Need new siding

[calgarychef]

So my old vinyl siding didn’t survive the hailstorm we had last summer. I’ve been dragging my feet about replacing it. Really thinking of hardy board, I like the way it looks and t should outlast me. Does anyone have opinions on it?
This might too big a job for me to do myself, I usually do my own work but I also don’t want to spend all summer fiddling away on it, on the other hand when I’ve hired “professionals” in the past the work hasn’t been up to my standard...so maybe I will do it.

Another thing, it’s a 50 year old house and older houses are designed to breathe, that’s why there’s no rot in my old walls etc. What are the opinions on wrapping the house and adding foam insulation under the sideing? Is there a way to do this without causing moisture problems?

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by calgarychef

So my old vinyl siding didn’t survive the hailstorm we had last summer. I’ve been dragging my feet about replacing it. Really thinking of hardy board, I like the way it looks and t should outlast me. Does anyone have opinions on it?
This might too big a job for me to do myself, I usually do my own work but I also don’t want to spend all summer fiddling away on it, on the other hand when I’ve hired “professionals” in the past the work hasn’t been up to my standard...so maybe I will do it.

Another thing, it’s a 50 year old house and older houses are designed to breathe, that’s why there’s no rot in my old walls etc. What are the opinions on wrapping the house and adding foam insulation under the sideing? Is there a way to do this without causing moisture problems?

I'm guessing SM insulation wrapped with Typar .all these house wraps are able to breathe, which do not cause rotting and will last many many years,I did mine a few years ago ,something to consider though is making your outside corners out of wood,because if you bust a corner you can pull it of and fix it easily,whereas with vinyl it's a nightmare, good luck.

[owlhoot]

I added 1', R5, rigid foam insulation and a weather barrier wrap to the exterior of my 64 yr old house. It made a difference, most notable was the sound dampening from the street noise. There are a lot of thoughts about moisture from inside the house being trapped in the walls, Dew points etc. moisture barriers in older houses are not as a effective as in a modern house but then some say that even Paint is a moisture barrier. If I did it again I would look at 1.5 or 2" insulation on the exterior.

[CaberTosser]

The snowball effect kicks in when deciding to add sheet foam insulation under the new siding because then it affects how to trim around the windows, then you realize that it might be time to consider changing the windows while you're at it.......

Hardie board has lots of great qualities, I think the sole drawback is cutting it. Better hail resistance, it won't melt or ignite when your neighbors home is on fire, better sound abatement, etc.

[calgarychef]

The vinyl siding I hav endow is over 1” engineered wood siding, after both are stripped I think I can get away with an inch of foam at least...windows are a couple years old so they gotta stay.

[Xbolt7mm]

I got a guy if your interested

[dmac]

i really like the look of hardie board.

[Puddle]

You're right about not letting homes breathe. Too common of a problem to install blue or pink styrofoam on the exterior of homes. That insulation will make the home sweat and eventually rot the walls. Look for breathable products like Ener-air by Iko. https://www.iko.com/comm/product/iko-ener-air/
use breathable house wraps like Novawrap Aspire https://www.itape.com/en/products/house%20wrap
Their self stick tape will fail and there are better products out there. I use tar paper over the house wrap to ensure a water tight envelope.
Insulation up to 1" can be covered by Hardie, Smart Lap, Canexcel etc. Anything over has to be strapped or needs a void.
Read manufactures specs before you agree to their products

I am a siding contractor out of Red Deer

[Travco1]

There is a real nice 3/8 - 1/2 thick siding insulation called Level wall. Its meant to go under siding . It works great for going under fibre cement siding . As you don't need to fir out around windows and corners and trim areas . It makes a big noise difference especially wind . R value is only around 3.5 If I remember correctly.
Stay away from Hardie board trims and use Smart Board instead and use Hardie board or Alurra siding . Alurra is nicer too work with and less brittle. Both are good . You will have no breathing issues as lap siding has lots of air movement .
Wrap your case with a house wrap , then clad in Level Wall then trim with battens and follow with siding . Just make sure your windows are peel and sticked with Nova flash and properly flashed .
If you have any more questions just message me and I will help you with pointing you in the right directions .
403 701 9984

[thumper]

I've got factory painted Hardy-board on the cabin at the lake. It was my choice because a) it's fire-proof, b) it's maintenance free (no painting needed after 15 years) c) it looks good. Downsides: a) more expensive in initial costs of product and installation b) installation generates dust - house needs rinse down after installation c) if it's nicked or 'bruised', repairing the damage is a pain - and matching paint is required. But I liked it so much that I had my 30 yr-old cedar siding on our Canmore house replaced with it too. With a steel roof and synthetic decks, the exterior is now almost fire-roof.

[thumper]

Forgot to mention - we also used Hardy Board for the trim and even their new soffit.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by dmac

i really like the look of hardie board.

Pricey but worth it.

Grizz