just finished a commercial job 23 SQ with all the widths of the XLD 5/4" trim board and the Hardie Soffit
Pros....hardie claims a 25 year maintenance free warranty other than that... ill get back to you on that one
Cons....Trim and siding are very expensive, slow unless you have the proper tools, nails must be set/filled/painted, and i hope you like caulking because it uses alot. hardie recommends everywhere it butts the trim (sides), and paint finish on pre-finished is questionable. There were runs,puddles,sags in the factory finish and paint built up edges. Luckily the finish we had was light mist (gray) so that was hard to see from a distance.
both were pre finished. Scarf your trim if you have a long piece; my opinion, the prefinsihed is nice but you have to do alot of touch up and repainting anyway. The colors available are Sherwin-Williams own colors so matching is absolutely perfect. When starting out, keep the siding 6" from the finished grade. As for cutting, get a Hardie-Blade from Home depot or Lowes. Thats the best thing hands down. Definately worth the $40. I bought The ridig cement board saw that was "supposily" dust free and the best for cutting the hardie (basically a grinder with a circular saw handle). It was a waste. The blade dulled out too fast and since the blade was so thin and flimsy, it would lean when trying to cut the 5/4". The best thing about the cement saw was i was able to return it after a week. I hope this helps
Pros....hardie claims a 25 year maintenance free warranty other than that... ill get back to you on that one
Cons....Trim and siding are very expensive, slow unless you have the proper tools, nails must be set/filled/painted, and i hope you like caulking because it uses alot. hardie recommends everywhere it butts the trim (sides), and paint finish on pre-finished is questionable. There were runs,puddles,sags in the factory finish and paint built up edges. Luckily the finish we had was light mist (gray) so that was hard to see from a distance.
both were pre finished. Scarf your trim if you have a long piece; my opinion, the prefinsihed is nice but you have to do alot of touch up and repainting anyway. The colors available are Sherwin-Williams own colors so matching is absolutely perfect. When starting out, keep the siding 6" from the finished grade. As for cutting, get a Hardie-Blade from Home depot or Lowes. Thats the best thing hands down. Definately worth the $40. I bought The ridig cement board saw that was "supposily" dust free and the best for cutting the hardie (basically a grinder with a circular saw handle). It was a waste. The blade dulled out too fast and since the blade was so thin and flimsy, it would lean when trying to cut the 5/4". The best thing about the cement saw was i was able to return it after a week. I hope this helps
