I will say that we have since switched to Certainteed siding for a number of reasons. They have a slightly more durable panel according to our research which is due to a higher recycled content of fly ash as well, which is nice. They seem to have more flexible installation instructions also due to the durability of their panel. Lastly, the primed panel from Certainteed looks like concrete and lends itself to clear coating while the primed Hardie panel is green.

Hopefully this helps a bit and best of luck with your projects.

If you are asking about Hardie because you are concerned about their warranty for your customer – take a good read on it and if in doubt get it in writing from a Hardie rep, preferably one who has seen what you want to do.

They have a pretty specific set of requirements for a reason and if you are providing this to a customer you probably want to make sure you are providing the customer with a legal leg to stand on if customer has issues 2 to 5 years down the road. Personally I think the ability to drain and dry moisture from behind a wall should make any manufacturer happy as long as the material is attached satisfactorily and with appropriate flashing. But an external blemish could easily be blamed on hammering too hard and customer would likely not be able to afford legal remedies.

I plan on doing Hardie on my own house next but I may choose to do DOW SIS panels and stucco instead because of concern of Hardie “getting with the program” ( and I am a Hardie trained installer ).

Thanks

Even if product “X” were to degrade somewhat as long as the homeowner did not go around the house and tap on the nails there would be no additional force trying to move the siding (or whatever) closer to the wrap/insulation thus leaving the gap that was created on day 1 still in place one day 3650+.

Yes, there may be some bowing of exterior material that might attempt to force the material closer to wrap/insulation but that would have to be some weird bowing to occur between vertical products.

If you are in an area where small amounts of product degradation are critical you probably have made multiple layers of protection part of the construction.

I worry about that the product you used and some others on the market have too great a potential to get “crushed” or flattened between the building and the siding and over time will not perform as well. It will be interesting to see over the life of the building.

Thank you for documenting your design decisions so thoroughly, your blog has been a great resource for us! One question about air infiltration: Isn’t your man in the photo stapling the Home Slicker Mesh over the Typar, putting hundreds of little holes in your air and water barrier?

Thanks again!

This system is far superior to other rain screen products because it will not crush like expensive mesh screens and cause wavy walls and open gaps at the laps for moisture and insect infiltration, It cannot crack like plastic battens in cold weather, it will not expand and contract like plastic materials and wood strips, the steel strips straighten out the walls because the strips are straight and strong and can easily be shimmed for imperfections in a wall before any siding goes up , attachment strength is increased because of fastener going through the steel strip, hollow back construction allows full wall air flow and ventilation, will not burn, rot, twist, bow, absorb moisture or trap moisture.

It also makes it very easy to align with studs and only builds the wall out 1/4″ which saves money on building out of opening’s.

Overall this system gives you the most features for the best price. The steel strips only run about $35 per square verses many of these other types of rain screen products that can range in cost of $55-$80 per square. Why would you pay more for these other rain screen products and get less? In this economy people are looking for the best value. Furring-Master gives you just that in a rain screen system.

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