What are all the extras I'll need to put up Cement Fiber?

[Michael Schumacher]

I'm trying to go and price all the extra materials before we make a decision to do the siding this fall or wait till next spring.

My house is 2300 sq.ft., this measurement doesn't exclude the window area.

Right now I have the following items:

1) Siding
2) Trim
3) Nails
4) Caulking
5) House wrap
6) Saw blade to cut CF
7) Flashing for windows/doors
8) Tar paper to put behind the joints of the CF
9) Soffit and Fascia
10) Gutters and Downspouts
11) Paint

I don't know if there is anything else that I need to include in this list, other than tools, but I'd like to have a complete list.

Oh - if you have an idea of how many pounds of nails and tubes of caulking would be needed for this sq footage, that would be helpful.

Thanks, Michael

[Jim Becker]

Ladders, jacks and platform? A helper or three? (Not a one person job to carry and put up this stuff) A way to get "level" all around the house and find your starting point? Plenty of analgesic? ;)

You are using a pneumatic nailer, are you not? That's a really big job to do by hand-nailing...

[Michael Schumacher]

Ladders, jacks and platform?
Yes - planning on using ladders and ladder jacks - unless the neighbor still has the scaffolding from his BIL.


A helper or three? (Not a one person job to carry and put up this stuff) Well - I've got my wife to help some - a neighbor might help now and then - I could call my BIL a couple of times and call a few friends too. I mostly was planning on doing it myself.


A way to get "level" all around the house and find your starting point? A co-worker used a bucket with a hose on the bottom to find level around his house for doing his deck. I'm going to see if I could borrow it or make it.


Plenty of analgesic? ;) Yep - have a good mask and will use it - plus goggles to keep dust out of the eyes. A fan to blow it away and a vacuum to suck it up - if I can rig it up.


You are using a pneumatic nailer, are you not? That's a really big job to do by hand-nailing... Wasn't planning on it due to the cost of it - plus I don't know if I could get nails that would work with one.

[Matt Ocel]

You NEED a set of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009YUMG

Also I would not use Tar paper behind the seams - It might bleed.
Cut pieces of house wrap.

I use a 15G finish nailer to fasten the trim boards.

[Doug Sewell]

Spend the extra money and get the sheers for cutting the FC, well worth buying them (amozon) or you may be able to rent them. Also make some sort of gage to mark the face so you can keep everyting the same.

[Jim Becker]

The reason I mentioned help is that the stuff is very wiggly...and will break if not handled carefully. It's also not light-weight, per se. I cannot imagine trying to lay up a full piece without at least one helper...I watched the pros do my home as part of our addition project and there was always extra hands involved in placing and holding the material. I moved some of it around myself during the job for incidental cleanup so I can tell you the wiggly part is not fun.

My crew used coil nailers for the job. You may want to consider renting the proper gun. It will make your life a lot easier. The fasteners should be easy to obtain, too.

Analgesics are for the pain your body is going to feel throughout this big job! Take your pick...Tylenol, Advil, Aleve... :D

BTW, one of the biggest jobs for this is laying out the stud locations and snapping off lines. You'll need help for that, too.

[Matt Ocel]

Jim -

For stud location, I find one, then pull layout from there checking periodically, I then mark the studs and use a black marker and 6' level.

Aa far as snapping lines, only on the first course, then use the hangers.

I use the hangers because they set the piece at the proper reveal, and it allows one person to do the setting and nailing.

My crew consists of two people, the cutt man and me.

[Bill Arnold]

Michael,

I used Hardi Plank on my shop addition and Hardi Panel on my utility shed. I started with a circular saw blade made for CF board -- costly! A neighbor told me when a crew was doing his cousin's house they used a plain steel blade and it worked better. I tried an old steel blade (no carbide tips) I had and it made the cutting much easier. Cutting the stuff creates a lot of dust. I used a fan to blow the dust away from me while I was cutting and, of course, more a dust mask.