Hardie Corp Finally Gives Inspectors What's Needed

[hausdok]

By Mike O'Handley, Editor-TIJ

There have been some big changes on the James Hardie siding site and in their siding products. Hardie has set up what they call the HardieZoneâ„¢ System and they now offer siding with specific performance attributes relative to the climate where one's home is being built. This gives builders the ability to get the right siding for a climate every time.

Hardie bases their HardieZoneâ„¢ System on the eight individual climatic variables that primarily affect long-term performance of siding. Using these factors they've arrived at ten distinct climatic zones. Though the zones are different, they found common variables in certain regions and this has allowed them to engineer the HZ5 product line for zones 1 through 5 and the HZ10 product line for zones 6 through 10.

Besides formulating two different siding products to be used in different climate zones, Hardie has put up on their website a whole new series of installation guides that are based on regions (North, South and West) and keyed to their various lap (HardiePlank), vertical (HardiePanel) and shingle (HardieShingle) products.

Especially helpful are their new Best Practices Guides. In order to accommodate local building requirements, Hardie has regionalized the Best Practices Guides and keyed them to climate zones. These go into much more careful detail than their installation instructions ever did. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to download the entire guide for my region all at once; and I ended up downloading it as a series of eight separate PDF documents.

These new guides are going to be a powerful weapon in a home inspector's arsenal when dealing with intransigent builders who stubbornly insist that their incorrect installation of a Hardie product meets all of the manufacturer's specifications and must therefore be in full compliance with codes.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Thanks for posting this info. Mike. I did not realize they had modifed them already......

Does anyone else find themselves having trouble trying to figure out what to write up depending on when the home was built. This is in regards to compliance with manufacturers installation instructions?

Shoot, I just did 2 homes considered new construction this week -- 1 built in May of 2006, and the other built some time in 2007.

Does anyone remember when Hardie started requiring the gap between the siding/ flashing areas with no caulk?

Thanks,

[mthomas1]

I have reassembled it, here's a link to the James Hardie "Best Practices Guide", installation ionstructions for the Chicago area (Northern Section of the US) as a single document for home inspectors.

Be aware that this is a 34Mb download.

[Jim Katen]

I have reassembled it, here's a link to the James Hardie "Best Practices" for the Chicago area (Northern Section of the US) as a single document for home inspectors. Be aware that this is a 34Mb download.

When will you have the Western States version done?

[hausdok]

Hi,

Thanks for doing that, Mike. Jim, if I had an inkling of how to do it, I probably would have done it; but, then again, I'm not certain that I would have been allowed to archive it on TIJ without permission from J.H. Corp.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike