Cutting Fiber Cement Siding Tips

I have found that the shears cut better from the back side.

Cutting fiber cement siding tips.

Plus you could potentially cut costs by using a vacuum to extend the life of your tools and reduce cleanup and housekeeping time. You can make your own fiber cement starter strip by ripping a piece of hardieplank lap siding into 1 1 4 inch strips. It s best to stagger the joints in each successive course to avoid noticeable patterns. These blades cut quickly and create less dust.

Fiber cement siding hardiplank cutting tips. When cutting fiber cement panels using the right protective equipment and tools is crucial. Socal siding is one of the premier family owned and operated construction companies in southern california. We use the bullet tools cutter and a shear for dust free cutting.

There are many cost effective circular saw and vacuum options that meet table 1 requirements for cutting fiber cement. When cutting fiber cement siding with circular saw use a blade that has only four or six teeth. However insulated as well as more decorative options such as panels and fillers board and batten shingles 1 octagons and half rounds will cost approximately 6 8 sq ft. How to stagger lap siding for walls longer than 12 feet you ll need to butt additional lengths of siding together.

To keep dust to a minimum use a circular saw that s equipped with either a dust collection bag or electric fan that blows dust into a bucket. Even if you do invest in higher end tools the total cost per job is low. For a slow but virtually dustless way to cut siding use power shears. Using a cost per square foot metric it s less than a penny per square foot.

Fiberboard cement siding is highly abrasive. If builders don t use shears for cutting the panels they should use a circular saw with a fiber cement blade. Cut the frieze board to length photo 3. Additional materials such as nails saw and caulk 2.

Use a specialized blade used with the saw such as mikita hardiblade or dewalts filber cement blade. Even a carbide tooth blade will last for only part of the day. Fiber cement siding averages 4 per square foot for standard siding for a total of 770 for the project. From traditional lap siding to modern farmhouse from cape cod to craftsman socal siding has you covered.

From concept to completion let socal siding earn your business each step of the way. At home centers you can buy diamond blades made specifically for cutting fiber cement. When you cut fiber cement it s important you cut it on the back side explains tim larson with allura.