Mike Lamb Posted February 15, 2020 Report Posted February 15, 2020 Hardie board does not recommend caulking between siding butt joints. Why?
Jim Katen Posted February 15, 2020 Report Posted February 15, 2020 Because it never works well. Things expand and contract, the caulk fails, and water gets behind the siding. 1
Jerry Simon Posted February 15, 2020 Report Posted February 15, 2020 The caulk/siding colors won't match after a few years; joints look like shite. 1
Mike Lamb Posted February 16, 2020 Author Report Posted February 16, 2020 Well, hopefully the caulk is not a replacement for the butt flashing behind the siding. Water will get behind siding somehow regardless. Hardie does recommend caulking next to window/door trim etc. So caulking failure is inevitable. Jerry may be more spot on as far as a cosmetic concern.
John Kogel Posted February 16, 2020 Report Posted February 16, 2020 In the early years, it was caulk only, After a while, ☹️ flashing each joint became the standard for obvious reasons. With the flashing there, the caulk is not needed, but caulk and paint might be done to hide gaps.
Jim Katen Posted February 16, 2020 Report Posted February 16, 2020 18 hours ago, Mike Lamb said: Well, hopefully the caulk is not a replacement for the butt flashing behind the siding. For the first 15 years or so, caulk was, indeed, to be used in lieu of flashing. A clean, tight butt joint always looks better than a caulked one - even before the caulk failure sets in. You do realize that the siding in your picture is not a Hardie product, right?
Tom Raymond Posted February 16, 2020 Report Posted February 16, 2020 Looks more like LP smartside to me. It moves so much it requires gaps and caulking.
Mike Lamb Posted February 17, 2020 Author Report Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Jim Katen said: For the first 15 years or so, caulk was, indeed, to be used in lieu of flashing. A clean, tight butt joint always looks better than a caulked one - even before the caulk failure sets in. You do realize that the siding in your picture is not a Hardie product, right? I'm pretty sure it is cement board and not LP. I did not think put a knife into it to check. I use Hardie Specs for installation If I think it is cement board. Might this be Certainteed cement board? Tom might be right. I suppose it could be LP. Edited February 17, 2020 by Mike Lamb
Jim Katen Posted February 17, 2020 Report Posted February 17, 2020 I'll bet a dollar that it's LP. Do you have other pictures of it?
Mike Lamb Posted February 17, 2020 Author Report Posted February 17, 2020 Here are some other images. And yes, I did notice that the Z flashing has been improperly caulked.
palmettoinspect Posted February 17, 2020 Report Posted February 17, 2020 I agree it looks like LP. I wonder why it took James Hardie so long to detail the butt joints with flashing? I recall joint flashing being used at each asbestos wall tile joint back in the day. It was usually small tar paper strips.
adrianf Posted February 18, 2020 Report Posted February 18, 2020 Yup. Caulking looks like crap after a while and will inevitably leak. Nothing beats the flashing behind the siding. It lets the planks, flashing and attaching structure sit tightly together while improving overall ventilation of the siding. If any moisture finds its way behind the siding, it can evaporate quicker and be evacuated more effectively, minimizing mold and/or rot conditions.
Trent Tarter Posted February 18, 2020 Report Posted February 18, 2020 On 2/15/2020 at 4:18 PM, Mike Lamb said: Well, hopefully the caulk is not a replacement for the butt flashing behind the siding. Water will get behind siding somehow regardless. Hardie does recommend caulking next to window/door trim etc. So caulking failure is inevitable. Jerry may be more spot on as far as a cosmetic concern. That's LP smart side, not hardiplank.
Mike Lamb Posted February 18, 2020 Author Report Posted February 18, 2020 I'm getting the feeling it's LP and not Hardie plank. 🐑 1
Rob Amaral Posted February 19, 2020 Report Posted February 19, 2020 That does not look like Hardie Mike... 1
JayneEVHI Posted June 5, 2020 Report Posted June 5, 2020 Does anybody have a pic of what Hardie Board looks like?
Larry Fontana Posted August 5, 2021 Report Posted August 5, 2021 JayneEVHI I just installed Hardie on my home. Here are some close ups.
Jim Katen Posted August 6, 2021 Report Posted August 6, 2021 That's just one pattern. They make several. Anyone who wants to know what it looks like can just go to their website.
Trent Tarter Posted August 6, 2021 Report Posted August 6, 2021 Typically you caulk joints between trim. You do not caulk the butt joints in siding, joint flashings are required at butt joints. The joint flashings can be metal or poly material such as "Bear Skin" flashing sheets. See attached document for more info. hardieplank-hz5-us-en.pdf
InspectorBuck Posted September 25, 2021 Report Posted September 25, 2021 In this area, we are lucky if they at caulk it. The builders around here will argue about whether or not it needs flashing.
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