Hardi boards cracking

[Robert Jones]

Would damage like this be caused by poor nailing? Settlement? Combo of both?

Home was built in 2003, Hardi Lap all the way around. Damage is primarily on one side and consists of approx 6 boards.

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[Jim Katen]

Would damage like this be caused by poor nailing? Settlement? Combo of both?

Home was built in 2003, Hardi Lap all the way around. Damage is primarily on one side and consists of approx 6 boards.

They nailed it too close to the edge.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Robert Jones]

Thanks Jim. I am guessing no easy repair other than applying sealant to the damaged areas?

[Jim Katen]

Thanks Jim. I am guessing no easy repair other than applying sealant to the damaged areas?

If it's on the windy side of the building where it'll get hit by wind-driven rain, I'd replace the damaged boards. Otherwise, I'd just leave them alone. Caulk won't really do anything but look bad.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Robert Jones]

Thanks Jim.

[Brandon Whitmore]

I agree that they nailed the boards too close to the edge, but............

The manufacturer only specifies the need for 3/8" (if Hardie) from edges. http://www.jameshardie.com/pdf/install/ ... k_west.pdf

The manufacturer does not seem to have a problem with a few face nails here and there when their siding is blind nailed, and face nails typically end up getting placed at butt edges to hold them tight to the structure.

Does anyone know what actually causes the cracks? Is it expansion/ contractor, stress from nailing, or something else? The reason I ask is that some homes have no butt joint cracks when installed like this, while others have cracks all over the place.

[Chad Fabry]

If the board it slaps around when you try to nail through, it'll break the corner. One has to hold the siding firm against the house while nailing. The corner is all messed up before the sider has lunch. It might take a year or so to show but it will.

I know it's not an approved method but when I need to draw two pieces into the same plane I drive the nail in the crack and use just the head to true them.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Thanks Chad,

Makes sense to me.

[Bain]

I installed 1/2 round Hardie in one of my eaves a couple of summers ago. The stuff is so hard, it's very easy to weaken--or in my early attempts destroy--while nailing into place. Ultimately, after I'd damaged a couple of perfectly-mitered pieces, I pre-drilled all the nail holes.

Of course I'd go broke as an installer unless someone was paying me by the hour.

[hausdok]

Hi,

I've had occasion to see moronic siders installing this stuff in the pouring down rain with pieces lying in the water on the ground as soggy as old shredded wheat.

In a perfect world, when properly blind-nailed with the right amount of reveal and a proper starter strip, those two corners would never need to be tacked down but we all know that framing is rarely, if ever, perfectly flat and aligned and getting this stuff to lie flat can be a pain.

I've got this theory that, if one blind-nails this stuff when it's wet, and then tacks down the corners at the butts, when the concrete dries it's going to shrink; and, when those claps start straining upward at the corners, the corners break off.

I'd kind of like to be able to do an experiment on something to prove it. Anyone have a house and some nice new Hardiplank you're willing to trash and not hold me accountable? Sorry, I don't have a shed like Jim does.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[hmiller]

Mike

You are pretty much right on. There is a reason in the installation instructions it specifies that face nailing should not be used in conjunction with blind nailing. It is one or the other, but not both. Wet or not, you could still get enough thermal expansion and contraction that will crack those corners when face and blind nailed at the same time.