Face Nailing Fiber Cement Siding

Painting fiber cement siding.

Face nailing fiber cement siding.

While fiber cement siding should be painted as soon as possible after installation factory primed fcs can go as long as six months without painting. If driven too deep the heads will crush the fiber cement board and reduce the nail s holding power. For most exterior boards especially hardieplank and other fiber cement materials the best way to nail is corner to corner blind nailing blind nailing refers to nailing each board one at a time and then overlapping that nailed layer with the next board so that all nails are hidden. Learn how to nail hardieplank lap siding with this instructional video from james hardie.

These specially engineered nails are recommended for face and blind nailing many types of fiber cement siding such as cemplank certainteed hardiplank. Insulation used with fiber cement siding it is important that the insulation product used when installing fiber cement siding will be able to level the wall and align each siding panel properly. Make sure it is clean and dry before painting. Siding nail face nailing face nailing is applicable where dictated by building code in high wind areas and when fastening is to osb or equivalent sheathing without penetrating into studs.

Hardiplank fiber cement siding can enhance the beauty of any home but if the installer uses the wrong nails it will ruin the exterior look of your home with potential rust stains especially in humid climates. Caulk joints and ends first with a high quality latex caulking. If hand nailing fiber cement siding use hot dipped galvanized nails and drive the nails into the wall studs. Don t nail fiber cement corners together photo 4.

In general use nails that penetrate the studs at least 1 in. Drive the nail heads flush to the siding not below the surface. The stormguard double hot dipped galvanized coating on these nails ensures excellent long term rust protection. If a homeowner intends to install his own siding the importance of using the correct nails can not be expressed enough.

Drive the nailheads snug against the fiber cement board. If using a pneumatic nailer choose ring shank stainless steel nails and adjust the depth setting to drive the nails flush with the surface.