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Started By
Message
Fiber Cement Lap Siding Repair
Posted on 10/21/24 at 5:54 am
Posted on 10/21/24 at 5:54 am
Anyone have any experience with repairing wind damaged "Hardie" plank lap siding? Our house is about 90% fiber cement lap siding and about 65% of it developed cracks during Helene. Every end joint is now unsealed. Our insurance is of course calling it a repair and I am willing to accept that BUT my concern is the way it is installed initially (top face nailed behind the piece above it). I do not know what % it is but a good bit of it is no longer level which makes me think that the nails have either failed or the holes are cracked allowing it to settle. Only one piece actually blew off and the nail holes in it are about the size of a dime on the face and blown out about the size of quarter on the back. I am probably going to repair it myself because even a reputable contractor is going to have someone do it who is no more capable than I am.
My concern is the longevity of the pieces not replaced. To replace a piece requires slightly prying up the bottom of the piece above and nailing /screwing at an angle - not the way it is installed new. Doing this to a couple of pieces is not a problem, if they fail you just do it again, but at least 60-70% needs replacing which means about 100% of it is going to have to be slightly pried up at the bottom. It is very brittle - any movement at all is likely to damage it where it is fastened. I know most of you deal with hurricanes and I suspect some of you have this type siding and have had damage to it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
It'd be a MAJOR project to replace it. In my experience taking the existing siding off is a big job but installing it new is easier and less labor intensive than repairing large sections. It is pretty inexpensive as far as siding goes, it is going to have to be completely painted so that cost is the same either way. I am "OK" with repairing and not replacing but I am concerned that repairing will damage what is not replaced and it will fail more often in typical 30-40 mph winds. Not overly concerned about it leaking but there is some risk of that also. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My concern is the longevity of the pieces not replaced. To replace a piece requires slightly prying up the bottom of the piece above and nailing /screwing at an angle - not the way it is installed new. Doing this to a couple of pieces is not a problem, if they fail you just do it again, but at least 60-70% needs replacing which means about 100% of it is going to have to be slightly pried up at the bottom. It is very brittle - any movement at all is likely to damage it where it is fastened. I know most of you deal with hurricanes and I suspect some of you have this type siding and have had damage to it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
It'd be a MAJOR project to replace it. In my experience taking the existing siding off is a big job but installing it new is easier and less labor intensive than repairing large sections. It is pretty inexpensive as far as siding goes, it is going to have to be completely painted so that cost is the same either way. I am "OK" with repairing and not replacing but I am concerned that repairing will damage what is not replaced and it will fail more often in typical 30-40 mph winds. Not overly concerned about it leaking but there is some risk of that also. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
6
Posted on 10/21/24 at 7:06 am to AwgustaDawg
quote:give the keyboard a rest youre gonna break it. Take a picture of the siding, post it and let the resident experts chime in
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Posted on 10/21/24 at 9:00 am to AwgustaDawg
quote:
slightly prying up the bottom of the piece above and nailing /screwing at an angle -
Man I just don't see this working at all. Either going to have to facenail it or remove start over. And I haven't had much luck in removing hardi without it breaking apart. Weird to have so much wind damage for hardi. Makes me think the installers may've "high nailed" it which is nailing too close to the top edge of the plank. The nails should land as close to where the upper plank covers the lower top edge.
As always, a picture is worth a thousand words....or in your particular case, 1.5million words.
Posted on 10/21/24 at 10:12 am to AwgustaDawg
quote:
Only one piece actually blew off and the nail holes in it are about the size of a dime on the face and blown out about the size of quarter on the back
Jesus what kind of nails were they using. We do a lot of fiber cement siding and a lot of insurance work. You should have had a reputable contractor there to meet with the adjust to be there in your behalf. But...
quote:
I am probably going to repair it myself because even a reputable contractor is going to have someone do it who is no more capable than I am.
This is how 1) It doesn't get paid for by insurance in the first place. I would have been there fighting with the adjuster for the homeowner (if 65% was actually damaged by the storm) and 2) It gets installed wrong once again.
