We have had hardie plank on our current (we built new 10 years ago) home and have had significant issues with trim pieces rotting and falling apart. our builder used the hardie material for both siding and trim. The siding pieces have functioned well and the paint on them looks just as good as when the home was built (10 years ago) The trim however has been a disaster. In several places on the roof (near flash molding on dormer windows) it has completely disintegrated and fallen apart. And trim around doors at the bottom near the ground has also fallen apart. In both cases, it appears water spashing up has damaged the material. Although this problem has been going on for years, the time it took to get our builder to deal with it and the company to respond they say we are out of warranty. We have arranged to have some reduction in costs, but still we are spending thousands of dollars to get trim replaced. In short, as a personal user of this product, I would NOT recommend using it anywhere near where water will splash up against it or snow come in contact (we are in northern climate). The planks seem to work well but the trim in our experience is not reliable over what I consider a short term (home only 10 years old). Our next home (we are moving) we are getting vinyl.

Matt, There have been some great posts here about insulation from several folks. Glad you were lead to the BCS, and GBA site - great, great info and resources there. I would also add that you should look at CCHRC.org (Cold Climate Housing Research Corporation) on the web - they have a whole builder's resource guide that outlines how to build with exterior sheathing (Using a technique known as REMOTE, based on the PERSIST technique). Dew Point calculators, and other building resources are vast at the CCHRC site. You can insulate only on the outside (this is the most durable wall construction, healthy (as long as you manage interior RH) and energy efficient too). See the PERSIST and REMOTE walls for further info. For a builder of any value these are not hard to do - just different than throwing up conventional homes. Insulating on the exterior gives your wall a solid layer of insulation (say 4" of Poly Iso) and a True high "R" value. Let me add a few more thoughts: Current RBC/IBC states you should have minimum R-5 on the exterior. As mentioned in several posts previously - this will reduce conductive heat losses through studs. You CAN install Fiber cement over exterior foam with rainscreen, and it won't deflect - (BSC) did a study on this. Hardie Plank has construction details for this. You can get XPS, EPS, and poly-iso rigid foam insulation that is aged (reclaimed), and far cheaper than retail - by sourcing it from a reclaimed insulation dealer - they are all over the US. Key is to find a dealer near you to reduce shipping costs - I am buying 14000 sq ft of insulation through this same market for my house renovation here in NH - Yes I did say 14,000 sq ft (yes three 000's) I will have 6" on my exterior walls, and 9" on my roof. Insulation Depot.com is one vendor I know of that sources insulation all over the US. Search on craigslist, or google.......I am getting mine ISO for $.24/board ft and XPS for $.30/board ft so you can save a ton going reclaimed, and feel good about it also :). It is true that Poly-Iso can have a reflective aluminized layer on it, and if placed against an airspace will increase the "R" value. (This foil was actually placed on Poly-Iso originally to reduce it's aged "R" value loss. There is also a insulative board made by Roxul. It is a fire retardant rock-wool board (ComfortBoard IS). It allows walls to breath much more than XPS, EPS or Poly-Iso. This can be a benefit (depending on design). It is bug and pest resistant, and maintains it R value over time. It's has a lower "R" value than poly-iso, but doesn't "age". It also can't be sourced from reclaimed dealers -so you have to pay retail :(. Know that you can actually do more harm though (to the durability of your walls, and you health), if you use too little foam on the exterior, while still insulating within the stud cavity - Check out the CCHRC.org decade long study on wall cavities and exterior sheathing. It is amazing how much mold grows in typical construction on the inside of exterior sheathing...... :(. Good Luck and Happy New Year Happy New Year This post was edited by allhandsworking on Sun, Dec 30, 12 at 0:16

ascorsonelli: Love your house! Did you find that imperfections in paint were more easily visible with the smooth Hardie? I am building a house that is traditional in style, but I like the smooth finish. Trying to decide which to use, and my husband thinks the one advantage to wood-grain is that paint drips will be more easily disguised. Do you still love your smooth finish? Thanks!

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!