cement siding -- Allura or Haridboard?

[Wild Turkey]

Anyone know much about either?  We're getting ready to build and LOMLWMBO has stated exterior is to be "maintenance free" now that I am too old to go up ladder and stain siding myself


She went shopping today and found Allura at a store and was told (by the salesman) it was better.

Looking for anyone with experience 

[Stwood_]

Contractor son likes Hardi Board. Buy the electric shears while you are at it.

[Philip1231]

You should realize that Hardi Board is not maintenance free: it has to be painted. It does weather fine for the most part, but does not handle excessive moisture very well (paint peels). It has to be installed properly, or it could buckle. I used this on my house about 10 years ago, and I have already repainted once (with small areas that have to be repaired and repainted this spring).

[MstrCarpenter]

There are many vinyl siding products that are maintenance free. The higher cost alternatives to the standard double 4" are quite realistic. There are some cedar sidewall shingle panels that even with close inspection and touching are somewhat difficult to confirm they're actually plastic. Some of the panels have variegated color throughout to mimic stained wood. I think the real challenge in getting a traditional wood appearance is in the way the trim is installed. The panels need to move. Same with cement siding. Putting "J" channel around every door and window is a dead give away, and doing it sloppily just makes a "forever job" look sloppy forever. The better jobs, even those with double 4", are the ones you can't tell are wood or vinyl when you walk by. You may not be really looking to tell; you just notice how nice the house looks with that fresh coat of paint. Then with a little more inspection, you realize they just washed it.

[Wild Turkey]

You should realize that Hardi Board is not maintenance free: it has to be painted.  It does weather fine for the most part, but does not handle excessive moisture very well (paint peels).  It has to be installed properly, or it could buckle.  I used this on my house about 10 years ago, and I have already repainted once (with small areas that have to be repaired and repainted this spring).

Did you get the factory painted or the paint on site version?  We're looking at the "factory" version for the reason you mentioned.  And yes, we will make sure the installers are competent

[lift mechanic]

I used the primed Hardi siding om my place. I Painted it inside prior to installing 2 coats with roller and back brushed. It has been 3 years in a very humid area. No signs of paint failure or buckling. I built another house in the same area using the painted Hardi 9 years ago, no problems. The cost of material  difference is about 40% higher using the painted. The first house siding I installed on 1" of R-max with house wrap so no air gap between the siding and house wrap. My current house siding is installed on 2" of R-max covered with house wrap. Then I screwed 3/4" x 2" CDX plywood strips vertically 24" OC. Then I nailed the Hardi to the plywood strips. The instructions on the Hardi said NOT to paint the back side.

[WoodworkerTom]

I put factory primed and painted Hardie on my house back in 2000. Only painted once since then about four years ago.

Put tar paper on house then siding. Make sure contractor paints all cut ends and caulks. I had a few boards that met a roofline and snow build up moisture caused the cut ends to delaminate. When I put it back up I sealed the ends with paint and silicone caulk, no issues since.

[MsNomer]

I’m with MstrCarpenter. I had our house covered in Certainteed Monogram 5” Natural Clay in 1997. No J-Trim anywhere. I’ve had folks stand on my porch and not know it was vinyl, and it looks as good today as the day it was installed.

[Philip1231]

I got it factory primed and painted. I was told that the distributors won't even sell the product without at least a prime coat. The problem with the factory finish is that joints between board ends and house trim usually are caulked. Its not easy to find the caulk that matches the color of the paint, so you end up having to paint where caulk was used. I suggest getting a good amount of paint from whoever does the factory painting, so you can use it for touch-up. All cut ends need to also be primed and painted. Its a lot faster for the contractor to skip this step: don't let them do that. Butt joints along running lengths of siding also need flashing. Wherever you use this product, make sure no aluminum flashing is down stream of it: it supposedly eats through aluminum eventually. It is a nice looking product, but it has to be installed exactly per spec: or you risk unhappiness down the road.

Did you get the factory painted or the paint on site version?  We're looking at the "factory" version for the reason you mentioned.  And yes, we will make sure the installers are competent

[Just_Dave]

I have used both products with great success.  I used Hardie for the shop in 2005 and the house in 2011.  The paint had held up great on the shop and it really did not need to be painted but we changed color when we painted the house so we had the shop and garage painted to match the house.  The house still looks great.  What I liked about the Hardie was the fact that it painted like a dream.  And I HATE painting.
We used Allura on the daughters house in 2017.  I liked their install instructions much better because they give a clearer explanation on how to handle the joints and a recommended stagger pattern that looks 100% better than what I chose to do based on Hardie's recommendations.  Plus 2 years ago Allura was a good 30% maybe more less than Hardie.  As I recall Allura has a lifetime warranty and Hardie is only 50 years.  Not that it matters at my age but......

One thing I use is that most people do not is the Simplicity joint covers.  Yes they can be noticeable depending on the color and the angle you look at the house but on the other hand they look way better than the caulked joints when they start failing or when the caulk that has been wiped all over the joint starts showing up.  There are two houses I drive by somewhat regularly that both could be used for examples of how not to do the joints in your siding.  I also use the Simplicity corners.   http://simplicitytool.com/index_whsl.html  I also have used a roofing nailer to put it all up.  Allura does push using a siding nailer which I would probably purchase if I was going to do another house.

If you haven't figured out my pick, it is Allura. 

Two pictures below.  The first one is the shop after it was completed.  It is hard to see the joints with the shade and angle of the shot, but you can see how clean the corners look.
The second picture is the daughters house in process.  Joint covers are obvious and no corners yet.  I don't seem to have a completed picture on my computer.

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