Timber Framers Guild

Concrete siding???

Posted By: Anonymous

Concrete siding??? - 03/01/02 04:14 AM

We love log homes but have nixed them for our retirement house for maint/settling reasons(even though it would look perfect on our mountain lot). So we have decided on a post & beam home, exposed timbers, SIP.
Our house was going to be a 1 1/2 story log home w/shed dormer, two small dormers, full porch- 2000 sq. ft. Instead in addition to beautiful timbers inside, we'll add real wood on the porch posts, front door, anywhere it'll be covered and protected. We thought we'd do a concrete block foundation and cover it(3/4 will be exposed with cultured stone. We want a slate look shingle roof..so that will be lighter than metal.

We're now working on the siding decision. Stucco, vinyl- yuk! Brick...not a mountain look. What about concrete siding? James Hardie makes a rough cedar look plank & shingles (I have a sample and seen a home locally with it and it looks great). It does need to be painted (but paint lasts a really long time). It's not cheap but it is NO MAINTENANCE (unless gets damaged) , no rot, no mildew, no bugs (and fireproof we're in fire suseptible area). Will the timberframe support all the concrete? Anything we need to know about structurally before we decide?
Posted By: Roger Brown

Re: Concrete siding??? - 03/01/02 05:55 PM

It is common for houses using ONLY sips to be sided with this product so a TF with sips should be ok. I recently restored a house in north texas and used cement board - unfortunately had to remove the original cedar beveled siding as it was too far gone and owner wanted maint-free but not vinyl (understandably). The house was stud construction and those there is a weight difference, no ill effects noted or expected. I found best to use screws vs. nails for install and need to pre-drill near the ends to avoid splitting. You can read more about install of such product from many other sites.
Just my personal thoughts -----> this is your retirement home. How about using natural stone instead - maintenance free and will fit in to your site well - use stone native to your area - a great addition to a TF home.....obviously, cost/benefit tradeoffs to be considered. Option would be stonework on more visible sides with plank on other sides....just suggestions. May your projects be successful.
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