Building Materials Thread

ramjo

ramjo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Location
Marion,NC
So it looks like a few folks are building new and remodeling, and I like to know what materials/products/suppliers others use. Siding, roofing, trim, cabinets, whatever you like to use on your projects. Also feel free to list products that you wouldn't use if somebody gave them to you......


We've been doing mostly siding work lately and it's all fiber cement products. I prefer James Hardi cedar mill over Allura (only used it once but it was really wavy straight off the pallet).


I've used LP Smart siding a few times and I like it. Seems like it lays tighter to the wall with less face nailing. It is a o.s.b. (wood) product so it is a lot easier and less mess from installer standpoint.

For window and corner trim I prefer Miratec brand, again for ease of installation over Hard I trim and it looks and performs well too.


That should get the ball rolling....
 
ramjo said:
So it looks like a few folks are building new and remodeling, and I like to know what materials/products/suppliers others use. Siding, roofing, trim, cabinets, whatever you like to use on your projects. Also feel free to list products that you wouldn't use if somebody gave them to you......


We've been doing mostly siding work lately and it's all fiber cement products. I prefer James Hardi cedar mill over Allura (only used it once but it was really wavy straight off the pallet).


I've used LP Smart siding a few times and I like it. Seems like it lays tighter to the wall with less face nailing. It is a o.s.b. (wood) product so it is a lot easier and less mess from installer standpoint.

For window and corner trim I prefer Miratec brand, again for ease of installation over Hard I trim and it looks and performs well too.


That should get the ball rolling....
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Looking for siding work in Huntersville? Well, quote? I need a new roof first, I thought I was going to do the siding first.

Ever used any Nichiha products BTW? Ever done any rain screen installs on residential (haven't found anyone that even knows what I'm talking about in the local area)...?
 
We (Matthews Bldg Supply) sell nichi and hardi. Nichi is a little less $$. Never used either personally but haven't heard any negatives of one over the other. MiraTEC is widely used for the trim boards.

Most prefer Advantech to the other types of floor decking and zip sheathing (has building wrap adhered to it already) is becoming pretty popular.

I'm a lowly estimator there but get a general idea of what our contractors want. We do mostly custom homes.
 
broncosbybart said:
We (Matthews Bldg Supply) sell nichi and hardi.
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Thats where all the materials from my house came from. Great company to deal with in my opinion.
 
Fabrik8 said:
Looking for siding work in Huntersville? Well, quote? I need a new roof first, I thought I was going to do the siding first.

Ever used any Nichiha products BTW? Ever done any rain screen installs on residential (haven't found anyone that even knows what I'm talking about in the local area)...?
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We are staying busy around Asheville and thats not to far from home :). I think install pricing is all over the board....I would be interested to know what others are getting as well. I don't price out anything on these jobs, so I'm not much help there.

I've never used Nichiha or rain screen before. The Nichiha sounds good for the fact that is a solid molded product and not a couple layers like Hardie.

From what tiny bit I looked up on rain screens, sounds like it's used in wetter/harsher climates, so I doubt it is used much around here. I could be wrong though.
 
ramjo said:
From what tiny bit I looked up on rain screens, sounds like it's used in wetter/harsher climates, so I doubt it is used much around here. I could be wrong though.
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It's mostly a commercial technique around here, with cladding materials. Also high-end residential for the same reasons of those type of materials, and SIP construction as well so there aren't problems with trapping moisture between the siding and the (structural) SIP skin. You're right though, it's not that well known around here because the climate makes it (arguably) unnecessary unless you want to play with cool materials.

You can do some really cool stuff with rainscreen installation though, like plank Ipe or cement board panels with a reveal between them. Also shiplap is used a lot, but that's not technically a rainscreen installation from what I understand, and is more an airgap installation (with drainage plane). Building science is changing very rapidly, or maybe just people are finally paying attention to building science principles...

Here's a garage from GarageJournal (just a random pic I found) that has Ipe and cement board, all done in rainscreen style with furring strips:

P1010492.JPG
 
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If your looking for hardwood flooring, look for Somerset. They are a mill in KY and the milling is always good.
 
Fabrik8 said:
You're right though, it's not that well known around here because the climate makes it (arguably) unnecessary unless you want to play with cool materials.
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The math is different. If you're spending $650k for a shitty 1,800 SF split-level in Bellvue, WA, that needs major renovations, $65/sf for a cladding system isn't a big deal. That same house in Clayton would only cost $180k. It's going to get fiber cement lap siding.
 
