 GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5
 ·Dish Network
| How do I repair Hardie siding? I have a shed that was built about 3 years ago using Hardie siding. I have some pictures here: »Re: New Shed
Over last several months, some of the siding has cracked/broken where the nails were driven so that the siding piece has either fallen off or is being held in place by the remaining nails. The boards were all blind nailed into place, but the breaks are occurring where I can't blind nail unless I remove all the courses of siding that were installed beyond the break point. That is, the broken boards are basically smack dab in the middle of the wall. I don't want to remove more siding since I'd end up breaking more boards and make a whole lot more work for myself.
Does anyone know how to repair Hardie board issues like the above?
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I spent the last two years of high school in a daze. I . . . tried drugs enthusiastically. --Barack "Choomer-in-Chief" Obama. I'm so proud of our prez. |
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robbinPremium,MVM
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX
kudos:1 | How about some pics |
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
1 edit | Let me see if I can get some. It's going to be hard to show this.
Okay. Here are the pics as best as I could show the problem.
1. Several courses of boards are pulling away.
2. It's hard to see, but just left of the gray post, you can see where there's a nail and where the board has split towards the upper right corner.
3. A rotated view of 2 where you can see the nail head and the cracked board
4. An unrelated picture showing some miscellaneous cracked boards. I think caulking and paint will fix that. |
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| reply to Goober
My approach to a similar situation was to get concrete backer board of the appropriate thickness, open the area up enough that I had something to fasten to, cut to exact size, install with a layer of the best outdoor caulk behind and at the joints, screw down, caulk the top of the seams if needed, and paint.
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Gadgets |
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
| Gaining access is going to be the main problem. I'm afraid I'll break more boards if I bend it, but I don't want to take any rows off.
I suppose I could face nail it. It won't look as good, but it's probably an easier fix.
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I spent the last two years of high school in a daze. I . . . tried drugs enthusiastically. --Barack "Choomer-in-Chief" Obama. I'm so proud of our prez. |
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| reply to Goober
I would definitely do "whatever is easiest" and cheapest because it's likely there are more problems on-the-way. At least, to me it looks like the shed has an inadequate foundation, maybe for the sheer weight of all that gorgeous Hardi, and it's causing the entire structure to be strained and twisted. The slab apparently hates Chicago winters--3 of them so far, yes?
I see one foundation crack that's obvious (accompanied by a similar Hardi crack). Maybe a foundation repair company can pump-in some more concrete or something to level it out. But you probably don't want to spend that kind of money on this. |
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| reply to Goober
said by Goober:Gaining access is going to be the main problem. I'm afraid I'll break more boards if I bend it, but I don't want to take any rows off.
I suppose I could face nail it. It won't look as good, but it's probably an easier fix.
I didn't take any extra off. Use a side grinder with a cutoff blade to make your work area. Make it so you have at least 1 good anchor point to fasten to. Any place you can't anchor make a brace and put it in place with liquid nails or the gold deck screws, make sure to let the liquid nails cure long enough.When I did that I also Great Stuffed it. If you're careful it comes out pretty good after the paint.
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
| reply to laserfan
said by laserfan:I would definitely do "whatever is easiest" and cheapest because it's likely there are more problems on-the-way. At least, to me it looks like the shed has an inadequate foundation, maybe for the sheer weight of all that gorgeous Hardi, and it's causing the entire structure to be strained and twisted. The slab apparently hates Chicago winters--3 of them so far, yes?
I see one foundation crack that's obvious (accompanied by a similar Hardi crack). Maybe a foundation repair company can pump-in some more concrete or something to level it out. But you probably don't want to spend that kind of money on this.
Foundation crack? I don't think there is one. It was built on concrete piers and not a slab. We didn't want to get a permit. The thing is pretty level and really seems to be about the same as it was when we first had it built.
The shed was about $3,500, so we're willing to spend a little on it to get it back to snuff.
said by GadgetsRme:said by Goober:Gaining access is going to be the main problem. I'm afraid I'll break more boards if I bend it, but I don't want to take any rows off.
I suppose I could face nail it. It won't look as good, but it's probably an easier fix.
I didn't take any extra off. Use a side grinder with a cutoff blade to make your work area. Make it so you have at least 1 good anchor point to fasten to. Any place you can't anchor make a brace and put it in place with liquid nails or the gold deck screws, make sure to let the liquid nails cure long enough.When I did that I also Great Stuffed it. If you're careful it comes out pretty good after the paint. I don't know if I'm up to that. If that's what needs to be done, I'll hire it out.
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I spent the last two years of high school in a daze. I . . . tried drugs enthusiastically. --Barack "Choomer-in-Chief" Obama. I'm so proud of our prez. |
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 dolphinsClean Up Our OceansPremium
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ
kudos:3
 ·Comcast
| reply to Goober
You need to pull the ones that are pushed out to find what's causing the problem. Could be some serious damage behind them? As for replacing boards in the middle of a wall you'll need to carefully remove them and the fasteners with a flat pry bar so you can slide the new ones back underneath. You'll need a diamond blade or a Hardi-blade for your circular saw for any cuts. What works really well when replacing the boards is a pneumatic finish nailer with rubber mar proof tip and 2 1/2" galvanized finish nails. I like using my Paslode cordless nailer but any pneumatic will do as long as you set the depth correctly. They hide really well after painting so you can nail anywhere on the board face. I recommend caulking the tiny nail holes before painting.
