Hardipanels on design-build addition, Ithaca NY
(ochshornDesign.com)

Fiber cement siding (FCS) is a building material used to cover the exterior of a house. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (500 × 666 pixel, file size: 43 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)photo by: Jonathan Ochshorn (www. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (500 × 666 pixel, file size: 43 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)photo by: Jonathan Ochshorn (www. ... Design-Build(D-B) is a project delivery method in which the agency or owner holds a single contract with a single entity for both the design and construction of a project. ... Corrugated steel siding, for the side of a barn. ...

Fiber cement is a composite material made of sand, cement and cellulose fibers. In appearance, FCS most often consists of overlapping horizontal boards, imitating wooden clapboard; other formats include imitation shingle as well as sidewall panels and soffit. Patterns in the sand Sand is a granular material made up of fine rock particles. ... In the most general sense of the word, cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. ... Cellulose as polymer of β-D-glucose Cellulose in 3D Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a polysaccharide of beta-glucose. ... Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding (with regional variants as to the exact definitions of these terms), is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below. ... Look up shingle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Soffit (from French soffite, Italian soffitto, formed as a ceiling; from suffictus for suffixus, Latin suffigere, to fix underneath). ...

Installation of FCS is not unlike that of other clapboard materials: the sheets or boards are cut to fit and then nailed in place. Cutting FCS usually requires mechanized metal shears—the boards are too tough to cut using hand shears, and the cement material will dull most saw blades. While it is very durable once installed, FCS is fairly delicate before; it is prone to chipping and breakage if improperly handled. Additionally, some caution must be exercised to properly ventilate areas where FCS is being cut; long-term exposure to the silica dust generated during the installation process can cause silicosis. Before or after installation, FCS can be painted (for areas of exposure, weatherproof paint must be used). Silicosis (also known as Grinders disease) is a form of pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in forms of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. ...

Alternatives

Competitors to FCS as imitation clapboard include vinyl, wood and (uncommon nowadays) aluminum siding. Advantages of vinyl include the fact that it has a lower material cost and is easier to transport than FCS due to its lighter weight and its pliability. Vinyl siding, however, is more susceptible to fire damage (or melting under extreme temperatures) than FCS, and can become brittle in cold weather or from long-term solar exposure. Compared to wooden siding, fiber cement is not susceptible to termites or rot. Vinyl siding is a way of covering the sides of the houses in which vinyl plates are used. ... Aluminum is a soft and lightweight metal with a dull silvery appearance, due to a thin layer of oxidation that forms quickly when it is exposed to air. ... Families Mastotermitidae Kalotermitidae Termopsidae Hodotermitidae Rhinotermitidae Serritermitidae Termitidae Reference: Earthlife as of 2002-07-26 A termite (also known as a white ant) is any member of the order Isoptera, a group of social insects that eat wood and other cellulose-rich vegetable matter. ... The aviation term ROT stands for rate one turn. ...

Commercial products

Major manufacturers of FCS include:

• Cemplank
• CertainTeed
• James Hardie
• Maxitile
• Nichiha
• Synstone

External links

• Fiber Cement Siding Manufacturer Directory

See also

• Asbestos shingle, of similar composition and sometimes similar appearance.
• Fibro