We've been using the LP siding for a few months now. I like it a lot better than hardi board. Doesn't have the waves and 50 year warranty 30 year paint warranty.
 
x2 on somerset. we have used horizon forest products several times and have been impressed with their quality every time
 
jyaks said:
We've been using the LP siding for a few months now. I like it a lot better than hardi board. Doesn't have the waves and 50 year warranty 30 year paint warranty.
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I'm in the market for siding soon, so I'm curious about such things. What do you like better about the LP? Ease of installation, or cost, or durability, or less moisture absorption, etc...?
 
Went to our company sales meeting today. 30% increase in lumber costs pretty much starting now, due to tariffs on Canadian lumber. If you need framing materials, get them asap!!
 
Fabrik8 said:
I'm in the market for siding soon, so I'm curious about such things. What do you like better about the LP? Ease of installation, or cost, or durability, or less moisture absorption, etc...?
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Less moisture absorption, doesn't show the waves that hardi and vinyl do. The warranty that comes with it. Same look as hardi but don't have to paint it.
 
jyaks said:
Less moisture absorption, doesn't show the waves that hardi and vinyl do. The warranty that comes with it. Same look as hardi but don't have to paint it.
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I agree with you on the waviness. I wish they made.it with a little sharper bottom edge
 
ramjo said:
That's cool, Definitely modern look. I wouldn't mind doing something like that....
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That's the problem. Unless you do it yourself, you're stuck. You can't find someone that knows anything about it, let alone would have any clue how to quote it. I'm not even in a building trade, but can draw almost any exterior detail on a rainscreen system from memory just from research. I've learned enough to know that I can't afford to have it on our house, except in small accent areas because of the detail labor involved. Materials can run the gamut from cheap to expensive, the Minerit cement board on that garage is about $6/sqft IIRC. I've got samples sitting on the shelf next to me.

I'm sure the guys in Raleigh would have much better luck with the amount of modern homes in that area.
 
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shawn said:
$65/sf for a cladding system isn't a big deal.
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Is that a legit number and if so what does that include?


Fabrik8 said:
That's the problem. Unless you do it yourself, you're stuck. You can't find someone that knows anything about it, let alone would have any clue how to quote it. I'm sure the guys in Raleigh would have much better luck with the amount of modern homes in that area.
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Interested to see what Shawn $65 sf number includes :popcorn:
 
ramjo said:
Is that a legit number and if so what does that include?
Interested to see what Shawn $65 sf number includes :popcorn:
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I don't have any intuition about the $65, but generally you'd be paying for the cost of the cladding, a decently expensive water resistive barrier (not standard housewrap), flashing details, trim, furring strips or J/hat channel, panel clips/fasteners, insect blocker screen at the top/bottom, and the labor to install all of it.
 
ramjo said:
Is that a legit number and if so what does that include?




Interested to see what Shawn $65 sf number includes :popcorn:
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Labor, silicone WRB, cladding system.... it's $45/sf, easy. All depends on what the cladding is.
 
Is anyone using Boral siding? They apparently have a Salisbury plant, which may earn them my business (if the product is good).

Boral To Double Capacity For Truexterior Siding Trim - Truexterior News - About - Truexterior - Boral USA

Spoke with someone at the Meridian/Boral showroom location on Sharon Amity in Charlotte (very nice people), they said they don't stock the siding on-site, but they do supply. They did verify that the siding is made in the Salisbury location. No idea about pricing yet, but I'll try to get down there sometime soon.

No cut-edge painting required.
 
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A few pics of LP vs Hardie since I had a few pieces laying around. LP has more grain definition.


LP smart siding on top...


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LP profile edge

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Hardie straight edge and you can kind of see how it's layered. The broke off chunk was one layer... I think it has 3 more


KIMG0768.jpg
 
So it looks like the Boral trim is just barely more than twice the cost of Miratec. Soooo Miratec it is for the window trim and fascia boards.

The siding cost is.... ....a lot more than Hardie or Nichiha.
7.25inch bevel is roughly 3X the cost of Hardie/LP/Nichiha, but at least it's a true bevel and not a flat plank. So the Boral is pretty much equal to cypress in cost, and with the same bevel profile. So really a drop-in replacement for traditional wood profiles.

Sucks, because I got some Boral trim and siding samples today, and the stuff seems far higher quality than Hardie. Just not affordable for me.
 
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