You think you can? Well, give it a try!

Hanging a 12' panel of fibercement alone is not an easy task!

Michael

I was on a crew that did 20 squares of hardishingle over the winter. It was not a fun task.
Wait until you read the spec sheet for hardiplank, hardishingle, etc. It has to be detailed "just so" which takes an infuriatingly long time. All cuts must be painted, the flashed areas above horizintal surfaces have to leave a 2" space. There must be expansion gaps at all ends. I wouldn't apply it over foam insulation, because the first person to lean a ladder on it is going through!
The dust is hazardous. Needs a special saw.
I got to do the laced outside corners on an angle bay window. This would be a breeze in wood, with a block plane, but it took a good week to execute in Hardishingle.
God, I'm glad that job is over. And never again.
On the bright side, the stuff came pre-painted.
Casey

Hi,
My installer told me that each board has to have 2 feet cut off so the seams are staggered. Add in the time to measure and line up each row of boards. Then, each board has to have the nail holes filled/caulked and each board has to be caulked. Are you a single or 2 story house? Is scaffolding involved? Is your entire house going to be sided?
I am currently choosing between the prepainted Hardie board or the plain, and then painting myself.
Good luck! Jenny

We ended up using custom-milled poplar clapboards to match our existing house rather than the Hardie. The product cost was about the same, but installation was MUCH less. I can't remember the exact figure, but it was significant. We still had to paint it, of course.

We have a two-man crew working on our house. It probably took them 20 working days if not more.

A friend of mine hung the Hardie himself. When he got up about 5 feet, he quit and brought in a contractor. His back was giving out holding the planks up to nail them.

Re:tis question. I know it's probably too lade to help Maddiy, but for the next diy'er who reads this thread- I'm not a homeowner/installer and I have the tools and the equipment. For a skilled installion crew figure 22 square feet of coverage per hour per man. Plus building paper, flashings and trim installation. On many new houses the production rate is 1/2 of that 22 sq. ft when you factor in the other items. Don't forget the time involved in taking your existing siding or stucco off and the disposal costs. It's easy to damage the inside wall finishes if you get too enthusiastic on the outside. You also need special cutting tools, scaffold and the means to control dust inhalation- Hardi products produce silica dust when cut- not good stuff for your lungs- the professional should have the means to control it. As for the lady who used poplar siding- the Hardi will easily last five times as long and need painting five times less often. Its not the easiest product to install, but the best siding solution there is- and I live in the land of big cedar.

I know hardie is the rage these days. But what about the long term durability? After all, LP siding was the rage years ago. Now it's Hardie and composite decking, which is a another story. I work as little as possible with it. Just repairs when doing decks. Seems to chip very easy. Had some leaning up against the house one day and it rained that night. The next day it must have weighed twice as much. It was like a wet noodle. A product absorbing that much water is not my idea of weather resistant. Sure, it might not rot, but couldn't the fibers or what ever is in it break down over time. Yes it wasn't primed, but even paint breaks down over time. Otherwise we would never have to paint again. Don't take this personal to anyone who might respond but none of us knows the long term effect of this product. I'm sure I'll get responses praising it, but for me, I would never use it. Give me an all brick house any day which I have. Lived in my house 16 years and never paid one penny on painting!!!!

We have just finished the hardiplank portion of our outside remodel. THe GC had to go to the best carpentry guy out there and pay more money to have the stuff installed. The result is that it looks very, very good. It was a huge pain to install, the guy did it himself and wore a dust mask and kept remarking on how tedious it was working with hardiplank but frankly it looks so nice that we are pleased with our decision to go with it. We can't use brick in Ca. due to earthquake considerations and this stuff fits the bill. Painted, it looks like a million dollars. I highly recommend it as a job for a professional.

I have a 2 story house with all sides hardiplank except the front which is brick. The house is 3000 square ft and I am trying to determine how much value hardiplank offers when estimating the listing price as I try to sell it.

A follow-up comment: I've been reading elsewhere, at this forum and on other boards too, about Hardiplank failures occurring in cold northern regions at alarming rates. It appears that nearly all of these have involved pre-finished (painted) Hardiplank, a particular product that I never used a decade ago.

Failures like this (essentially of the finish itself) are a far different thing from failure of the actual Hardiplank siding. I can completely believe they're occurring, and I can also (sadly) believe that the Hardi Company hasn't been nearly as good in their responses as they should be (because, after all, LOTS of big companies are poor about dealing with product failures).

My posting above wasn't to suggest that Hardiplank is perfect, or that all all the company's lines can be completely relied upon. I was saying that the fundamental product -- in my experience, in the Pacific Northwest -- never gave us or our clients a lick of trouble.