Read through the string of emails and found them very interesting...some facts and some experiences; I own a factory finish company (www.aciprefinish.com) I also field painted for 20 years prior to factory finishing. James Hardie sure did put fiber cement on the 'map' and they really helped my business by promoting factory finished siding (They call Color plus); and the fact is there is no way when I painted in the field I could equal or even come close to the quality, uniformity and 'total' board paint coverage a factory can provide. I certainly would not get caught up on the drying process; ACI has done both and a 'baked' on finish is simply for the manufacture to dry quicker, pack quicker and sell you quicker...the saying '... I don't get paid to watch paint dry' is very true. Air dry is the best, just takes longer; air dry allows the paint to penetrate the surface much better providing a deeper first coat base. Color plus is also sprayed on...ok but not the best; flood coat brushes the coating into the pores and specific to our process we have 6 brushes moving and pushing paint into the siding pores; in addition we 'wrap' around the back side edge of the board this further insures back side pressure from your home does not 'push' or 'pop' the coating, just more quality at no extra charge that most will never see or know about. Color should never be an issue though unfortunately a National company can not have every color in stock... locals like ACI can...over 1001 colors. If you are looking for fiber cement there are 4 brands to choose from; again Hardie is very well marketed though we found quality improvements in other brands, lower costs and better warranties. Really splitting hairs if 'we' beat on any one brand...they all have issues and benefits; I recommend looking closely at the texture grain, choose one and then do your research on warranty, price etc. Lastly, someone mentioned installers liking or not liking the installation process of factory finished - red flag if they don't like; our coatings are hard, our touch up comes from the exact batch we painted all your siding with...move on to the next contractor; at the end of day your getting the best coating process when factory finished. This should cost you less and your the one that will be living in your home and YOU should enjoy a long term coating with out having any maintenance concerns for 25 years (with ACI)less with the nationals. Good luck...believe in the process! Tim C President. Here is a link that might be useful: Architectural Coatings Inc.

The test appears to be pointess because it exposes weather resistive barriers to UV radiation of intense sunlight as if that would be a way to see how they would perform over an extended period of time. Of course, these membranes would only be exposed to UV radiation for a week or two and then covered for the life of the cladding. There is no information in the test that could help a designer determine how well a system would perform after 20 years. We already know from testing by the manufacturers that none of the non-metallic membranes will be able to survive exposure to sunlight for very long so it can't possibly matter which one outlasts the other during that short time period. Why not test the membranes under water or exposed to fire? i've removed clapboards from a 120 year old house and found the red rosin paper to be perfectly preserved. That same paper probably wouldn't survive a year exposed to sunlight and rain.

In the attic under the roof, foam seal all gaps at the tops of interior (and exterior) walls to prevent heated moist inside air from venting into the attic space. Such air leaks promote mold and heat loss plus warms the roof. A warmed roof in snow country is trouble. It causes the snow to melt on the upper part of the roof and then the liquid drains to the unheated overhang and freezes making an ice dam and huge icicles hanging off the rain gutter. The condition can get so bad that it wets the interior of the outside walls. If snow is not a concern, heat losses still is. This leakage also affect the cost of air cooling in summer. Make sure that all vents, kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry vent to the outside or through the roof. Do not vent into the attic. Do not skimp on attic insulation. Use plenty. It has a big effect on both heating and air conditioning. I had my attic insulation increased last fall and during the winter months, I measured a fuel reduction of 13 to 15% based on comparing BTU per degree-day between the past two winters. I am also seeing less electric power used for A/C, but do not have enough data yet to make a proper calculation.

@Springtime Builders - thanks for your response. Several questions: 1) Would you consider Benjamin Obydkye's HydroGap® Drainable Housewrap and Tamlyn's TamlynWrap® Drainable Wrap a true "rain screen"? (isn't that the purpose of these products?) http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/all-about-rainscreens 2) Are you suggesting that Benjamin Obydkye's HydroGap® Drainable Housewrap and Tamlyn's TamlynWrap® Drainable Wrap is a "cheap" way of implementing a rain screen? 3) Does Tyvek StuccoWrap® function the same as the Tyvek DrainWrap®? Thanks!