What type of exterior do you have on your house?

[slj0101]

[jmowreader]

1. Masonite (ugh!) siding

You know that cheap-ass pressboard they use as drawer bottoms on cheap-ass furniture? Someone decided they could make siding out of it.

It worked as well as it SOUNDS like it would work.

This is the trip: James Hardie, who makes fiber cement siding (they mix one part sand with three parts fine mason's sand, then mix nine parts of that with one part hardwood sawdust), makes it in the exact "smooth beaded" profile most of the 1970s-era Masonite was made in. I know it's the same profile because they bought the profile-calendering roller Masonite made their siding with. I show this product to people attempting to replace Masonite smooth beaded: "I don't want that. It's not exactly the same." What are you going to do?

[hippywife]

3. LOL

I didn't read your post before I posted. I love, love, love our Hardiplank siding.

[snacker]

19. Same crappy masonite here...

my husband is outside right now replacing some of it. Can't afford to re-side the house right now, so he's replacing some boards and then we'll paint the house...hopefully that'll last for a few years anyway.

[hippywife]

2. Hardiplank cement fiber lap siding.

http://www.jameshardie.com/

Supposed to last 50 years and hold a paint job for 15, which is important because of the sun exposure we get. Cost is comparable to vinyl siding but so much more durable and looks nicer.

[jmowreader]

15. Did your home come with Hardiplank, or is this a remodel?

Check this shit out: If you remodel your home with fiber-cement siding (Hardiplank lap, Hardiboard vertical, Hardishingle shingles, GAF Purity shingles, or CertainTeed WeatherBoards), ALWAYS call your insurance agent and tell him/her what you have done. Insurance agents love fiber-cement siding. It is fireproof, so some insurance companies will lower your premiums.

And the cost is not "comparable to vinyl siding"--Hardiplank is less expensive because there are fewer trim pieces in a fiber-cement system and the ones you use are less expensive.

[hippywife]

21. This is a remodel.

My husband built the house himself before we ever met and put that masonite sheet siding stuff on it. Of course it began to deteriorate in the OK sun after about 14 years and didn't hold a paint job very well. I wanted to put something on the house that would last for as long as we do because we can't just be redoing this stuff. We don't make much money so everything is DIY, ya know? This is what we settled on. We did stick with cedar trim.

Oh, and the blades they sell especially for Hardiplank? Don't bother. Good circular saw blades - 24 tooth carbide blades (IIRC)- work as well and are alot less expensive. We also bought these but they didn't work as well as advertised but came in really handy. We used them to hold one end of the siding while the other end was nailed. They hold the siding too far away from the surface to drive a nail through without cracking or breaking it:

http://www.amazon.com/Malco-FCG2-Cement-Siding-Overlap/dp/B00009YUMG/ref=sr_1_12/102-7029383-9276954?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1180207478&sr=8-12

I do know about the insurance bennies but that doesn't help us right now as we can't afford that right now, either.

I also read an article while I was researching the stuff that had a story about some folks who had used it on their summer home (somewhere near the Gulf or Carribean, I can't remember where right now) but their home was still standing and looked like it had only been sandblasted clean after a hurricane went through the area.

[trackfan]

4. stucco

[Broken_Hero]

5. Other, stone

around half of it, the other half is vinyl I believe....

[MissB]

6. Old house = wood.

[Xipe Totec]

7. Asbestos tiles

no, I'm not yanking your chain.

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. Other: Regular Brick

:shrug:

[Digit]

9. Real brick and not the veneer variety

'Cause it is an older home.

[Hangingon]

10. real brick

[Auggie]

11. Vinyl siding. Whatever you do, don't paint it a dark color.

It'll buckle in heat. Like mine.

[Nicole]

12. Brick

The real brick.

[Adsos Letter]

13. typical california tract-style

[Suich]

14. Wood shingles, installed in 1912.

Painter just finished up today!

[BrotherBuzz]

20. Lucky you, my 1916 vintage shingles are screaming for attention

[lost-in-nj]

16. Stone and Log

and siding



lost

[KitchenWitch]

17. Shitbrick colored stucco!

:P

[Tyler Durden]

18. 102 year old original cedar siding over planking.

I LOVES my house.