If you are considering James Hardie fiber cement siding for your home, you want to make sure it’s installed properly. Home exterior cladding is a significant investment, and you want it to last.
James Hardie provides a 30-year manufacturer’s warranty on all its products, but this warranty is void if the installation is not done properly, so you must get an experienced, reliable contractor to do the job.
DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions that come with installing James Hardie siding are specific and must be adhered to. For instance, the proper nails – 6D – must be used, and they must be driven straight, not at an angle. If the wrong size nails are used, or if they’re driven at an angle or countersunk, they can damage the product.
If mistakes like these are made, there’s not much that can be done to fix them besides replacing the product.
Hardie siding also must be installed 2 inches away from hard surfaces and 6 inches above finished grade. Flashing needs to be installed correctly in the right locations. Areas that do not meet these installation criteria and possibly allow water behind them can be redone correctly without too much trouble.
However, if serious damage is done before these flaws in workmanship can be discovered, such as if rot sets in, the fix can get more involved.
JAMES HARDIE MANUFACTURING SPECS
But if the product is installed correctly, you can rest assured it will last a long time.
Only a few companies in the United States besides Hardie manufacture fiber cement, and these companies are smaller and more localized than Hardie, which actually invented fiber cement siding.
What can happen when a company is the father of its product is that it eventually becomes a dinosaur in the industry, uninterested and unwilling to change. But James Hardie has been around more than 30 years already and has spent over $100 million on research and development. They know how great their product is, but they never stop working to make it even greater.
U.S. homeowners seem to agree Hardie siding is a good choice, since it covers more than 5.5 million houses across the country. HardiePlank lap siding also earned the Good Housekeeping Seal of approval in 2013, a further testament to its superior value.
TRUST THE EXPERTS
Renovation by Burbach is northern Utah’s only preferred James Hardie contractor. In order to achieve this status, an installation company must adhere to a host of conditions, and also be subject to regular and random audits of their work to make sure it’s up to the manufacturer’s standards.
So if you’re considering James Hardie fiber cement siding, call Renovation by Burbach, the area’s best and most trusted installer.
