siding: Cement Vs. Cedar

[grumpydasmurf]

Siding: Cedar vs. Cement

Cedar and Fibercement (Cement) siding are both high end materials. Either Cedar or Cement sidings require a slightly greater upfront investment over vinyl or aluminum; however the result is products that will last much longer.

Cedar siding is wood, from the Cedar tree. Cedar is one of the most durable of woods. Cement siding is made of a mixture of cement and cellulose. Cellulose is the fiber in Fiber cement. Cellulose is basically wood fibers. Either Cedar or Cement will be very strong and durable. Both are resistant to impact damage from hail or tree damage.

In an unfinished state cedar siding will last longer than cement siding. It is highly recommended to stain either cedar or cement siding for the longest lasting installation. In it’s painted or stained state, Cement siding is rated to last much longer than cedar siding.

Both Cedar and Cement siding are available pre-finished. Cedar siding can be bought with a 15-year color warranty while Cement siding can be bought with a 15-year or 25-year color warranty. Usually these sidings can be stained by the factory with major manufacturers of stain like Cabot and Olympic.

Cement is more difficult to work with from an installation point of view. Special tools are required to cut cement siding and cement siding is very tough to hand nail. Cement kicks up an extreme amount of dust when cutting so special respirators are sometimes required when cutting cement siding.

Cedar is an attractive material to bees and other insects while cement is very insect resistant. Cedar can warp after years of prolonged UV exposure from the sun. This is due to heat and is most common on the south and west sides of the building. Cedar typically has a more attractive and unique grain pattern. Cement siding usually is more uniform and the lengths of the boards are usually of equal length. Cedar lengths usually vary in length.

www.reliableamerican.us

[TorstenBC]

You should add some pictures to the article - This will enhance the comparison and contrast even more.

[giddonah]

Nice write-up!

If you want pictures, you can always :google:them...

You can't please everyone :rolleyes:

[Big Builder]

Great article.

We prefer the prefinished wood only for the appearance.

The cement siding looks really fake when you get up close. The wood simply looks way better.

We like the cement siding on commercial or retail buildings and wood on homes and cottages.

Just my 2 cents.

[Rideau]

Cement Siding
1. Installers require specific poduct installation knowledge. Make sure your contractor has this and experience.
If you are doing it yourself, go to the manufacturer's web site for installation instructions. If you have questions after studying them, call the manufacturer. I am familiar with James Hardie fibre cement siding and their customer support/info is top notch.
2. If a piece of installed siding gets damaged ie. a piece broken off, it is harder to replace than wood products. This is especially true for "blind nailing".
3. I have cement siding on my cottage and like the look. I had the option of cedar or cement and I chose cement as I want less maintenance as I get older. I have friends who opted for cedar and it may look marginally nicer when new, but after a few years the black staining is much less appealing.
4. Installation usually takes longer than with cedar.

I did my own installation. I used an older radial arm saw with an inexpensive 7 inch turbo diamond blade for cutting the product. I had a trickle of water (very very little) on the blade when cutting. I also wore a good dust mask for additional safety. There was very little dust with this method. My cuts were square and smooth. I wiped the excess water off of the plywood saw table after each cut. The saw was powered with a GFCI circuit. I did rip cuts (under window openings) using a circular saw with the same 7 inch diamond blade. I manually spritzed the rip cut with a squirter bottle.
With a little bit of inginuity, I was able to do the siding by myself.

[AustinRealEstate]

I sided my house in cedar. After selling and reselling many many houses as an agent, I would go with cedar over cement every time. I just had my house repainted and after 7 years had only one trim board with minor damage.

I listed and sold cement board sided homes much newer than mine that needed serious work due to improper installation and 3 years of water penetration. That is not to say cement board is worse, but with the typical siding crew I see around Austin, I would still opt for wood over cement.

joe

[Richard A Hetzel]

Fiber-cement siding is made quite thin because it is so heavy, but that makes the shadow lines below each board very small compared to cedar, which is thicker and creates bolder shadow lines. To my eye, cedar looks much better for that reason alone.

[Don_P]

Hardie has a new line called "Artisan" with 5/8" reveals and includes matching heavier trim. We're sourcing some for a project now.

[noahweb]

in leu of using cedar have you ever considered using pine TG? Will this work

[Rich]

It will work and looks pretty good for awhile. Biggest thing with pine is protecting it. Consider yearly re-coats.

[RTF]

Another option is Cypress siding.

[Laserlad]

I love the cedar siding on my house. No warping after all these years, no problems with pests, although the damnable carpenter bees have been allll over another wood structure in my back yard.