James Hardie fiber cement siding is a great product in the right hands. High manufacturing standards ensure a consistent finish and colour throughout an order. But an incompetent installer can spoil the effect when they nail it up. Avoid this happening to you, by following these tips for James Hardie siding.

James Hardie Siding Tips at The Start of the Job

1. The James Hardie factory ships its products flat packed, waterproof wrapped, and perfectly dry. Make sure your contractor keeps your siding that way until they put it up.
2. Your installer should attach the lowest row of siding first, and then work upwards. Make sure the first row has sufficient clearance to prevent ground moisture transferring.
3. The horizontal butt joints between planks should allow for heat expansion in summer, to avoid bulging. James Hardie provides slip sheets for waterproofing underneath. They are not optional.
4. All cheap rust-resistant nails end up corroding, and staining the surface of James Hardie siding. Make sure your installer uses hot galvanized nails that should be adequate for Calgary conditions.
5. The fifth of our pre-installation tips for James Hardie siding concerns the number of nails, and where to place them. Follow their recommendations to help the planks remain in position.

More Suggestions as the Work Continues

6. Siding installers use air nailers to drive in the fastening nails. This speeds up the job, but can be at the cost of quality. Make sure all the nails are in a narrow band between ¾” and 1” from the top of each board.
7. If you follow our advice, the James Hardie planks should not need caulking at the butt joint where they meet. But caulking will be necessary where they abut trim, and this should colour-match that detail.
8. When the job is nearing completion, it is time to start trouble-shooting the details. James Hardie supplies colour-matched touch up to cover over any nails that show through. Make sure your contractor follows the instructions!
9. And finally, the last of our tips for James Hardie siding addresses the dust that falls when cutting the material. We recommend wiping it away immediately, before it sticks to the touch up and spoils the job

Tip # 10 – Choose the Right Contractor

There is more to installing James Hardie fiber-cement siding, than may be evident at first glance. Some of the errors we mentioned may only show though after a warranty expires. May we suggest you say, ‘don’t tell me, show me the work you have done’, before you choose your Calgary siding contractor.

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