our nichiha has been up for a while now and we still have people knock at the door to ask what color we painted our siding. they seem shocked when i tell them it's cement. we're six miles inland in central new jersey and have just come through hurricane sandy with absolutely no damage to the siding. it's unfortunate most of the trees and telephone poles didn't hold up as well. in the meantime, as i drive down our street not everyone was as fortunate. i noticed a newly sided house had to have some repair work done on their hardiboard. ;-) without question, nichiha is superior to hardi. we have a factory finish in weathered gray. love it.

Late to this discussion but wondering how the finish came out and if you have photos? I want to do a similar finish with the nichiha and I'm not sure how to accomplish with the primed shakes. Did your painter apply a translucent paint or stain to allow the color variation to show through? I wouldn't want to paint an opaque color and lose that variation of the "wood" texture. Thanks in advance!

Actually I have seriously considered building a home of light clay and may do so someday. Ideally we should not be building with materials that will not, when we are done with them, be able to return to components that existed in the environment before we intervened. Stone, wood, metal, even ceramic or concrete can eventually break down to ancestor substances. Many plastics will not. The ones I personally object to most vigorously are the vinyls and the styrofoam-related ones. On the other hand, plastics can do wonderful things that other materials simply cannot match. My personal code is that they should be used only when they are the best material, and not when they are merely the cheapest. But I do not make decisions for others, or even want to. You will note that I said what I would do, not what Larimie should do. (In fact, it is just now that I am noticing what an old thread this is. By now the decision has long since been made.) As always, each person must make his or her own decision. It is a wide world, and there is room for difference of opinion. Rosefolly

I think it's a balance between what you really love and location. Yes, in general I do think you need to take location into account, but can adapt what you love to fit. It sounds to me like you like modern or mid-century, which are similar in their lines. Since your neighbors are coastal and bungalow, I think mid-century would fit in better with the neighborhood style than straight-up modern. To me, mid-century can be light (whites and creams), grays, earth tones and even that pop of color you mention, so you have a lot to play with. When you see inspiration pictures, what are you drawn towards in general? Light colors or darker? Without knowing your answer yet, I would probably do a blend of mid-tone warm gray (main body, LRV in the 30s or 40s) and off-white (trim) on the exterior with a pop of color or wood door, just based on the house design and neighborhood. But there are several directions you could go...