New Home Update

[ragswl4]

That is looking great! How long to move in?

Well, that's the big question. Last Christmas was the target date so we are now shooting for this Christmas. I think we'll make it. Well not totally done but we expect to be through the final inspection and able to move in. Will still need to do interior trim work, finish the staircase (makes me nervous, $16K custom curved staircase, unfinished), flooring, painting , etc.. All the little stuff that takes a lot of time. We have to have one working bathroom and kitchen done before we can move in.

[ragswl4]

Latest PIC

Here is the latest picture of the front of the house. This will be the last for a while. No further work to do on the front until we put the stone on below the siding. We are now working the back and sides to install the siding. Its difficult to get a picture of those areas as the lot drops off very fast so its hard to get the picture to look like anything.

[docrowan]

It's looking great. I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures once you install the stone veneer.

If I ever build a house I plan on using the fiber cement siding as well. Never rots, relatively easy to cut, grips paint like a demented monkey. I would like to add a window and some outdoor electrical outlets to my house, but brick siding makes this a much bigger project (for me, anyway). The fiber cement has the advantages of brick, yet is easier for a weekend warrior to work on. I've never seen fiber cement stained. Does it have to be done by the factory or can you do it yourself?

[ragswl4]

It's looking great. I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures once you install the stone veneer.

If I ever build a house I plan on using the fiber cement siding as well. Never rots, relatively easy to cut, grips paint like a demented monkey. I would like to add a window and some outdoor electrical outlets to my house, but brick siding makes this a much bigger project (for me, anyway). The fiber cement has the advantages of brick, yet is easier for a weekend warrior to work on. I've never seen fiber cement stained. Does it have to be done by the factory or can you do it yourself?

We used siding from Certainteed and it comes pre-stained. Hardi Plank which is nearly the same can be purchased at Lowes (at least here) and can also be stained after purchase. I believe the Certainteed pre-stainded siding also has some kind of sealer over the stain but not sure what it is.

The Certainteed siding is also much more brittle than the Hardi Planks but I think that Certainteed may have baked the finish onto the siding and that is the reason it is so brittle. We have broken a number of them just picking them up. We have to be really, really careful with it when we handle it.

We are about half finished with the siding and have already lost one circular saw due to bad bearings (dust from the siding). Also it is imperative that you use the correct blade or the dust is unbearable. The blade we use is specifically for Hardi Plank and only has 4 teeth, but cuts the siding really well with minimum dust and only occasional chip out. We used a carbide blade at first but too much dust and chip out. 7 1/2" blade is $50 but well worth it.