help... siding

so my house is ready to side. almost. i was originally hoping to go rainscreen with hardi panel, or minerit, but have decided that there are a few too many unanswered questions out there and i'm not comfortable attacking that one myself. plus, i'm seeing some local homes that have done it and its started to warp, quilt, etc... and i'm not eager to reside in 2 years.
so, i thought metal. we are using metal on the roof and thought i could probably do the metal siding myself. still an option.
before i order a bunch of metal and get going, i thought i'd post the question. are there other options out there that i should be looking at? i cant afford parklex or any of the really cool crazy stuff out there. it would be great to have someone else do the work for me, but i'm not even sure where to look to find a siding contractor that will work on a modern house and know what he/she is doing.
any help or insights?
-ken

We are replacing our stucco with Cembonit in a rainscreen application. It's cheaper than Parklex. Each 4 x 10 Cembonit panel screws into furring strips over building paper. The warranty is ten years. Check http://www.cbf11.com/ for details.

There is a place in Sycamore Ave in Phinney Ridge done in 'Flint' colored Cembonit and it looks great.

I hate to pry, but what was the price per square foot on the Cembonit? I've been thinking of using it but can't seem to rfind any actual figures anywhere.


Modern in Shhhh.. Shelton

This post is maybe too late but I received some pricing on both the Cembonit and the Minerit board. These prices include the boards, the rubber EPT strips you install between the boards and the furring strips, and the stainless steel fasteners.  Shipping, from KY, however, is not included.

If you have other questions, either Harrison or Homer at the company are extremely helpful.

Cembonit

¼” = $3.70 sf

5/16” = $4.09 sf

Minerit

 ¼” = $2.58 sf

5/16” = $2.90 sf

I am facing a similar dilemma.  We are renovating and building an addition to a home.  Our architect designed the addition to be sided with Cembonit with Parklex accent panels.  We loved the design, but now the GC is coming back with pricing significantly above what we had expected.  Now we're pondering a change to a HardiePlank system, because apparently the rainscreen is a major part of the cost, and HardiePlank would avoid that.  I hate to give up the Cembonit and Parklex, but our budget may require it.  We're already WAY over budget!  The Cembonit and Parklex gave the design a distinct modern flair, and I'm concerned the Hardiepanel will make it a little mundane. 

Thanks for the suggestion.  Our architect had suggested the T&G cedar as well, however we are relunctant because of the maintanence required.  Our location is waterfront on Puget Sound with lots of wind, rain and salt water.  That's why we choce cemobint and parklex to begin with, this stuff is bulletproof.  I'm feeling ok with a change to Hardieplank from cembonit.  my current spec house has it and it has held up beautifully.   But as far as the parklex accents goes, i think we will stay the course.  Our GC thinks we'll only save about 3K going to T&G so we'd rather cough it up now for the parklex than have to maintain cedar for the rest of our lives. 

Well, we decided to stick with Cembonit and Parklex afterall.  The T&G cedar wasn't a significant cost savings over Parklex, and the Hardieplank option instead of the Cembonit only came in a few thousand less...and you have to have it painted every 5-10 years.  So we axed the hardieplank and stuck to the original design.  I'm relieved, because I love the look of the Cembonit and parklex and I think it will look spectacular when done.  But that's a long way off.  we haven't even broken ground yet.

Julie

Our Cembonit project is coming along nicely and a real house is emerging from the scaffolding. I have to say it was worth the expense and hassle. It looks really modern and especially great when the rain beads on it. A lot of people have stopped to comment on it.

Here is a photo from a few weeks back. You can see the furring strips and black rubber components and the building paper.  In the morning you can actually see the grey paper behind the Cembonit. I wasn't sure if I liked that at first but I've decided it's pretty cool and industrial to see the bones of the building. Elsewhere on the house we are using cedar and some Galvalume in the 'Zantique' finish. Our architect is Jim Burton of Blip Design.

I saw another rainscreen / Cembonit place going up somewhere between Madison Park and Rainier Valley a few weeks back. Seems like it is taking off in Seattle.

Wow!  Great looking house!  That is the exact color scheme we are going for in our place as well.  Is that T&G cedar on the protuding section?  Cembonit does appear to be getting more use in the Seattle area.  Our architects (Coop 15) are using it in several of their projects.  You can see the designs for our place at this website: http://www.coop15.com/houses/PovertyBay.htm#

The colors are off, but you get the idea.  We break ground May 1.  I'm excited to get started after a year and a half in design and planning.

Julie

Previously Mark Mayer wrote:

Julie, Just brousing through the site and found your comments. I build cabinets in Seattle and think that I am doing your job. I do a great deal of Lane's work and bid on this job a couple of months ago. I haven't heard back from the GC yet though. This should be a wonderful house! Mark

Mark,

Great to meet you!  Joe didn't specify who was doing the cabinet work, but I assume you're the man!  I'm really looking forward to getting going on this. 

Julie

 We are having a Lane Williams remodel done and have specified Hardipanel in a rainscreen application.  The contractor is balking at the prospect, in particular when it comes to painting.  Spraying would leave a stripe on the vapor barrier at each panel gap, and he doesn't like the idea of pre-painting before installation.  It would involve a lot of staging on a small site and he is also worried about dirt and damage on the finish. 

I found some pre-painted Hardipanel on the website: Jame Hardie.  Any thoughts on using this product?

Here is a link to the project: Coop15.

I'm hoping to get a much less expensive installation than Cembonit, but still have the same look and durability.

Previously Todd Thackray wrote:

 We are having a Lane Williams remodel done and have specified Hardipanel in a rainscreen application.  The contractor is balking at the prospect, in particular when it comes to painting.  Spraying would leave a stripe on the vapor barrier at each panel gap, and he doesn't like the idea of pre-painting before installation.  It would involve a lot of staging on a small site and he is also worried about dirt and damage on the finish. 

I found some pre-painted Hardipanel on the website: Jame Hardie.  Any thoughts on using this product?

Here is a link to the project: Coop15.

I'm hoping to get a much less expensive installation than Cembonit, but still have the same look and durability.

Hi Todd,

Love the design! Of course, we have similar taste choosing Coop15 for architecture.  I think I've seen your design pics at their office. 

We also considered doing Hardie panel, but decided to stick with Cembonit since we really wanted to avoid having to ever paint the house.  I looked at that James Hardie site...do they panels really come pre-painted or just primed?  Our previous house had Hardieplank siding and it came primed a dingy beige color, but had to be painted.  It's quality siding and the paint held up well over 5 years.  Still, we're excited about using the cembonit and the distinctive look it makes.

Your contractor's concerns are valid ones.  You may need to consider the added time and labor it would take to pre-paint and install the Hardie panel vs. cembonit or other siding.

Have you started construction yet? Best of luck!

Julie