Hardi Plank And A Miter Saw Or Table Saw

k9kuma

i am wondering if i can use a compound miter saw or a table saw with hardi plank siding and soffits. I know i need a diamond blade, but are these tools usable for this>? i am doing my first hardi plank application on my own house, and i am trying to work out all the details. do any of you have good suggestions on a hardi plank installation? what about if you buy hardi plank primed and paint it, is there a way to get the paint to last as long as if it is finished at the factory? any suggestions on the trim to use, should i use hardi trim? is there a better choice? what about barriers behind it, is tyvek or 30# felt better? What type of nail gun is best for this application? really as you can see from my post i am looking for best practice specifics from those of you who have worked with this product.

Thank You
Todd Klein

Teetorbilt

Hardie products work very much like wood but expect shorter blade life in any saws that you use. I use carbide blades, obviously a diamond would last longer but you can't push it as fast.
In the wake of our hurricanes, I am trying to determine the structural integrity of the fascia and dripedge by applying to the company before installing on my home. I'll post the engineering data.

Grumpy

Use carbide tipped blades and you will need both saws. Also consider some dust collectors.

Primed is the minimum you can buy. Prestained is nice because you get a color warranty and it is coated on all sides which means even if you decide to change the color the back and butt joints are less prine to delamination and water penetration.

I definetly encourage everyone to buy the prestained product because it will be cheaper that hiring a painter and like I said above it's staed on all sides which makes it a better product. A painted can only face paint.

For trim boards I encourage miratec instead of the hardie. It is a composite product and I think it just looks better, plus takes paint/stain better as well.

k9kuma

What do i do with the main power supply that is coming off the pole when siding that section? This is my first house with over head electric supply. any advice on this area would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks Todd

Grumpy

If you can't slide the siding behind the electric conduit/pipe then what you have to do is take some trim board and miter cut one end. Butt that mitered end up to the pipe and seal with a HEALTHY dose of caulk. Then butt your siding against the trim piece as you would any trim piece.

pondman

Sorry Grumpy but I like painting this product. I feel it lasts much longer being fiber cement. One coat primer two coats paint.

Use a typical circular saw with concrete blade. Don't ever use good compound miter saw for this because of the concrete dust. For corner boards and freeze board they also make a fiber cement product. Make sure to use 5/4" thick so the overlapped siding doesnt stick out.

For installtion I use a roofing nailer with 1 7/8" nails @ 16' oc.

Neil_K

Y'all didn't mention caution with the dust. Hardie's website says to be really careful not to breath the dust because it contains silica. I also think I read somewhere about electric shears that do a pretty good job cutting?

Oh, and do you really mean 16' OC Pondman? I didn't know the boards were that long!

Grumpy

I don't see how paint can last longer. A) no painter in my area gives a warranty, let alone a 15 or 25 year warranty. B) The product is stained on all sides, not just the face. C) Stain is a thinner material than acrylic paint and the fibercement is literally bathed in the stain allowing it to soak the stain into the substrate. Paint is too thick for the fibercement to sponge in the material.

I am willing to bet if you paint a piece of hardie and cut it for a profile then cut the profile of some prestained hardie, you will see that the prestained penetrates deeper into the substrate.

pondman

16"oc is your framed wall...........Nail Hardiplank to wall at top on 16" center
After it is sheathed and tyvek installed chalk; your verticle lines for your studs.

Understand now :Thumbs:

JMO grumpy.....Paint will last a good 7 years or more like this. Also the color can be changed if you sell the home. Not sure if staining allows that. But then again just an opinon.

Mark

Grumpy

Yup staining can take more stain or you can paint ontop if you'd like. The painters will correct me but I know a few painters in my area and even the guys who do touch up painting use stian to paint cedar rather than paint.

I couldn't tell ya why, but there must be something to it.

here is how I look at it. A) I get a warranty to pass along to my customer which is a marketing tool. B) I get to have the customers whole house painted for less than it would cost to hire a painter to do it which is also another marketing tool since I don't paint.

DavidD

To respond to the questions about cutting Hardiboard, I have always used the specially made saw blades for fiber cement siding. DeWalt makes one, so does Hitachi. They'll run about $50. I have used other cheaper saw blades, but they just don't last as long. I plan to buy fiber cement shears soon because I've heard they work great and the best part--virtually no dust! To nail, I have a couple of siding coil nailers that I use with galvanized rink shank nails.