LMHmedchem
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I guess that this is the correct forum for this question, someone let me know if it is not.
I have mostly finished rebuilding the structure of the porch after significant termite damage. There is a new rim-joist supported by 5 posts and concrete footers. The old trim was an 8" frame of wood with lattice. The wood was wrapped with aluminum flashing.
For the replacement I was going to just use PVC boards and paint it. I don't want to use anything that will be susceptible to insect damage. Looking at the crazy prices, it will be almost $500 for the PVC trim boards, plus the cost of paint.
Today I looked at Hardie fiber cement trim boards. These would cost only about 1/3 of the cost of PVC and come in the color I want. I have never used this product before so I thought I should ask some questions before going that route.
How easy is this product to work with? Does it cut like wood with the correct blade?
How do you manage tasks like caulking and filling fastener holes and any seams?
What kind of fasteners are used?
Is there generally a color matched touch up paint available?
Does it make more sense to use the primed version instead of a color and paint it?
If folks here think that this is a bad idea to try then I could go with pine boards and soak them in copper naphthenate, but I am not sure that I could get the surface to look good after painting. I could go with PVC but that would be very expensive.
Thanks for the help,
LMHmedchem
I have mostly finished rebuilding the structure of the porch after significant termite damage. There is a new rim-joist supported by 5 posts and concrete footers. The old trim was an 8" frame of wood with lattice. The wood was wrapped with aluminum flashing.
For the replacement I was going to just use PVC boards and paint it. I don't want to use anything that will be susceptible to insect damage. Looking at the crazy prices, it will be almost $500 for the PVC trim boards, plus the cost of paint.
Today I looked at Hardie fiber cement trim boards. These would cost only about 1/3 of the cost of PVC and come in the color I want. I have never used this product before so I thought I should ask some questions before going that route.
How easy is this product to work with? Does it cut like wood with the correct blade?
How do you manage tasks like caulking and filling fastener holes and any seams?
What kind of fasteners are used?
Is there generally a color matched touch up paint available?
Does it make more sense to use the primed version instead of a color and paint it?
If folks here think that this is a bad idea to try then I could go with pine boards and soak them in copper naphthenate, but I am not sure that I could get the surface to look good after painting. I could go with PVC but that would be very expensive.
Thanks for the help,
LMHmedchem