I have been reading a few opinions in the group concerning Hardieplank
versus vinyl siding.
I was suprised to see how many people who were pro vinyl and
anti-hardieplank. I am a homeowner who had a housefire from lightning
and my contrctor quit and ran off with a chunk of my money. I basically
have to do this 18x32 addition myself with the funds left. I studied
the many options for siding before I got to the actually time to put it
on. Of course, brick would be my first choice because the existing
structure is brick. But because trying to match brick color and texture
is next to impossible, and the time and cost involved, I could not go
there. So I was left with fiber cement, wood, or vinyl. Here are the
pro's and con's of each as I found out:

Wood:
PROs:
Better looking the vinyl
Stronger than vinyl
Can change color
Fairly easy to install

CONs
Termites
Rot
Paint every 5 to 10 years because wood expands/contracts-paint base
breaks
Can warp in high heat if not perfectly nailed, primered, and painted
Fairly expensive
Not pre-primered

Vinyl
PRO's:
Easy to install
Fairly inexpensive
No painting

CON's:
Sags over time no matter what brand or who installs it
Stuck with color (you can paint it, but....)
Warps in heat
Low melting point
Rattles in high wind
Will break from rock thrown from lawnmower
Traps moisture behind it

Fiber cement (Hardieplank)
PROs:
Very strong
Can change color
Resistant to termite, fire and rot
No expansion of paint base, so paint every 10 to 15 years
Pre-primered
Looks exactly like real wood

CON's:
More expensive than vinyl
Takes some skill to install
Have to paint it

I chose the Hardieplank, and I am thrilled with it. The neighbors now
want to replace the vinyl on their homes with this stuff. It is flimsy
until you get it nailed down, but once it is up, it's tough. There are
many different manufacturers of fiber cement. Hardie is what Home Depot
had. Here was the cost breakdown if you are curious:

Wood planks,trim, primer/paint: $680.00

Vinyl strips, j channel, etc: $525.00
Hardieplank, trim, paint, : $790.00

Hope this helps someone who is researching siding options.

Yep, I've got hardie on my house and love it. We can get intense hail
storms in our area. We had hail last year and those houses that had the
cheap vinyl on them come out looking like Swiss cheese.


"fishman35" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have been reading a few opinions in the group concerning Hardieplank
versus vinyl siding.
I was suprised to see how many people who were pro vinyl and
anti-hardieplank. I am a homeowner who had a housefire from lightning
and my contrctor quit and ran off with a chunk of my money. I basically
have to do this 18x32 addition myself with the funds left. I studied
the many options for siding before I got to the actually time to put it
on. Of course, brick would be my first choice because the existing
structure is brick. But because trying to match brick color and texture
is next to impossible, and the time and cost involved, I could not go
there. So I was left with fiber cement, wood, or vinyl. Here are the
pro's and con's of each as I found out:

Wood:
PROs:
Better looking the vinyl
Stronger than vinyl
Can change color
Fairly easy to install

CONs
Termites
Rot
Paint every 5 to 10 years because wood expands/contracts-paint base
breaks
Can warp in high heat if not perfectly nailed, primered, and painted
Fairly expensive
Not pre-primered

Vinyl
PRO's:
Easy to install
Fairly inexpensive
No painting

CON's:
Sags over time no matter what brand or who installs it
Stuck with color (you can paint it, but....)
Warps in heat
Low melting point
Rattles in high wind
Will break from rock thrown from lawnmower
Traps moisture behind it

Fiber cement (Hardieplank)
PROs:
Very strong
Can change color
Resistant to termite, fire and rot
No expansion of paint base, so paint every 10 to 15 years
Pre-primered
Looks exactly like real wood

CON's:
More expensive than vinyl
Takes some skill to install
Have to paint it

I chose the Hardieplank, and I am thrilled with it. The neighbors now
want to replace the vinyl on their homes with this stuff. It is flimsy
until you get it nailed down, but once it is up, it's tough. There are
many different manufacturers of fiber cement. Hardie is what Home Depot
had. Here was the cost breakdown if you are curious:

Wood planks,trim, primer/paint: $680.00

Vinyl strips, j channel, etc: $525.00
Hardieplank, trim, paint, : $790.00

Hope this helps someone who is researching siding options.

My Hardiplank made it through Hurricane Katrina--My brick wall blew out. I had 7' of water in my house and outbuildings. The 1st floor of my house was brick veneer and the back wall blew out. All my out buildings (workshop, extra garages) were hardiplank and are still standing today! My neighbors' vinyl floated away. I live 1/2 mile from the Gulf near Biloxi, MS. Temps get to 110 degrees heat index and Hardiplank never melts or warps. Even refrigerators & debris bouncing off of it during the Hurricane didn't make it fall. It is worth having to paint it occasionally (15 years or so), plus it looks like I have wood clapboard--not a plastic building (like vinyl).

