim. .However, NuCedar has PVC pieces you clip in place on the side the trim so that it does look like the siding is butting up against the trim.

I love cedar. I live on Cape Cod and cedar is the siding of choice around here. But it is high maintenance, and I do not want to maintain my siding and trim. Cedar should be washed and stained or sealed every 3 - 5 years! No way. Not doing that.

Hi tib. Here's the instructions for installation of clapboard. It looks like upb is some kind of flashing? But I read the instructions twice and never did see what upb was exactly. There was upb adhesive. Cut sides do not nucedar paint. Instructions look pretty straightforward.

Couldnt find instructions for shingle nucedar?

the reason I wanted pic of side...Curious about what is inside or the guts. Is it pvc throughout? Some products are osb, foam, etc. What's inside nucedar?

http://www.nucedar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NCM_ClassicClapInstall.pdf

Yes, it is PVC throughout. It's like Azek.

Apparently it does expand and contract, but they have clips for the installation which allow it to do so w/o damage.

I found this video. Not sure about the shakes. My neighbor used shakes on his house. If I speak to him soon - and I hope to - I'll let you know what he says.

http://www.marketinia.com/product-review-of-nucedar-materials/

UBP = Universal Bearing Pile....whatever that is. Lol.

Tib...I just ordered samples of the Nucedar and I'm still researching it. I talked to a place about an hr away that has sold it. 700 $ a square.!! This stuff is indeed spendy. Is it made of gold, lol. Found this thread and I thought you might want to read it. I haven't ruled out the Nucedar.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/experiences-with-nucedar-pvc-siding-dsvw-vd~534704

I know Azek is very expensive, and it's the same stuff. the price is the only thing that will break it for me, but it is SO much nicer than the other stuff that I am willing to pay a premium for it. I just don't know what that premium is yet. In addition, I think with both Nichiha and Hardie I'd have to have them sent out to be painted, which would likely make fiber cement more expensive than the NuCedar, which has a color I'd be happy with.

It's so frustrating, the costs.