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
| I checked and there's no damage behind the boards. I think over time there's been settling and the stress at the nail hole site caused the board to crack.
I'll have to rent a nailer for this. I only have a 15 gauge Porter Cable. I don't know if that thing drives galvanized. I'll have to check.
So in other words face nail, slightly countersink and then paint?
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I spent the last two years of high school in a daze. I . . . tried drugs enthusiastically. --Barack "Choomer-in-Chief" Obama. I'm so proud of our prez. |
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| reply to Goober
said by Goober:Foundation crack? I don't think there is one. It was built on concrete piers and not a slab. We didn't want to get a permit. The thing is pretty level and really seems to be about the same as it was when we first had it built. Ok, well this looked like a Hardi crack-above-foundation to me:
I guess that is another Hardi-board of some kind down below. And the other problems look like symptoms of twisting; Hardi certainly doesn't crack like that, or open gaps, with simple aging. There has to be some sort of (very) severe pressure put on it. |
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dolphinsClean Up Our OceansPremium
join:2001-08-22
Westville, NJ
kudos:3 Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to Goober
said by Goober:I'll have to rent a nailer for this. I only have a 15 gauge Porter Cable. I don't know if that thing drives galvanized. I'll have to check. »www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto···02279660
So in other words face nail, slightly countersink and then caulk then paint?
I checked and there's no damage behind the boards. I think over time there's been settling and the stress at the nail hole
site caused the board to crack.
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| reply to Goober
said by Goober:So in other words face nail, slightly countersink and then paint?
When you face nail it, stay away from the corners. The previous builder down here used HardiBoard on a lot of houses and nailed the corners about 2" in from the ends and 1" up from the bottom. I am assuming due to the heating/cooling and expansion and contraction, almost every board has broken corners where it was nailed.
All new construction seems to be nailed a good distance from the edges.
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The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. |
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
| reply to Goober
said by laserfan:said by Goober:Foundation crack? I don't think there is one. It was built on concrete piers and not a slab. We didn't want to get a permit. The thing is pretty level and really seems to be about the same as it was when we first had it built. Ok, well this looked like a Hardi crack-above-foundation to me: I guess that is another Hardi-board of some kind down below. And the other problems look like symptoms of twisting; Hardi certainly doesn't crack like that, or open gaps, with simple aging. There has to be some sort of (very) severe pressure put on it. Maybe. I looked around the foundation on all the other sides and I didn't see any cracking/cracked boards like the ones on the front there. I wonder if the front portion may need some kind of further floor support where people walk around and the heavy stuff gets stored.
said by dolphins:said by Goober:I checked and there's no damage behind the boards. I think over time there's been settling and the stress at the nail hole
site caused the board to crack. You may want to dig a little deeper before replacing the hardiboard? I will. Being a shed, I can see the inside walls and the framing. There's no moisture anywhere that I can determine. But I'm going to take a closer look.
said by pende_tim:said by Goober:So in other words face nail, slightly countersink and then paint?
When you face nail it, stay away from the corners. The previous builder down here used HardiBoard on a lot of houses and nailed the corners about 2" in from the ends and 1" up from the bottom. I am assuming due to the heating/cooling and expansion and contraction, almost every board has broken corners where it was nailed. All new construction seems to be nailed a good distance from the edges. I think the nailing distances you mentioned are within Hardie specs. Most of the boards that I can see have those distances. But I'll have to measure the corners of the two broken ones. I wonder if he didn't get too close on those. I bet he likely did.
Thanks to everyone for all the advice.
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I spent the last two years of high school in a daze. I . . . tried drugs enthusiastically. --Barack "Choomer-in-Chief" Obama. I'm so proud of our prez. |
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 DraimanLet me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC
 ·Verizon FiOS
| reply to Goober
I'm having a garage built with Hardie siding myself. The contractor said it should be 6-12" minimum above the ground. It's prone to deterioration so you don't want it exposed to the ground or any place where water runs off and the splash can get on it regularly.
I'm sure you can fix it with some nail or screws & caulk or even some LiquidNails caulk adhesive stuff but no idea how long you'll get on those bottom boards before they deteriorate. |
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GooberPremium
join:2000-12-17
Naperville, IL
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Dish Network
| Hmm, thanks. I didn't know there had to be ground clearance. It makes sense though. I guess I'll have to address those issues as they come up.
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| reply to Draiman
said by Draiman:I'm having a garage built with Hardie siding myself. The contractor said it should be 6-12" minimum above the ground. It's prone to deterioration so you don't want it exposed to the ground or any place where water runs off and the splash can get on it regularly. I don't agree about "splash" at all, nor do I understand your contractor's statement about "prone to deterioration" because it is certainly NOT if installed properly. We have both a house and a guest house garage sided with Hardi, and after ten years it looks like the day they installed it--no cracking or "pull-aways" like the OP's. And water/splash runs off it like water off a duck's back. We probably oughta re-paint, and do some caulk touch-up after ten years, but that's about it.
However neither are any of our Hardi planks directly touching the ground--I suppose that if Hardi, or virtually any other material, sits on top of wet earth for long enough it might deteriorate...
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