On Feb 27, 12:02*pm, infiniteMPG wrote:
Our 25 year old Florida block home has stucco on the rear of the
house, and on both sides below the gables. *The top above the gables
is grooved wood paneling. *The front is natural stone and also grooved
wood paneling. *We looking at fixing this up and doing the paneling
over with Hardie Plank siding.

We’ve received several quotes and they are charging material and labor
by the “square” we were told is 100 sq ft (10’ X 10’). *The prices are
from $800/square and up (and we mean WAY up). *We looked at a local
box store and the Hardie Plank (7-1/4” X 12’) is under $5/each. *This
means for 20 of these planks we’d cover 10ft tall but 12ft wide or
120sq ft for around $100. *This also means these places are charging
around $700 per square to install it. *And they were all talking of
putting it right over top of the existing paneling since it’s not in
too bad shape, to add an extra layer of insulation.

So we’re looking at doing this ourselves. *A couple questions we
have. *The Hardie Plank requires a water resistive barrier but we’re
wondering that since we’re going over the existing paneling which has
a foil back insulator under it, do we still need to do this? *They
also speak of putting down a joint flashing layer under the planks but
once again since, we’re going over the existing paneling, do we need
to do this?

If anyone has experience with this and can let us know if we need to
do this barrier, we’d greatly appreciate it. *And any advise,
warnings, suggestions or any words of wisdom about Hardie Plank siding
would be appreciated.

Thanks

I had a similar experience with Hardy Plank installers a few years
back and decided to give it a go myself. The only exception was that
I was looking at an $8000 to $12,000 dollar job instead of $800. In
my case, I pulled the old siding off, applied the vapor barrier and
put up the Hardy Plank. One recommendation is to get someone to help
you. I did the job myself on a two story house and it wasn't easy
dealing with those 12 foot long planks while climbing a ladder. The
application is easy enough using a good power screw driver. Leave
about 1/8 inch gap between the ends for expansion and fill with
caulking.

If you plan to apply over the existing siding, make sure and secure
the existing siding with screws to prevent any warping and poping. Do
use a vapor barrier and the flashing since you don't want any water
getting in behind the planks and rotting the wood. For two people it
would be a few hour job and for one, it still could be finished in a
day.