Fiber Cement Shake

I have been holding off writing about Fiber Cement shake until I really did a good job of researching the products. There are primarily three companies that manufacture a fiber cement shake and each of the companies has advantages.

The 3 companies Nichiha Fiber Cement, James Hardie and Certainteed. James Hardie and Certainteed manufacture a 5/16 product while Nichiha Manufactures a 5/16 and a half inch fiber cement shake. The other advantage that Nichiha and Cetainteed have over James Hardie is that they offer a prefinished series of cement shakes that can give you a finish that is very close to authentic cedar and this can only be done in house.

Nichiha offers the only 1/2 fiber cement shake that is prefinishied. To see the fiber cement shakes from Nichiha then click here. They are in a panel series. Nichiha offers both panel and individual primed shakes. James Hardie offers both panels straight edge and staggered as well s individual shake, none of them are prefinihsed or primed.

Thin Brick Veneer Mortarless Panels

While visitng the plant that makes thin brick veneer I realized that there were very companies in the world that have the capability of manufacturing an alternative brick panel and while there are a few to mention, the most advanced seemed to be a Japanese based company, and yes, once again it was Nichiha.

The thin brick panels offer a serious savings over traditional brick and have a very real appearance and are surprisingly sturdy. The panels come in 6 foot lenths and are 18 inches high. They have a locking, clip system that makes them easy to install. After discussing the product with Nichiha I found that many light commercial type building is primarily where the product is being used. For example all Sonic drive ins are using this product and many reside brick jobs are now using the thin brick veneer panels.

Any architects that are looking for a mortarless brick alternative then check out the Nichiha architectural brick panels and see how it stacks up to real brick. These panels are made with fiber cement so do not rot or burn and never have to be painted or finished after they leave the factory.

Fiber cement Siding Costs

The costs of fiber cement will vary from region to region but not so much that we cannot give you a good estimate of the cost for that region. When having a reside done and trying to get a quote you should note that they are including three main things into the estimate.

1) Tear Off - what siding material is currently on the house and how long will it take to tear off.

2) The cost of the siding itself. Most installers are paying between %.50 and $6.50 per board of primed fiber cement siding. They will measure your house to determine the number of squares of siding and then determine the number of pieces and make sure to including a waste factor of about 8% to 13% of the total size of the house. If you are measuring yourself also remember that the siding has an overlap of around 1 and 1/4 inches that goes under the next board up. This is important to remember since 1 and 1/4 inches is a substantial part of a board that is 8 and 1/4 in total height. You must factor in this into how many boards you will need as well.

3) The third cost is the cost to install the actuall matieral. This cost is the one that fluctuates the most from company to company. Many companies will charge enough to have contact installers that work for them to do it. This means that they make sure that they hire contactors and pay them with the labor quote for the siding install. Don't think of this as a bad thing as many times the installers will do it for much cheaper for these comapnies since they give such high amounts of work. A good company will have an insurance cost as well to make sure that they are covered in the event of a miustake to the house that could cost a substantial amount of money.

Add these things together and you have what makes for a fiber cement siding quote.
If you would like a siding quote simply click here and fill out the form for a no obligations siding quote from several companies in your area.

Nichiha Fiber cement Siding

Nichiha Fiber Cement Siding

A japanes based company and a leader in an eco based fiber cement. For those that want a green siding then learn more about Nichiha Fiber Cement. They manufacture fiber cement brick panels, fiber cement stone panels, and fiber cement shake panels.

They just finished a 100 million manufacturing plant in Macon Georgia. So what makes Nichiha siding products different than James Hardie and Certainteed? Their mix is different and it uses fly ash instead of silica as the primart filler in their cement siding, shake, and trim and cement panels.

So what is fly ash and why is it better than silica? Fly ash is a coal derivative that is made when coal is burned to make energy in power plants. If the fly ash wasn't used it would end in landfills and clog up our landfills and this means that Nichiha is using a cleaner filler that does not have harmful effects on the lungs like silica does and it keeps the fly ash from clogging up landfills.

The fly ash is much healthier for those that cut and install the other cement sidings and have to deal with silicosis warnings that are because of using the silicosis as the filler.

Fiber Cement - Vinyl Siding - Lap Siding Costs

Learn more about the different sidings available for your home including the costs for fiber cement siding, vinyl siding and wood based siding. You can get qoutes right here online and find out exactly what it will cost you.

Top Three Sidings:

Fiber Cement Siding - fiber cement siding contains both cement and a small amount of wood pulp. The advantage to fiber cement is that it is tremendously resistant to the elements with properties that are almost identical to cement yet the wood fiber keeps the cement from being too brittle. This means that it can be cut with a saw, nailed with a hammer and literally goes up just like wood siding. The advantages to fiber cement are that it does not rot, delaminate, burn and it is very sturdy to the touch. it does have to be painted but many people like this as they only have to paint it every 7 to 12 years and this means that they can update and change the color if they choose.

There are 3 major manufacturers of FIber Cement in The World:

Nichiha Fiber Cement

James Hardie

Certainteed

See our next post for the differences in the three products.

Vinyl Siding - vinyl made a huge impact when it first came onto the scene and is still the largest siding category in the USA. The advantage of vinyl siding is the cost and the fact that it is a lower maintenance product versus the other sidings excluding brick. It is easier to install. The disadvantage is that it is not sturdy compared to the other sidings on the market and many consumers consider it lower end in the Southeast. On a residing job it is considered a much easier install as it can easily go over the existing siding on the house.

See our next post for actual siding costs of each of the products.