On 12/24/2004 8:49 AM US(ET), lp13-30 took fingers to keys, and typed
the following:

I am going to be installing cement fiber siding on an addition I am
building onto a future rental property that I own. My question is:: Is
there much/any difference between brands? Around here, everyone refers
to all cement fiber siding as "Hardie", just as they call all tissues
"Kleenex", and soft drinks "Coke". Yesterday I happened to notice some
at a building supply store that gets a lot of closeout, one of a kind,
slightly damaged etc stuff. I do not remember the brand name, but it was
7 1/4" by 12' pieces for $2.99 each. The same thing in Hardie is about
$5.-$5.50 each. The stuff looked OK. It was possibly very slightly
thinner than Hardie, but not that much. Really, is there much that can
happpen to that type of siding-- crumbling/deteriorating over time,
cracking etc? Obviously, I do not want to buy junk, but if it is close
to as good as good as the major brand for just slightly over half the
price, I would be interested. I am going to call the store today, or
stop by there and get the name of the stuff so I can check into it
further, but I would appreciate any advice I can get from anyone with
more experience in this product than I have, (Shouldn't be too hard to
find, as I have none). Thanks, and a very Merry Christmas to every one!!
Larry


I don't know anything about cement siding, but if this stuff is slightly
damaged, and also a closeout item. How much extra would you have to buy
in order to get enough good pieces to finish the job? Also what happens
in the future if some get damaged and you have to replace pieces that
are no longer available?

--
Bill

I am going to be installing cement fiber siding on an addition I am
building onto a future rental property that I own. My question is:: Is
there much/any difference between brands? Around here, everyone refers
to all cement fiber siding as "Hardie", just as they call all tissues
"Kleenex", and soft drinks "Coke". Yesterday I happened to notice some
at a building supply store that gets a lot of closeout, one of a kind,
slightly damaged etc stuff. I do not remember the brand name, but it was
7 1/4" by 12' pieces for $2.99 each. The same thing in Hardie is about
$5.-$5.50 each. The stuff looked OK. It was possibly very slightly
thinner than Hardie, but not that much. Really, is there much that can
happpen to that type of siding-- crumbling/deteriorating over time,
cracking etc? Obviously, I do not want to buy junk, but if it is close
to as good as good as the major brand for just slightly over half the
price, I would be interested. I am going to call the store today, or
stop by there and get the name of the stuff so I can check into it
further, but I would appreciate any advice I can get from anyone with
more experience in this product than I have, (Shouldn't be too hard to
find, as I have none). Thanks, and a very Merry Christmas to every one!!
Larry

Bill, thanks for the reply. This siding is not damaged. I do not know
exactly how this store ended up with it-- whether itis some kind of
dicontinued or closeout or what. I figured on buying some extra for any
repairs in the future that may be needed-- which is not a bad idea
regardless of brand or product, as even the largest manufacturers change
product lines from time to time. Thanks again, and Merry Christmas to
all. Larry