The Siding Continues
Our rainscreen siding has been a slow and tedious process. So far we are almost 4 days into it, and we are probably about 3/4 of the way done. Thanks to family and friends, we were able to get a bunch of it done this last Friday and Saturday. We hope it will all be done by today, or Tuesday. I have to admit though, that despite all the hard work, it’s worth it. The look it gives the house is very distinct, and it really sets the tone for the whole addition.
For those who have asked about some of the details, read on for a short explanation of exactly what we are doing and why.
The concept of a rainscreen is not a new one, although it has been utilized much more frequently in modern architecture in recent years. The basic idea is that you start with your exterior surface, and then add your waterproof layer. In our case we wrapped the whole house in Tyvec, and followed that with a layer of 15 pound building paper. We just used the building paper as a layer to black the house out, and not so much for it’s waterproofing. To that layer you nail furring strips that will hold your final cladding away from the house. We used 1/2″ pressure treated plywood that was ripped into 2/1/2″ strips and then painted black. For our project we mounted the furring strip every 16″ so we would be screwing into studs. Remember your furring strip layout will determine you screw pattern and your joints. Last you attach your cladding. I have seen some beautiful Ipe rainscreens, but since we were on a budget we went with hardie board. We actually used a 7 1/4″ Hardie lap siding mounted with a 1/4″ reveal between them. To make our reveals consistent we ripped down some 1/4 masonite to set between the siding as we mounted them. We found the best thing for cutting the Hardie siding was a pair of power sheers. Lastly for screws, we used a #10 pan head self tapping stainless steel screws with a square drive head. They were 1 1/2″ in length. We got them online from McFeelys for about $450 for 4,000.
Thats a lot of details, but hopefully that answers some questions for some of you. There haven’t really been a lot of rainscreen applications that I know of that have been around for 15-20 years, so how it holds up is still to be seen.
More info about rainscreens here and here.
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12 Responses to “The Siding Continues”
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I’m really glad you took the time to do this detailed post. I actually thought that the furring strips were going to be horizontal and that the 1/4 inch reveal would show just the furring strip. Of course, that would stop the vertical flow of air and moisture and would defeat the purpose, so now it makes a lot more sense. I can’t see why this wouldn’t hold up over time unless moisture finds some way to enter at the screw holes. On a sailboat, the hardware that is attached to the deck with screws will have the screw holes sealed with silicone or the like, but that seems like overkill on this vertical surface. Great looking work. Keep it up! _d
So that’s where the ladder went! Thanks a lot for stealing it from our jobsite!
Michelle
Did you paint the hardi that color or did it come from the factory that way? Was it much extra to get it in a color if so?
I think it looks great. Are you concerned at all about bugs or other critters that may make homes behind your cladding? Did you take any measures to prevent this?
nice color too. how much was each strip of hardi? just wondering how it compares to hardipanel at 75 cents per square foot (although the hardipanel seems a little harder to install and thinner…
So what was with the use of hariplank instead of hardipanel? I am about to do this on a 12×12 shed and I am trying to figure out which I should use. I’d love some insight on the decision making process on that one. Thanks!
Oh, and the house is amazing!
Volan,
We used the Hardie Lap siding because it had the dimensions that we wanted, the thickness and width. You could use hardie panel, and it would probably be cheaper, but it wouldn’t be worth it (in my opinion) if you had to rip it all down. It would be really hard to get clean cuts and straight reveals.
Did you use self-tapping or self-drilling screws on this application? It says self-tapping in the post, but I’ve been told that you either need to pre drill or use self drilling with the hardie products…
You rock for helping on this stuff…
Volan,
I did use self tapping. Way better than having to pre drill everything. I got them from McFeelys.
Just a follow up on that bugs/critters question… I’ve noticed a lot of rain screen applications include some type of mesh at the top and bottom to prevent anything from getting behind the siding, however, those rain screen applications probably butt joint the cladding–in your case, 1/4″ gaps means anything can crawl, slide, or slither back there… any concerns?
I’m in the North East so we would probably just get slugs, crickets, and snails behind there–on the other hand, bees, wasps, and yellow jackets might find those spaces comfortable as well. Any thoughts?
Any word on the color vs paint issue? I cant seem to find any info on whether or not you need to paint the colored stuff.
David, it’s available from the factory in a few different colors. They paint it at the factory. The only painting you need to do is where you make cuts. Does that help?