Next Question - Hardie Siding- Furring strips or no?

[HawkinsHollow]

I figured I would start a new question so it gets more mileage.

How many people here put furring strips behind their hardie lap siding? Hardie recommends it for places that get over 40" of rain per year. We get an average of 58" Only time I have done hardie was back in my college days when I was on a crew building houses and we did not furr it out. This was on a $500,000 custom home on the edge of a mountain that certainly got plenty of driving rain. I mean I get the idea behind why it would be a good idea, it makes sense. I am just trying to decide if I am going to go through the trouble. I probably have enough left over 1x4 to get most of it. Somone mentioned in my other post about it screwing with the window reveal, that is another concern.

What says ye ol collective wisdom of TBN?

 

[EddieWalker]

We don't get that much rain, and I've never seen it done in person. I've never done it on any of my jobs, or my personal house. The only place that I've seen it done is on a few TV shows.

I understand the theory, but I doubt the reality of how beneficial it is. I also think that Hardie is a very good product, but I have seen them do complete 180's on how they recommend installation. Seems that they are still in the "I don't know" stage of things.

For me, in my area of East Texas, I prefer ZIP System with tape and sealing every opening with good caulking and then more ZIP Tape. Even if it's a pipe that's going through the wall with a tight fit, I'm caulking and taping it!!! Then I put the Hardie on over the ZIP System panels. If any moisture gets behind the Hardie, it's not going anywhere, or causing any damage. Fairly soon, it will evaporate out of there. The amount of moisture that can get behind the Hardie is so small that it's not a concern where I live.

Since you are asking about best practices where you live, it would probably be worth your time to drive through a new home construction area and see what they are doing there. The better built houses will be using ZIP System, so those are the green colored ones would be what I would be looking for.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Thanks Eddie. This hardie is going on a 650 sqft garage with 18" overhangs. I DID NOT use the zip system but I did use house wrap.

 

[PILOON]

To err on the safe side I'd go the furring route.

1- circulating air would keep any moisture at bay.
2- furring would help blend any irregular surface variations.

As to window trim I once ripped Hardie into appropriate strips to create DIY Hardie molding, (worked out just fine).
That Hardi project in question was done 10 years back and is still in A-1 condition.
The project quoted was done with primed Hardi that we stained with opaque water based product.
No signs of mold anywhere, even in shaded areas.
(note: lots of mold on many buildings in this area, both on wood and vinyl siding )

 

[Wakey]

Eddie do you prime or paint the cut end of Hardie during installation? I noticed that in the instructions, after the installation lol

It’s been almost 3 years and the Sherwin Williams caulk is separating a bit at some of the lap siding joints. I need to re bead those and touch up the paint.

 

[tomplum]

In the Pacific NW where we get a lot of rain , I've never seen fir strips w/ Hardie myself. Tyvek or similar barrier below, taped and sealed from outside moisture. Joints are no longer caulked, just flashed behind. You can buy specific flashing, cut an extra layer of Tyvek or roof felt for that matter. Prime the ends, paint them if you wish. When it comes to windows, you must keep the gap above the drip edge for the siding. When you caulk, think about keeping water out and letting water out if that makes sense.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie do you prime or paint the cut end of Hardie during installation? I noticed that in the instructions, after the installation lol

It’s been almost 3 years and the Sherwin Williams caulk is separating a bit at some of the lap siding joints. I need to re bead those and touch up the paint.

yes, but it's just a quick hit with a chip brush that's in a coffee can with a little paint in it. I like the coffee can because of the lid being so easy to take off and put on again.

 

[EddieWalker]

after typing my previous reply, I have had jobs when they don't know what color they want, so I use white exterior paint.

 

[dstig1]

If you do it, the installation will be bulletproof for a lifetime. It is one more good layer of protection to ensure everything in the wall stays dry and you get maximum life from the siding. I did it on mine but used LP not Hardie. Same principle.

 

[Cord]

What they are recommending is a "rain screen", it's basically a low pressure drainage plane. Their assumption is that there will be a leak and due to the higher volume of water in your area this leak could become a problem. As to whether you provide the rain screen is up to you, after all it is a garage. For me, I see a much higher incidence of failure due to the blind nailing method. The nails fracture the siding and given time the fractures spread across the face causing a piece to fall off. This is especially noticeable at the corners. For my personal projects, I've taken to predrilling the pieces and then screw them on using a GRK RSS screw. I place the screw on the bottom edge, but high enough to miss the top edge of the piece below. This allows the top to float, but the wind cant catch it because the piece above is holding it down. Once painted the screw heads disappear and I've never had a cracked piece of siding. To speed the process of drilling I'll stack up enough pieces to almost bury a carbide drill bit. An impact drill isn't necessary as the siding is soft enough for the carbide to dig through. Be certain to have a back up or the last piece will blow out. A 2x6x12' works great for this.