Hey folks, our project is steadily progressing and within the next week i will have to decide on the way im going to fur out the siding and roof for a rainscreen. The structure is SIPs and im considering ripping down OSB into strips. Im planning on Hardie shingle panels for siding and some form of metal for the roof. Any advice on any tips or tricks or pitfalls while doing this would be greatly appreciated. Starting mon we will be building our overhangs and corbels. Thanks for everything, michael

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

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Brawler, Look up "Benjamin Obdyke home slicker". Also look it up on the Sips forum.

I would use something other than osb.

Post.

Thanks for all the input. i'll let you know how it goes.

another option for you might be vaproshield rain screen components

Adi

We generally just use 1x stock to rainscreen. Cheap & readily available. It dries out fine (that's what the rainscreen is for...), and unless it would be sitting in standing water no need for PT.

1x stock is also what I would typically specify for rainscreen furring, and it is adequate for most siding types. I recently researched Hardie's requirements for furring behind Hardiplank, Hardishingle and Hardipanel siding. For wood furring, the plank and shingle siding require minimum 3/4" thick material but I was surprised to find that Hardipanel siding requires 1-11/16" thick furring. The difference seems to be a wind resistance issue (NER-405 Table 2). Fasten 1X3 or 1X4 furring to the OSB skin with the appropriate screws spaced no more than 8" O.C.. Fiber-cement siding is heavy! When furring around door/window openings or corner trim use furring that is 2" wider than your door/window/corner trim so you'll have something to nail the ends of the siding to. Also make sure you have all your details carefully worked out so the system will be flashed correctly. And mice love to shelter for the winter behind rainscreens that aren't rodent proofed. This may not be an issue with your project because it appears that your siding will be well above grade but for projects where the bottom of the siding is nearer to grade it's important to make sure air venting at the bottom of the siding is rodent proof. Most rainscreen venting products on the market are plastic and thus not at all rodent proof. I specify 10/10 galv. steel birdscreen to be bent on a brake and wrapped around Cor-A-Vent or similar vent strip material. Looks like an interesting design! Good luck with your project.

Mark Hinrichs
Design Coalition Architects
www.designcoalition.org
Madison, WI

Thanks everyone for your replies. Has anyone used 1/4 inch fan-fold insulation ripped down to 2 inch wide strips. I found this method in Joe lisubeks building science sips book. He states that 1/4 inch is all you need. Souns great but that is the only reference to this method i have seen. Has anyone seen this done. I wounder if it will work with hardie shingle. It sure would bee cheap. thanks michael

If using XPS insulation for furring strips, I would rip 1/2" boards of it rather than the 1/4" fan fold. The 1/4" fan fold XPS is a lower density with a lower compressive strength than the rigid boards. But I'm not sure if this would be the best option with heavy fiber cement siding.

You may want to check FMI- EPS in Idaho. They manufacture a fan fold EPS product for under siding and a Fan fold roofing recovery board. I here that theeir prices are very competitive and they have exceptional service. See the Link below.

http://www.fmi-eps.com/

Brawler, What did you end up using for your rainscreen? How is the rest of the project going?

If you are putting on a metal roof I've read that it is best practice to attach metal "Z" type nailers.
The metal is shaped like a Z in section.
What it does is it lets the metal panels move.
The length of the panels make movement a big issue. It is accumulative so a long panel moves a lot at it's ends.
What happens if you just scew them down is the screws work loose.
With the panels screwed to the z strips the movement happens in the verticle part of the z. All the screws stay put.