GC is contacting LP and says he is going to replace it with the textured siding. It's not the look I wanted but I am happy he is going to take care of it. The question is wether or not we want this same sub to install!!

If he uses the same sub, well nuff said

So why isn't he using the smooth siding you wanted since he has to replace it anyway? Ours came out perfectly flat.

His inability to perform the task he agreed to be hired for should not mean you need to settle.......................

New pic, former application

Dormer

I think they used the soffit material which is thinner than the trim, so the window protrudes.

I would expect this instead.

Right now we are in the midst of installing the LP textured siding. By we, I mean my husband, son, and I. Our siding sub-contractor got hurt and we can't find anyone else before the snow flies, so we are figuring it out our for ourselves. I'm painting the siding on the ground before installing because who knows if we will get a painter on our job before the temps dip and it's impossible to paint.

Anyway, the 16 foot long pieces are like handling noodles. Even though I have 4 rows of stickers underneath them, I noticed the minute I put wet paint on the boards, they tend to sag and droop. As soon as they are dry I take them off the stickers and stack them flat. If yours set for many months in the rain on top of pallet, I can only imagine how warped they became.

Also, I sincerely don't want to upset you or be mean in any way, but I compared how my siding is coming out being installed by people who have never done this before and how yours is installed, and I think I would insist on another installation crew. I'm very happy for you that your GC agreed to replace it all.

Would LP be able to recommend an installer who really knows what they are doing? Trying to figure out the best way to find someone new.

suru11, thanks. At least the house is "covered" for the winter. We live in PA. At this point, I think our best bet is to leave this up until spring and replace it then. Good luck!

PPF, that is what I expected ,too. It just looks weird. I will be sure to be very specific when I find a different company to do the work.
Any tips for us as we begin the search?

This is the center gable

I'm sorry Alison you're going through this but nothing about any of it looks right including the window in your latest picture.

And I'm sorry, if you're paying 7 figures for a house and you want the smooth LP siding, then you should get the smooth siding.

Also more knowledgeable minds might weigh in but it looks like your flashing is wrong too? I thought the flashing goes UNDER the roofing material? Am I wrong guys?

I'll go by my house later and check our metal roof to be sure.

Yikes! This is sounding worse and worse. All the more reason to find new sub! Sigh....

Your local LP rep may be able to recommend a crew, but I'd want to review their work before hiring.

The key is getting your expectations across in a way they will understand.

Drawings of specific details will help, as will mock ups. Review what is wrong with the job, and make sure they understand what you see as being correct.

I linked the install guide above, and it should be followed for the technical details, like nailing schedules and storage etc, but you will need to be clear on architectural details, like the dormers.

As I said above, most crews will be focused on speed and "good enough", tract home style quality.

There is no reason the smooth siding will not work, as long as it's handled and installed correctly. As an installer, I would strongly prefer the more rigid textured strand based product, but a pro crew should not have a problem using the smooth fiber based siding.

As for the roof flashing, don't know where cp sees a problem, but.

There are multiple correct ways to flash metal roofing, depending on the specific roof type, manufacturer, etc. The roof to headwall connection typically looks something like this.

Thanks for clearing that up PPF on the flashing. I'm going to check mine though as it's just going in now.

These two images show the difference between 3-1/2" window and corner trim (top), and 5-1/2".

3-1/2" is common, I prefer the 5-1/2", and sometimes, depending on the scale, even larger.

I did a 3 1/2" trim for the sides painted my siding color and then did a 5 1/2" trim for the windows. A lot depends on the style of the house though.

I did a 3 1/2" trim for the sides painted my siding color and then did a 5 1/2" trim for the windows.

I do that too when painting the corner trim same as the siding. Most of the places I build/work on are small and same color corner trim seems to make the house larger -- nothing to stop the eye as you view the house.

As a general note, flashing always goes over whatever is at a lower elevation, and under whatever is at a higher elevation. It has everything to do with the effect gravity has on water. :)

The piece in PPF's illustration that goes under the roofing is partly just a beauty trim so you do not see bare wall. It also helps lock down the flashing to resist wind.

I checked with LP. There are only 3 Preferred Providers in all of PA!! Those are the contractors who have been specifically trained by LP to install Smartside. None are even close to me. No idea how to find someone knowledgeable at this point. I'm amazed that so many use this product without the proper training.

Wow, will LP send a rep out to train your GC ?

Being trained as a Preferred Provider is more for marketing than learning to install.

The Installation Guide I posted above contains all that is needed for a correct installation, if it is read, understood, and followed.

The material needs to be inspected when it arrives on site, and stored properly.

Lp smooth and texture are two different products. Smooth is rarely used compared to their texture siding - both are wood based. Not the best but better than vinyl.

Speedycrip2000,do you prefer Hardie?

"Bether than vinyl" perhaps from a current marketing standpoint but for durability, maybe not.

Vinyl creates it's own rainscreen, an air gap that allows better drainage and drying. Wood, LP, and Hardie need to include a rainscreen, like those provided by furring strips, to compare with vinyl's durability, regarding the structure that siding is meant to protect.

To me, LP and Hardie is the new vinyl and with a lack of rainscreen, may not perform as well over time. Rather than focusing on certified installers, I would seek those who are comfortable incorporating rainscreens.

Rainscreens are not required on LP or Hardie - parts of the country recommend rainscreens, maybe some would require - but this is not a national code. Certain applications when fry-reglet trims are used require rainscreens with the 4x8 sheets. Both LP and Hardie create air gaps between every piece of lap and shake siding. Vinyl is a low grade entry level product in my own opinion - in the area I live it’s only used on entry level homes and remodels. Are there some nicer vinyl products? - sure but those products cost the same or more once installed as Hardie or LP, so why use them ?

