Fiber-cement panel mock up

Our sub-contractor (Danny from Longboard Contracting) will begin installing the fiber-cement panels on Monday. I don't know if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but we decided to go with panels by Certainteed. Most fiber-cement products on the market are by James Hardie (as in "Hardiplank") which is a great product. Both Hardi and Certainteed products contain recycled content, are manufactured locally, and are extremely durable. The main reason we decided to go with Certainteed was the fact that, in addition to the recycled content, they guarantee a minimum of 30% recycled fly ash in their mix. Another reason was the better color selection as well as their finish. All pre-finished Hardipanels have a slight sheen that we weren't crazy about.

The irony, of course, is that we eventually chose the unfinished (just primed) panel from Certainteed because the primed finish closely resembled a concrete color had a great subtle texture to it. The image to the left shows the mock-up of the F-C panels and the window trim detail on the rear facade of the house.

Now you do have to eventually finish the panel (either paint or seal) in order to retain the 50 year warranty, but Certainteed gives you a two year window to do this before they'll void their warranty. Hardipanel is also available in a primed finish, but they only give you a 3 month window before you have to finish it. To me, this says something about the manufacturer's confidence in the durability of the raw material, although I am sure that Hardi's product would hold up just fine. Eventually the owner of the house will have to make a decision on whether to paint the panels or simply seal them, if they want to keep the warranty. The beauty of the primed panels is that they could also be painted subtly different colors to form kind of a patchwork pattern, if desired.

Either way, we are excited to see the panels go up as this is the final stage of the exterior cladding. Danny has been great to work with so far and has helped us find the best way to achieve the look we want. He's not the 'cheapest' installer out there, but he has a great reputation and it is very important that this part of the project be done well...so it's worth it.