Barndo Question of the day: Siding (Smart Wood Lap Siding or Hardi Plank)

[GARY]

I not knowing much about hardi (dad likes it on his house which was built about 12 years ago) and having experienced the trials and tribulations of wood (Squirrel problems last two homes with them gnawing on siding), I contracted Hardi for our non stone / metal areas.

My contractor indicating they normally using smart wood lap siding , saying while it's more expensive it has advantages in some instances over hardi
1)You can double nail on top and bottom of the board whereas you can not with the hardi. (the bottom lip of the hardi shatters when you try to do that)
2) As far as painting, you would be painting both when due to be painted in a similar timeframe.
3) acknowledging We have not found that there is any significant savings Hardi does have a better fire rating.
4) They have found that hardi tends to be more brittle when installing and harder to install.

Thoughts / regrets / comments most appreciated!!

Gary

[Huntingallday]

I've had hardi on my house for 16 yrs. Only had to paint twice in that time. It also never rots. It can breakout if nailed too close to an edge or corner. But I installed mine with a roofing nailer and didn't have much issues.

[4xBuilder]

Hardi (Fiber Cement) beats smart siding in every category, besides ease of install.

A professional will know how to install it without it cracking.

One trick is to use wider head roofing nails.

Hope this helps.

[sailor]

I'm kinda going through the same decision. (Different house)
Nearly 15 years ago, I had "State Wide Remodeling" put vinyl siding
on my house. It's never needed, painting. It's never been damaged, in hail
storms. And looks as good today, as it did the day it was installed.
So, I'm just asking the question from ya'll. Whats the advantages of
this Hardi siding, over the vinyl.????

[Huntingallday]

Hardi won't burn. Vinyl will. Sounds like you got good siding installed Sailor. Most vinyl will get brittle as it ages.

[Bisch]

Barndo Question of the day: Siding (Smart Wood Lap Siding or Hardi Plank)

I just put hardi on my house and it looks great (had a contractor do it). I had wood siding before and it was all rotting. I won’t ever have to worry about that again!!!

I can’t give you any long term evaluation because it just got finished a little over a week ago, but we love how it looks.

Bisch


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[sailor]

Hardi won't burn. Vinyl will. Sounds like you got good siding installed Sailor. Most vinyl will get brittle as it ages.

That's what I was expecting too.
They did an excellent job..

[gumbl3]

Hardi is a pain to install.. the dust sucks, it breaks, special blades that are expensive, 12' vs 16' so it's slower, it's heavy..

That being said it's better all the way as a finished product, the above is why he's trying to steer you away from it

[Allpublic]

I have installed alot of both. Hardy used to be what everyone wanted, but these days id say 75 percent of my customers are going with smart siding. They both have pros and cons. There is no doubt smart is easier and quicker to install. In my opinion it looks cleaner and seems to hold up well. I have only seen it swollen once, but it was used at the bottom of some columns, and cut edges were basically sitting in water. Hardy does become brittle over time if it isnt painted well and receives alot of direct sun. But, it doesn't rot, has a better fire rating, and is not really that hard to put on either. An argument could be made for either product, but I doubt I'll ever use hardy again on any of my personal stuff.

[Huntingallday]

Yep, thats the worst thing about hardi is the dust. But it can be scored on both sides like sheet rock and snapped. No need for cutting with saw.

[W E H]

I use hardi wherever i can on my properties but you want it done right, by a good installer. wear a mask if you're doing it yourself, those fiberglass particles are killer on the nose. i am looking into some of the precolored stuff on few up and coming projects. i do not care for hardie panel exterior, the plank looks nice and is easier to replace if it breaks. although if you replace the whole big 4x8' sheet that works to. my experience with smartboard was limited to inside of garages and it works great. i do not like sheetrock garages

[MAP]

the contractor doesn't want to do the extra work or want the added expense for him. The reasons he gave you are to help him out

[Stetsonoverton]

I’d go with smart siding. Install both regularly but i think smart siding looks better when it’s finished seems that you can’t ever countersink nails good in hardie and overtime they like to back out. And it takes lots of water and time but hardie will rot don’t let them tell you otherwise

[Benno]

I’ve built a lot of houses with both products. I would choose smart siding every time given the choice. I guess squirrels could chew it, never had it happen on any of my projects. Smart siding will not rot, it’s been on my camp house for about 12yrs unpainted and still fine. When I first saw the product I did not believe it wouldn’t rot, we sunk a piece in a container for 6months until we gave up, every time we pulled it out it looked the same. Hit a piece of hardi with a hammer, it breaks, swing away at the smart siding, not a dent. It’s durable. Just in case I was unclear, I am a fan.

[Huntindad]

I'm kinda going through the same decision. (Different house)
Nearly 15 years ago, I had "State Wide Remodeling" put vinyl siding
on my house. It's never needed, painting. It's never been damaged, in hail
storms. And looks as good today, as it did the day it was installed.
So, I'm just asking the question from ya'll. Whats the advantages of
this Hardi siding, over the vinyl.????

Hardie siding is classified as rock/brick and should lower your insurance premium. Little harder to install, but last forever.