Architects use the word cladding to describe what covers a building’s exterior. When we use metaphors to equate a house to a person, we speak of windows as eyes, doors as mouths, cladding as skin.
We used Hardi panel cement board in 4’ x 8’ painted sheets to cover the exterior of both my home and the new garage/apartment. It is a composite material made up of cement and recycled cellulose that is heavy, but extremely durable. In the six years since my home was built, all I’ve done is to wash down the siding with soapy water to cleanse it of bird droppings and slug trails. Long-lasting materials like cement board not only require fewer resources for replacement, but also reduce maintenance and repair costs.
According to the Web site, http://www.jameshardie.com/, Hardi panel is endorsed by the National Association of Home Builders and James Hardie Company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. Hardi panel resists damage from wet, humid environments, wind impact, insects and fire. It also holds paint well.
James Hardie has 10 manufacturing facilities around the country – the nearest to us in the Pacific Northwest is Tacoma, WA – which reduce long-distance materials transport. The materials themselves, wood pulp, cement, sand and water, are low in toxicity.
On the down side, I’ve never met a builder that didn’t complain about how difficult it is to cut. That adds time to your labor costs, so Robert and Lydia drew the panel layout carefully to minimize cuts. On this project, we bedded the edges of each panel in sealant and concealed them in an aluminum trim piece.
We used Hardi panel cement board in 4’ x 8’ painted sheets to cover the exterior of both my home and the new garage/apartment. It is a composite material made up of cement and recycled cellulose that is heavy, but extremely durable. In the six years since my home was built, all I’ve done is to wash down the siding with soapy water to cleanse it of bird droppings and slug trails. Long-lasting materials like cement board not only require fewer resources for replacement, but also reduce maintenance and repair costs.
According to the Web site, http://www.jameshardie.com/, Hardi panel is endorsed by the National Association of Home Builders and James Hardie Company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. Hardi panel resists damage from wet, humid environments, wind impact, insects and fire. It also holds paint well.
James Hardie has 10 manufacturing facilities around the country – the nearest to us in the Pacific Northwest is Tacoma, WA – which reduce long-distance materials transport. The materials themselves, wood pulp, cement, sand and water, are low in toxicity.
On the down side, I’ve never met a builder that didn’t complain about how difficult it is to cut. That adds time to your labor costs, so Robert and Lydia drew the panel layout carefully to minimize cuts. On this project, we bedded the edges of each panel in sealant and concealed them in an aluminum trim piece.
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