If it's as you describe, a MAJOR project, I'd leave it to the professionals. But I'd also be curious to see some pictures so I could give some better tips if you do decide to do it yourself.
Posted on 10/21/24 at 11:36 am to Turnblad85
quote:
Man I just don't see this working at all. Either going to have to facenail it or remove start over. And I haven't had much luck in removing hardi without it breaking apart. Weird to have so much wind damage for hardi. Makes me think the installers may've "high nailed" it which is nailing too close to the top edge of the plank. The nails should land as close to where the upper plank covers the lower top edge.
As always, a picture is worth a thousand words....or in your particular case, 1.5million words.
I have not had much luck doing ANYTHING with Hardie siding after installation. Its a great product but anytime anything needs to be done to it other than painting after installation is a pain in the arse.
The one piece that is completely detached was nailed about an inch from the top edge. This is what Hardie recommends - somewhere between 3/4 and an inch from the top. It was initially installed 7 years ago as new construction by a Hardie certified (whatever that means) installer. To be honest I am pretty shocked only one piece detached completely. When I went outside toward the end of the storm it was pretty much all moving. I would bet a couple of 30-40 MPH straight line winds sustained for more than a couple of hours will cause more of it to detach completely. That is unusual in our area but does happen occasionally.
Posted on 10/21/24 at 11:50 am to iwyLSUiwy
quote:
You should have had a reputable contractor there to meet with the adjust to be there in your behalf. But...
quote:
Had one contractor (reputable is always an issue) present and 2 different adjusters. Have had 2 other contractors look at it since. None of them looked at the siding until I mentioned it...they were all in on the roof though.
All 3 contractors agreed it would be more cost effective to strip it and replace it and the one adjuster who was a contract adjuster told us that the initial estimate was for repairing but IF contractors concluded it was more cost effective to replace it that's what they would pay for. They did the same thing with our roof and have agreed to replace it instead of repairing it. They have not done this yet however LOL.
Posted on 10/21/24 at 2:30 pm to AwgustaDawg
you will probably have to remove the siding all the way down to the damaged siding and then go up from there., Would probably be faster
Posted on 10/21/24 at 2:49 pm to trident
quote:
you will probably have to remove the siding all the way down to the damaged siding and then go up from there., Would probably be faster
It would be far less labor intensive. Doing some minor repairs is one thing, doing 50% means just about every piece has to be moved slightly....its brittle when brand new, it is a great product until it starts moving and then it can go to crap. From what the adjuster has told us they will pay for replacing if a contractor tells them it is more cost effective....I think it will be by a significant margin. The material is pretty inexpensive relatively speaking, it will have to be painted completely either way. If they were only willing to pay for repairing I would have done it myself and hoped for the best but it looks like they are aware it will be more cost effective to replace it. Why they start off with repair is beyond me but I guess some folks would take what they were offered and try to do it and pocket some cash and save the insurance company a few thousand on every claim.
Posted on 10/21/24 at 6:09 pm to AwgustaDawg
quote:
I would bet a couple of 30-40 MPH straight line winds sustained for more than a couple of hours will cause more of it to detach completely. That is unusual in our area but does happen occasionally
This should not happen ever.
Posted on 10/21/24 at 7:55 pm to iwyLSUiwy
quote:
Jesus what kind of nails were they using.
Likely a twisted shank nail or a ring shank with a polymer coating that acts like a hot melt glue when shot in. Both have nearly the same holding power as screws especially with the surface area of the nail heads. Knew a guy who put up fence boards with them, ugly but they certainly held up.
This post was edited on 10/21/24 at 7:58 pm
Posted on 10/22/24 at 2:36 am to AwgustaDawg
Have you contacted Hardi? See if they have a representative to help you. Someone in the area. Or a person that handles the Hardi sales in this region.
Posted on 10/22/24 at 8:54 am to AwgustaDawg
If the fiber cement siding was damaged by wind, insurance owes you to replace and paint the entire elevation(s), corner to corner. This includes replacing the flashing and the vapor barrier too.
This post was edited on 10/22/24 at 9:02 am
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