Fiber Cement Siding Question

davinci

you guys using a nail gun for fiber cement? what else you guys use?

rbsremodeling

My subs use guns. My guys hand nail it. To be honest it I prefer the hand nails

__________________

rojigga

Ha, Hand nail! Guys who hand nail are getting paid by the hour. There's no way I'm paying a guy $20 bucks an hour to waste time. Not to mention the hassles of holding a piece in place while you fumble with a hammer and nail. Turns a one man job into a two man job

Check out the Max Super Sider, that's what I use or the Makita siding coil nailer; I tried it a few times and I liked it.

tinner666

[QUOTE=rojigga;462768]Ha, Hand nail! . Not to mention the hassles of holding a piece in place while you fumble with a hammer and nail. QUOTE]

Why would you hold it in place? I use the Malco Installation brackets/gauges.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

thesidingpro

Why use the malco's when you can use the green sucker....

Hardie plank is 3 man minium job. Those clips make it possible to hang by yourself but that's about it. IMO

__________________

rojigga

1 man job to install. 2 for a cutter/installer setup. Theres a homemade tool we call the labour saver. Lets you install by yourself when you would have had to pay a labourer to help you install it.

Prep the walls, mark your studs, mark your top of sheet for the whole wall. Chalk your lines. Install. I hate those guages as it puts everything out by the time you get around the building. Pull measurements off the same thing everytime. After the wall has been prepped, and although it might have taken a bit longer, when you start installing you get to turn your brain off and just do what you've already told yourself what and how to do.

You might not know what I'm talking about unless you've done a big building with multiple installers and had all the lines match when everyone meets. Gauges just help butcher jobs and make installers scramble to "lose an inch" around a corner.

I could see them work if you're doing a job solo and you're on top of yourself to make sure you don't go wrong anywhere. But who wants to do a job by themselves? There's a reason employers employ.

thesidingpro

I was joking about the green sucker. I hate all the solo siding tools.

I totally agree with everything you just said. I'm running a 6 man crew right now on a 330sq. job.

I've done alot of big projects. My next one is 500 sq. siding plus trim.

I'm getting ready to start on this wall here in a couple weeks.

http://thecontractorsclub.com/album_...ort_order=DESC

62' tall by 325' long.

__________________

tinner666

I definitely agree with marking the lines on the whole building. I use a laser to level all the way around.
I use the tool to hold my siding, not to align it. Makes life real easy. I set 2 nails 1/2 way in, remove the gauges, adjust as necessary, nail it tight.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

thesidingpro

If you are a 1 man show or do not install alot I could see them helping you. Production wise though they slow you down. I like having a second guy on the walk board or basket with me anyway. Just to hand stuff to me and put nails in my gun etc.

Just a extra set of hands helps alot and the clips can't do everything your hands can.

__________________