lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:Short answers tonite and I'll expand on them tomorrow. Sorry, headed to bed.
- shrinkage
- trim pieces
- ability to seal under each course
We have both 8" horizontal and random shake.
That is a beautiful house!
Yes, to all three. I have exactly the same issues. I did it all myself in 2010, as I said earlier, following their instructions to the letter.
My south wall is just shy of 70 feet long, single story, with 6 doors/windows. A few of the upper courses go the entire distance. Shrinkage is real, as much as 1/4", as is the brittleness of the trim boards. Much worse than the planks themselves. You have to pre-drill every hole, and sometimes that is enough to break it. The "curling/swelling" on mine is not quite as noticeable, but it is there. And it is absolutely nailed into the studs every 16" or less, and the joints, fyi. It was all pre-painted and caulked well, so shouldn't be any water getting in at the joints. I did the work in late summer/ early fall, so temperature (-20 up to 115) might be part of the shrinkage issue. I butted it tight, but it still happened. I wonder if letting it "season" outside for a few months would help, I know ours was fresh from the factory.
The normal installation method is to nail into the upper part about 1" from the top (there is a nail line on the siding itself), but an alternative is to face nail with galvanized or SS finish nails at the bottom. It might help with yours, lotusseven7. Just stay away from the corner, it will break off. Don't over-do it, there needs to be some movement freedom since the top is nailed.
I would still use it again, because I don't think there is a better choice other than brick. Although I would not use the Hardie trim again. I actually switched to solid PVC. But it does not look as good, too fake.
Not sure I would pay over $100K, though! That is steep.
