"J.V." wrote in
news
I know I will need eye protection and mask when I cut the material.
Is a 7" rotary saw okay? I'll need to buy some kind of masonry blade
I suppose. What about nails: size, special type? Hardipanels are
heavy. Does this cause any problem when I try to hang it on existing
framing?

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.




Many of your questions are addressed here (you may have to paste this
link back together):

http://www.jameshardie.com/builder/i...installation.p
hp

There are fiber cement blades for circular saws and I'd recommend one. I
had a piece to cut and tried a masonry blade with poor results. The saw
bogged down and I couldn't keep the cut straight. It may have been
technique but I had no such problems with a $15 carbide fiber cement
blade from Home Depot. Cutting with the good side down made for a
smoother cut. The dust won't be good for the saw so I wouldn't use a saw
with a lot of sentimental value because it may not survive.

I think they only problem you'll have with weight is getting the panels
into position. They are heavy and it's fairly easy to damage the edges
by banging them into stuff or break the panel by flexing it too much.
Your house would have to be in really poor structural condition for it
have any problems holding them up.

Doug