We decided to go with fiber cement siding, with LP Smartside for the trim. We'll be DIY, so I am looking for any tips or things I need to keep in mind.

Also, because of how we're building our house we will have the siding up before we actually get any work on the inside done or even started (electrial, plumbing, hvac, etc. etc). My concern is that we do not have every single through the wall opening located. Obvious things like dryer vent and outside light fixtures we do, but what other penetrations should I plan before the siding goes up so that that flashing is done properly? I think it is easier and better to have these openings stubbed out and sealed correctly before siding goes up. But can additional holes in the future for unforeseen penetrations through the wall be done so that water management is good? For example, we have locations for some outdoor electrical boxes that we'd like handy, but what if later we find we'd like to add extras? Is it hard having the siding already installed?

Thanks.

I would look at the fiber cement line of siding accesories from "mid america" for outlets, hose bibs and other utilities that need to penetrate the siding, these devices make the siding penetration as small as can be expected and look pretty good.

Saw these at the Int'l Home Builder's Show in Las Vegas.  They're flashing panels for plumbing, electrical and HVAC.  The demo showed a clean, quick well-sealed penetration. 

www.quickflashproducts.com

Yes put in all your protrusions before.  It's easier and you will have a cleaner install of the siding.

Thanks for the links and reply.

Now the question on our minds is *how* to fasten the siding.
Upstairs we had 2x6 framing with 1/2 OSB sheathing and 1" R-board sheathing. In the basement we have A-1 form block ICF.
We are trying to find a fastening method. My DH thinks we will need to pre-drill then use RS nails to install the siding since he's read about blow-out of the siding. I read somewhere that Certainteed (which is what we bought) is not a forgiving as hardie and that it will blow out.

We don't own any nailers so we'll be either hand hammering or hand screwing each piece.

What should we use? RS nails? Spiral nails? Roofing nails? Certainteed is not very helpful. They list to use fasteners recommended in this ICC report but neither ICF nor over foam sheathing is listed there.
For screws they list to use fiber cement screws, but the ones I can find are 2 1/4" Is that long enough? The requirement is min 3/4" penetration with screws into the structural framing. Does the OSB count as structural framing?

Will nails work on the ICF webs? Or are we better off going with screws?

These links might be helpful:

http://www.100khouse.com/2009/02/25/home-slicker-instant-rainscreen-house-wrap/

http://www.sidingmaster.com/Furring-Master.htm

If you are going to use nails, for this part of the project and/or other parts, go for the nail guns. I'd assume they'd pay for themselves in no time. Also consider that you could sell them when you're done if you don't think you'd have a need for one again, or rent a nailer from a tool rental place instead of buying.

Thanks Want to build. I'm not sure that we have in the budget extra to add the furring, though it is a good idea.

My ICF guy says that the ringshank nails will work great in holding the cement siding to the ICF's. So, they ought to work just fine on your project. Shoot it on with a nail gun. I went to Menards and bought a Bostitch N66C, on sale for $265 or something like that. Will save you tons of time and much, much frustration. Also get yourself a set of Gecko Siding guages. They are great! We decided to go all Smartside on our ICF home. We were sold on the Certainteed fiber cement siding, but looking at the two products side by side, we liked the look of the Smartside a better. They construction guys say they have soaked that stuff in water for months and it never affected it, so we decided to take a chance. Time will tell I guess. Boontucky, you are in Iowa, right? Where at in Iowa?

Thanks Kj. I'm in Boone county, hence Boontucky-girl. I missed the e when I created my login. I have lot's of people ask if I'm from Boonesville, Kentucky. LoL.
We're going to be using LP for the trim boards. We went with certainteed because we bought it on a great sale and it was the cheapest option.
I wonder if RS nails would be good to use on the framed part. I have stud covered with OSB, covered with 1" r board.
We were thinking of buying a nail gun if we decide on nails, or buying an auto-feed screwdriver with collated screws. I found that they make the cement siding screws collated.

OK, You are a little ways from me. I'm in Clarke County. I have been using my nail gun to shoot 2 1/4 inch RS nails through my Smartside, 1/2 of foam insulation and into 2x4's. They hold very tight. I am installing siding on a very big Hydroswing door. I haven't started installing it on the ICF's yet. So, the answer is yes, the RS nail will work quite well for your application. I've been told they shoot through the fiber cement board just fine, I just haven't actually tried it. I searched high and low when we going to go with the fiber cement siding and the nail gun with RS nail was the preferred application method. A good source of info is the forum over at JLC Online. Some DIY's use screws when applying to ICF's but that would be overkill for you.

If anyone is interested, here's an update.
After getting so many different opinions while searching online for an answer to the question of how to install our certainteed fiber cement siding on our house, we decided just make a choice and see what happens.

We settled on ring shank nails shot through an air gun. My DH built a mock up wall with studs, OSB, 1" foam and shot a few nails through the siding. No blow out on the siding, and can't pull the nail out, so that will work great.

On the ICF, however, nails will simply not work. We had some scrap pieces of blocks and shot nails through the siding into them, then put in some screws for comparison.
With the nails, the siding felt loose and when we tried to do a pull out test, we were able to pull the nails right off! To do some investigation, we tore off the foam to take a look at the ties. The problem is that the nails are splitting the ties and breaking them. The screws, in comparison, only do a small hole, and that siding is stuck on there good. The screw was pulling through the siding and still stuck in the tie without sign of budging.

Our problem might be that out ties could be made with recycled plastic instead of virgin. I read somewhere online (don't have the link) where someone made the comment that virgin plastic ties will do well with nails. It depends on the block I suppose, but the brand we have doesn't seem like it will do well with nails.

So now after ordering 3000 stainless steel nails for the basement, we're switching to stainless steel screws. We will screw the siding with individual screws. I know it will take ten times as long, but after seeing what can happen with nails, we're just don't have another option. And we decided we'd rather buy a new drill, than an auto-feed drill, since we don't see us using an auto-feed drill after siding.

Here's a couple of pictures fyi.