@Alison Christie - I do prefer Hardie over LP. Building a new personal home this year - using Hardie again. But be careful - other types of fiber cements are out there. They are the biggest garbage of them all.

@Alison Christie - PPF is correct in regards to installers on the website - LP requires volume of product installed plus some courses to be taken if I am not mistaken. You don’t need of these guys to get a good install. Just someone that can read a manual and cares about their work. Same goes for a Hardie install - their website guys aren’t required to get quality work.

True there are air gaps, but without a rainscreen the top edge of the planks are tight to the sheathing or housewrap so this blocks drainage and drying. If not using a rainscreen, at least use a drainable housewrap. In areas where rain screens are required, vinyl does not need the same rainscreen details because it's drainage and drying path is less interrupted.

Not advocating for vinyl, just saying its likely to protect a house better than lap siding without a rainscreen. Rainscreens also extend the life of paint or stains. Code is the cheapest quality allowed by law and this is one area it might make sense to do better.

For a fiber cement alternative better than Hardie, check out Nichiha. Boral is now offering lap products that look very promising.

Nichiha in the north where I am from has a horrible track record - wish it performed better, they have an awesome looking shake product - it just fails. Boral is very promising - just so expensive - 3 or 4 times the cost of Hardie - I can’t justify it yet. I use the boral trim in areas other trims can’t go. So far so good. I agree with using a drainage wrap - always a good idea. Hardie plank in the north isn’t squared at the top and bottom - it has Angeled edges at the top and bottom of the board to promote drainage.

I got quoted $1.00 a l/f on boral 1/2 x 6. Hardie runs .60 a l/f for a similar product. Not sure where you are getting the 3-4 times the cost number.

On siding I was talking about the big price gap - it’s prolly closer to 3x vs. 4x. Still not worth it when I have had great success with Hardie. Same with Hardie trim vs boral trim - why pay 1200 dollars or more on my house I am building to have boral trim vs Hardie trim? I am not bashing boral - just asking why spend the money. Boral has lots of promise - just need the price to come down a bit to spend the extra money for myself or customers.

I'm talking about siding. The extra $.40 a l/f for Boral lap siding represents a .6x "price gap", no where near 3x-4x. Much of this extra cost is negated by easier install and better product quality overall.

That’s great you have a cost position like that - that’s not the case where I am. I have had multiple quotes from different suppliers. Also no price breaks to install boral vs Hardie in my area. Cold weather requires a prefinished product. Boral being primed caused issues for me as well.

Springtime and others- so how would you recommend LP be mounted on a home also using Zip board? LP install manual seems vauge (to me) on this.

First with the zip - make sure the taped seams have all been rolled over with the proper tool to ensure a tight seal. Technically the best solution in my own opinion is a rain screen - rainscreens add cost to everything - need extensions to your windows, doors etc.. if they come in contact with siding - but as we have discussed on the forum rainscreens provide a great drying aspect to your exterior wall system. Also if it’s smooth siding from LP I would not recommend using that. Texture product is much better. I still can’t get over the gaps at the joints - that’s a purely personal preference FYI.

We are having literally the EXACT same problem and we are super bummed about it. We are going to ask our contractor to tear all siding down now and replace it with Hardie lap siding as it does not expand/contract. So sorry for you, and sorry for us. So frustrated.

Maybe this has already been stated but the smooth Smartside plank is not the same as the textured plank. The former is a fiberboard product and the latter is an aspen wood wafer board. The smooth stuff is more flexible and therefore more susceptible to damage from improper transportation and storage.

Here are some good installation details.

Linsayyaw, I’m sorry to hear you are experiencing the same thing. I wanted you to know that our contractor was able to replace the LP smooth with the LP textured and the house looks great. It was replaced on LPs dime. We lost time, but not money. Our GC also told us that LP is discontinuing their Smooth product. I hope your contractor will go to bat for you! Good Luck!

This has been a big problem for LP and its been difficult to find anyone who stocks the smooth siding. I've been hearing the story about it being discontinued for years. I would trust no one who makes siding.

Al Otto, thanks for letting me know, really helpful! I'll be sure to let them know.

RES 3d Sketches, also appreciate the feedback. Here are a couple photos.

Al Otto even though you lost time it is good LP picked up the tab for the correction.

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!

This product failed on a brand new house in southern Louisiana. We have been in our home for 24 months and about 6months ago we really noticed a change. Actually a year ago but not as profound until 6months. The warranty company admitted that all 2300 square square feet of the product has to be replaced so we got 3 bids ranging from 24-25k and the warranty company offered 10k which barely covered the cost of just the boards. So don’t believe this warranty because we now either have to come out of pocket 14k or get an attorney just to make our 2 year old home right!! BEWARE!!!!!

What the hell. That stuff is junk.. I also live in South Louisiana and am looking for siding on new construction, I guess Hardi Board wins out.. These images are amazing..

That looks awful. We had a problems with fiber cement cracking and fading on our last house. we swore we would never use it again. Now this problem with the look alike.

sounds to me like the safest bet is good vinyl or a natural product like cedar shingles.

dd is getting ready to build a non-brick colonial house in Chicago suburbs and wants it to “fit in” with the older homes there.

wish I could talk her into brick.

I posted above and in response to my complaint, LP sent a rep out. He told us he saw no issues with our siding and we would still have the full LP warranty. Now, this is what we have on the east side of our house. I’m going to contact LP again tomorrow.