I've got a client building a small bungalow in the bahamas, and Im looking of a siding material that will look good and hold up. Right now they're talking about hardie board. It'll do the job, but it looks awful and I'm worried about moisture down the road. The last house we built there used cedar shingle, which has actually been amazing, but I'm hoping for a cleaner look. I'd been thinking tongue and groove cedar with water shield and cedar breather behind it, but I know the UVs and salt are brutal and over time the urethane will break down and could be a huge maintenance issue.
Any novel ideas on something else? Or a good cedar treatment? Or even hardie board that doesn't look atrocious?
Hardie makes an upscale version of their normal smooth panel products called "Matrix." It's made of much denser material and has a much longer warranty targeted at commercial use. Unlike regular Hardi-panel, it's thick and rigid enough that it won't telegraph substrate imperfections, and you can use it with exposed cut edges in water exposure situations.
Thanks. I may be falling back on that. Im also thinking about furring out the cedar with steel channels and just oiling it. Let it weather, but let it breathe. You'd still have to get up there and re-oil every 5-10 years, but you'll have to paint hardie board more often than that.
No matter what kind of wood you use, it will have to be re-oiled periodically or it will "go grey." I'd go with Ipe or Teak, personally. I wouldn't count on Cedar to hold up in tropical conditions though it does great in wet, temperate climates. You might consider using something like Trex or another synthetic decking product. That stuff gets really hot in the sun, though.
Also, I notice that Hardie has rebranded the Artisan Matrix products into two different lines:
I kinda don't mind if it greys? I just dont want it to disintegrate. Thanks for the links. I'll also have to check prices on Ipe and Teak, but that may be out of our range.
May 10, 12 6:02 pm ·
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Siding materials in the Tropics
I've got a client building a small bungalow in the bahamas, and Im looking of a siding material that will look good and hold up. Right now they're talking about hardie board. It'll do the job, but it looks awful and I'm worried about moisture down the road. The last house we built there used cedar shingle, which has actually been amazing, but I'm hoping for a cleaner look. I'd been thinking tongue and groove cedar with water shield and cedar breather behind it, but I know the UVs and salt are brutal and over time the urethane will break down and could be a huge maintenance issue.
Any novel ideas on something else? Or a good cedar treatment? Or even hardie board that doesn't look atrocious?
Hardie makes an upscale version of their normal smooth panel products called "Matrix." It's made of much denser material and has a much longer warranty targeted at commercial use. Unlike regular Hardi-panel, it's thick and rigid enough that it won't telegraph substrate imperfections, and you can use it with exposed cut edges in water exposure situations.
Thanks. I may be falling back on that. Im also thinking about furring out the cedar with steel channels and just oiling it. Let it weather, but let it breathe. You'd still have to get up there and re-oil every 5-10 years, but you'll have to paint hardie board more often than that.
No matter what kind of wood you use, it will have to be re-oiled periodically or it will "go grey." I'd go with Ipe or Teak, personally. I wouldn't count on Cedar to hold up in tropical conditions though it does great in wet, temperate climates. You might consider using something like Trex or another synthetic decking product. That stuff gets really hot in the sun, though.
Also, I notice that Hardie has rebranded the Artisan Matrix products into two different lines:
http://www.scyon.com.au/case_studies.html
http://www.artisanluxury.com/
(Oh, and if you do a quality paint job on the Hardie up front, you won't need to repaint it that often)
I kinda don't mind if it greys? I just dont want it to disintegrate. Thanks for the links. I'll also have to check prices on Ipe and Teak, but that may be out of our range.
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