I'm sure it's been addressed before, but thought I'd throw it out here.
I'm getting ready to side my SIP home with FS siding. Have checked with the building inspector and will be using 15# felt instead of housewrap.
My main question is concerned with what fasteners to use. Will a ring shank maze nail work OK or is an ardox type better? Or maybe neither. Screws?

Located in western NC

Thanks
Mike

Posted By mblab on 16 Jun 2010 05:53 PM
I'm sure it's been addressed before, but thought I'd throw it out here.
I'm getting ready to side my SIP home with FS siding. Have checked with the building inspector and will be using 15# felt instead of housewrap.
My main question is concerned with what fasteners to use. Will a ring shank maze nail work OK or is an ardox type better? Or maybe neither. Screws?

Located in western NC

Thanks
Mike

Mike ;

hardie has specific fasteners as noted on their installation instructions .................. Hardie installation

This topic has been addressed before in this forum and I have done quite a bit of research on the subject. I personally will be doing the same install as you shortly. I am going to use screws, There is a screw designed especially for fibre cement siding, they have a large flat head "Superdrive #8 x 1 5/8" $66.98 per thousand at Home Depot.
I do not live in a high wind area so I will probably blind screw, but as far as I have been able to determine, Hardie will only warranty face nailing on SIPS.

Standard "Deck" screws don't work well - we been using them as the first hanger (so you can pull and reposition) and then nail the rest. Face nails hide fairly well under caulk/paint, but they're not invisible. The screws tend to be more obvious. We're ultimately planning battens on the outside of the siding, so it's not as much of a concern, although the battens may take a while since they'll be purely cosmetic.

We're adding 1x strips, nailed with 8d ring shank, on top of the SIPs (and so under the siding). It might help with support, it might help with noise or it might be a complete waste of time. It could be a moisture problem in NC - water caught behind the siding may rot the 1x's. Since I'm in the desert SW I'm not really concerned about that - the 1x's provide space for any moisture to dry out, which will happen here, and quickly, but maybe not in more humid areas.

Unrelated to the question, but Malco produce a product call "Turbo Shears" which attach to a drill and cut fiber cement. For about $100 these are lower cost than dedicated shears, a major time saver and cut really well. Probably faster and more versatile than a saw blade (you can cut quite sharp curves) certainly less dust.

Same idea, but since it's a dedicated tool it's twice the price. The Malco product fits on a standard drill, makes it affordable ($106 vs $239) even if you're only doing one project.  I haven't used the dedicated tool so I can't tell you whether it's better, but the Malco tool has been working for us.

 

Thanks Stonecaveman, I may purchase this product. Do you think I can do one whole house without breaking it?

vb , stonecaveman ....

we have used other Malco products and they are functional for small jobs but not durable, it will certainly not have the  longevity that an electric motor provides. If you are cutting a whole house the investment is worth it. It can also be used to cut hardie floor underlayment.

Why felt instead of housewrap?

That's my plan.  We have about 2000sq.ft. or so of wall and also the soffits. It does cut cement backer board, we did that over the weekend.  It'll also cut the power cord to the drill - my son figured that one out. The product comes with a one year(?) warranty.  We did have a bearing break on the tool after only a very few sheets, but Malco replaced it without any hassle and the replacement seems to be doing fine.

I doubt that the cutting head is much different, the whole mechanism is only about 4 bearings, one of which is eccentric to drive the cutter up and down, even noting Chris's comments about longevity, I think you'll be fine on one house.  The blades are replaceable and I suspect we'll need at least one replacement. We use it with a corded drill rather than a cordless, we only have little 12V drill/drivers, which actually work, but the corded has much more power.

It took us one or two boards to figure out you do better cutting from the back of the board, it leaves a cleaner front edge.

Don't they say that two layers of felt is the way to go?