Go Hardiplank!
-Nancie

On old windows the Brickmold is applied on the window frame. The outside of
the frame should be even with the outside of the sheeting. The brickmold
should be fastened to the sheeting on one side and the window frame on the
other. That said this should have all been done first than brick set to the
brickmold.
I am not familiar with any Pella windows that still use brickmold. All I
have seen are clad outside with no brick mold. They are installed first and
the brick is set over the flange touching the clad window frame.
If I understand you correct you have set the brick without the windows in.
If this is the case you may not be able to use brick mold. You may need to
get some wider stock and make your own casings to fill the area between the
new window and the new brick.
"Nancie" wrote in message
...

My back brick veneer wall got blown out by Hurricane Katrina (windows,
too)--7 feet of water in house. Finally, we recently resurrected the
brick wall, but before the windows were put in. We left extra space
around the windows utilizing temporary brickmold so the brick masons
had a place to stop. Now we finally have our replacement Pella
Impervia double-hung windows installed in the framed out openings, but
have too big a gap on the sides of the windows (bigger than a regular
piece of brickmold). Our plan is to enclose the gap with brickmold and
then line the "brick window jamb" with Harditrim boards (to fill the
rest of the gap--3/4"), create a window sill with Harditrim board, and
then put 6" trim on the outside of the brick wall. We are trying to
fill the gap as well as make the windows look like they have wood jambs
and trim (no exposed brick in the jamb). There is no overhanging brick
sill.

Anyway, my question is:

Is brickmold supposed to be (1) butted up flush to the window frame
itself with caulking between and then butted up to the window jamb
(with caulking), or (2) put overlapping slightly on top of the window
frame edge and then butted up to the jamb?

The Harditrim board we are putting on the window jamb is a concrete
product, and the brickmold is Solid PVC brick mold (not wood), so we
should not have any wood on brick rot problems in the future.

I done an extensive web search, but no where does it show a good
picture or description of how to install brickmolding around a window.
It always just says install brickmolding (or brick mold/mould).

So in other words, is the brick molding installed "on" the Pella window
frame or next to the window frame.

Hope someone can either give me an answer or direct me to a decent site
that shows the layout. I need to solve this so I can install my
hurricane shutters. It has been almost a year since my house was wiped
out, it is hurricane season again, and I want to get my house as water
tight as possible.

Thanks in advance,
Nancie




--
Nancie

Are the windows clad with aluminium or vinyl. Some manufacturers supply a
filler piece that fits or snaps onto the window edge and fill in the gap to
the brick or other cladding. The piece needs trimming in width to fit the
gap. My aluminium clad wooden windows used this system to fill in the space.
I asked and they supplied (for a price) the necessary pieces.

"calhoun" wrote in message
...
On old windows the Brickmold is applied on the window frame. The outside
of the frame should be even with the outside of the sheeting. The
brickmold should be fastened to the sheeting on one side and the window
frame on the other. That said this should have all been done first than
brick set to the brickmold.
I am not familiar with any Pella windows that still use brickmold. All I
have seen are clad outside with no brick mold. They are installed first
and the brick is set over the flange touching the clad window frame.
If I understand you correct you have set the brick without the windows in.
If this is the case you may not be able to use brick mold. You may need to
get some wider stock and make your own casings to fill the area between
the new window and the new brick.
"Nancie" wrote in message
...

My back brick veneer wall got blown out by Hurricane Katrina (windows,
too)--7 feet of water in house. Finally, we recently resurrected the
brick wall, but before the windows were put in. We left extra space
around the windows utilizing temporary brickmold so the brick masons
had a place to stop. Now we finally have our replacement Pella
Impervia double-hung windows installed in the framed out openings, but
have too big a gap on the sides of the windows (bigger than a regular
piece of brickmold). Our plan is to enclose the gap with brickmold and
then line the "brick window jamb" with Harditrim boards (to fill the
rest of the gap--3/4"), create a window sill with Harditrim board, and
then put 6" trim on the outside of the brick wall. We are trying to
fill the gap as well as make the windows look like they have wood jambs
and trim (no exposed brick in the jamb). There is no overhanging brick
sill.

Anyway, my question is:

Is brickmold supposed to be (1) butted up flush to the window frame
itself with caulking between and then butted up to the window jamb
(with caulking), or (2) put overlapping slightly on top of the window
frame edge and then butted up to the jamb?

The Harditrim board we are putting on the window jamb is a concrete
product, and the brickmold is Solid PVC brick mold (not wood), so we
should not have any wood on brick rot problems in the future.

I done an extensive web search, but no where does it show a good
picture or description of how to install brickmolding around a window.
It always just says install brickmolding (or brick mold/mould).

So in other words, is the brick molding installed "on" the Pella window
frame or next to the window frame.

Hope someone can either give me an answer or direct me to a decent site
that shows the layout. I need to solve this so I can install my
hurricane shutters. It has been almost a year since my house was wiped
out, it is hurricane season again, and I want to get my house as water
tight as possible.

Thanks in advance,
Nancie




--
Nancie