We got one quote on the fiber cement siding and trim work before we decided that we would do it ourselves. The quote was $20,000, this was way more than we could afford and from our calculations included about $10,000 in labor charges. It would have been nice if we didn’t have to lift a finger and the whole project would have been completed in 10 days, but we just didn’t have the extra $10,000. In terms of the actual installation, Greg and our dads are doing all the work. My primary role along with our moms is to make lunch, do groceries, cheerlead, help carry the siding, and work on the inside of the house. All that we have to finish now is the siding on the two peaks, painting the soffits and trim work. The peaks are the only thing we really want to get done this year and today was the first day we had snow so our good working days are numbered.
I am very happy with the look of the fiber cement, it has fake wood grain and the color is very pretty. You need to purchase a special blade to cut the boards, and in terms of nailing it we are using 1 ¾” roofing nails. We’ve gone through two Bostitch nailers and returned both, one broke after a couple days of use and the other broke within a few hours of use. Last weekend we bought a Hitachi and it seems to be working well. I had to get a reducer for the air hose and I took the gun with me to the hardware store. As I was waiting in line, the guy behind me said he had the gun and he loved it.
