Barn Siding

[OkeeDon]

RobS's post in "I feel like Henro Jr." motivated me to ask this question. I haven't even poured the slab for my barn, yet, but I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row.

The barn will be 32' x 48', a little over 13' to the eaves, with a metal gambrel roof, stick built on a slab. About the only major component I haven't yet selected is siding. I'd like input.

The first parameter is that it won't be metal siding, primarily for aesthetic reasons, and because the CFO says so /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif . Also, it won't be standard T-1/11, because that just doesn't hold up for long in South Florida - I've had to replace the weather side within 15 years on every building I've owned with it, and had to replace the bottom 30" all the way around on a couple of others. Members of my family currently own 4 houses or garages with T-1/11, and we've patched one and covered the other 2 with HardiPlank after prior patching. The 4th is waiting it's turn.

The second parameter is budget - I'm already stretching my budget to the breaking point by adding 8' to the 32' x 40' plans and by going with a stick-built construction instead of a pole barn (I'm just not real comfortable with putting this much money on poles stuck in the dirt here in South Florida, where anything other than concrete seems to disappear in the sand).

The third parameter is ease of installation - I'm gong to be doing most of this myself. Speed comes in here a little bit.

The fourth parameter is aesthetics. I want it to look like a "real" barn. Painted is OK, but sometimes I lean towards the stained look.

If budget was not a concern, my first choice would be HardiPlank lap siding - it is wonderful stuff for South Florida. But, it, along with vinyl siding and others like it, requires an underlayment of some sort, which adds a step and adds to the cost.

I'll quit there with the rules, since it's starting to look like I can't use or afford any kind of siding /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, and see what kind of suggestions come in.

 

[rancar]

Hi Don...

<font color="blue"> "...About the only major component I haven't yet selected is siding. I'd like input..." </font>

I used 1"x8" shiplap, novelty pine siding on my barn renovation project. On the smaller buildings I used 1"x6" novelty pine siding. There is no underlayment required. This siding is made ready to nail on 2"x4" or 2"x6" studs. You can see this siding in the following before and after pictures from my thread entitled "Barn Renovation Project."

Barn Renovation Project

...Bob

 

[Glenn9643]

"If budget was not a concern, my first choice would be HardiPlank lap siding - "

That's what I was going to recommend as I was reading your post. I bit the bullet and used it a couple of years ago on my shop. A bit heavy and difficult to cut but I believe it will last well with minimum maintenance. I found a pretty wide variance in prices locally also. Prices at Lowe's and Home Depot were up there, but a local bldg supply place was selling it about 25% cheaper.

 

[OkeeDon]

I like the look of that, and also that it will look "right" on my odd-height walls without plywood sheet seams or much waste. I can also handle installation myself. I'll get some comparison costs. It might be a bit hard to find locally, since I don't recall seeing much of it in South Florida.

I wonder how much extra cedar would be, as it holds up much better here than pine...I have some cedar siding in a couple of places on my current home (primarily CBS and stucco), and it has held up very well. But, there I go again, wanting more than I have bugdeted...

I did use some pine T&G on a room addition many years ago, but I was a lot younger and more naive, and the stuff I got was pretty wet. When it dried out, a lot of the T's were pulled out from their G's, and I ended up redoing it with HardiPlank. If I use the shiplap siding, I'll have to be very careful to specify it be dry enough.

 

[OkeeDon]

I just re-visited the Hardie site after a long time. My memory was faulty. HardiPlank can be installed directly over studs with up to 24" spacing (it does require a weather barrier; I'll be using Tyvek). My studs will be 16" on center.

Cutting is no problem. Before I "retired" for a year to complete this project, I was building custom outdoor kitchens ("summer" kitchens) using 4x8 sheets of HardiPanel as a backer on welded aluminum frames (I said the South Florida environment is tough on conventional building procedures /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif ), so I own 2 Snapper cement board shears. No muss and no dust, but probably the most expensive hand power tools I have ever bought (~$450 each).

If I do it without underlayment, I'll just have to be careful not to bang the siding with my FEL - it's pretty brittle. I'll also have to use let-in bracing, but I'd have to do that with the shiplap or any other board siding.

That 50-year warranty is starting to look pretty good.

Sorry for thinking out loud this way, but it does help me come to decisions...keep up the suggestions, I'm really listening.

 

[Glenn9643]

The maintenance issues made it a no-brainer for me. The stuff won't rot or absort water and cause paint to peel or flake off. Matter of fact, I still haven't painted mine. Doesn't look bad to me, but the wife asks every now and then when I'm going to "finish" the shop. I don't remember for sure, but I think mine is 10" strips. Everything you look at that's worth the time to put up is expensive and this looked to me like the best choice.

 

[JazzDad]

Don, I posted my opinion on cement fiber board (don't want to advertise any brand) on CountryByNet, under Barns/Buildings, (Options for T111 Siding).

I agree with your feelings on how fragile it is applied over studs.

 

[MarkV]

Don, it hasn't been mentioned but hardi plank would get my vote if for no other reason than termites. I like the pine ship lap siding but it isn't like the Dade pine of the past that termites couldn't eat. It may be different in your area but the last thing I built in N. Florida was a shed for a friend. We put a material list together and left the buying to them before we came down. It was only a little 12x12 shed with a gamble roof and ply-wood floor. I listed pressure treated for the floor structure and floor deck with regular spruce stud lumber for the remainder of the frame. When we got there all the lumber was pressure treated and I was surprised because cost was an issue for them. As it turned out the pressure treated was cheaper and highly recommended at the local lumberyard because of termites. Sure wish pressure treated was cheaper in my area.

MarkV

 

[Currmudgeon]

My daughter, the hippie, is siding her house with vertical rough cut plank siding with battens. This is OK in TN, but I haven't a clue about FL.

 

[OkeeDon]

Good point about the termites. I might probably even considered galvanized steel studs if the designer (barnplans.com) had not so strenuously been against them. One thing I will be doing is to lay one course of concrete blocks around the perimeter to serve two purposes - to make it easier to hose out the interior, and to raise the "food" a little higher above the termites. There will be a 2x8 PT sill plate on the block, then the regular 2x4 sill plate on top of that to start the walls. There will be uncut 12' long 2x4's for studs, finished off with a double top plate. That's the reason for the odd 13'2" wall height - I need a little more than 12', and I can't see going to all the work and waste of cutting off a little from the 12'-2x4's in order to get a more conventional wall height - especially when I want all the clearance I can get (there will be a car lift as well as other shop tools that like height).

I won't be using PT for anthing but the sill plate, because regardless of the price, most of what we get is so wet that it twists and warps terribly as it dries.