water and cement siding

[tdoyon]

John -

You mention that cement siding is water rot resistant. How resistant? Let me provide this purely fictitious example... ;)

Let's say there is a 4 year-old house with an improperly installed gutter system that let water seap into the soffits and fascia that are made out of cement siding. Should the cement soffits-fascia etc. be replaced or does it simply require a new coat of paint? How could one tell if cement siding is suffering from severe water damage?

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[John Bridge]

Hi Theresa,

If it's Hardi-plank, it'll be okay, but there are several other brands out there that I'm not at all familiar with. Home Depot had one for a while they were letting people think was Hardi. They've gotten off that now and are back to selling Hardi.

The way to tell is to check for delamination. All "fiber-cement" products contain some sort of fiber, usually cellulose (paper). If the fiber is not well encrusted in the cement, the fiber can become damaged, and the board will delaminate.

So you need to find and edge and try to separate the layers.

And let me tell you there is nothing on the face of the Earth that cannot be destroyed by the elements. Some take a little longer than others. That's all.

[tdoyon]

The guy who just retrofitted a drip edge on top of the old drip edge (it was flush against the house and letting rain drip beyond the gutters) said that the fascia and soffits were not cement but masonite. He thought a new paint job would do the trick.

Knowing my luck he didn't do the job right (there's about 6 inches without the new drip edge) and I'll go through the Houston phonebook for the next 2 years and spend $1,000 to find fix this problem. :bang: :bang: :bang:

At least he found and solved a new leak waiting to happen - there is/was a bullet hole in my roof. :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Off to Home Depot for more butyl flex caulk to seal six inches of gutter to the old drip edge...

I like these new smiles. :shades:

[John Bridge]

Theresa,

If it's all masonite on the fascia, you'd better start planning on replacing it. No hurry. Just plan on it.

Bullet hole, eh? You must keep dangerous company. Did the bullet come from without or within? :p

[tdoyon]

Thanks to Google I just learned something I could have lived without - http://www.sidingclaims.com/
I'll ask my knowledgable tile-setting neighbor if he knows for certain that this is Masonite. Based on the pictures I saw, the fungus growth fits this entire subdivision, and the swelling in my siding looks identical to the pictures on that website. You know what the worst part is? Our HOA president has been threatening to fine anyone who doesn't clean the fungus off of their siding. His house has vinyl siding in violation of the deed restrictions which require cement siding like Hardiplank. :bang:

The bullet came from outside and now lies somewhere in the attic R-30 insulation. Obviously it didn't hit a gas or water pipe, but I could be air conditioning the attic. :rolleyes:

If I was going to point a gun at anyone, it would be the builder of this house. :bonk:

[cx]

What John said. :(

Sorry, but if you see swelling, it's not Hardi or one of its close cousins. And if it is Masonite and is already swelling, might wanna plan a little faster.

On the other hand, if your deed restrictions require a fiber/cement siding, how'd you get Masonite to begin with, if that's what you have? :confused:

[tdoyon]

Our HOA is developer controlled. The president is a rich redneck thanks to a toxic torts suit and he owns a bunch of the oldest homes. He always votes himself president of the HOA. Everyone is so disgusted with the builder and the president that no one wants anything to do with the HOA anymore.

As a builder controlled HOA, the builder can do whatever he/she pleases, even if it does violate the deed restrictions. The builders are very fond of selling homes to people who can't afford them, and then having the HOA place a lien on the house. I'm not sure how many of the foreclosures have been builder-initiated.

My folks are strongly suggesting I dump this house on the market before I make any other nasty discoveries. I don't see how buying another house in this area will improve matters (I know someone who did this and actually ended up in a worse house and the most infamous HOA ever). Besides, my parents let their house go before they sold it. You should have seen the pink tub and ceramic tile in their bathroom. :eek:

[John Bridge]

Even if the guy is the developer and still has enough votes to keep himself in power, he can't violate the deed restrictions unless you let him. He is as bound by them as anyone else. If you look closely, the document called a covenent. It is entered and recorded at the county seat and bears the force of law.