James hardie siding is 12 feet long which means that siding on your longer walls will need to join together.
Gaps at bottom of siding.
Fiber cement siding gap clearance caulking.
Foam backer rod sounds like a good method to use if it should be sealed.
Position a stepladder if needed beneath the window door or other area with gaps in the exterior trim.
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Joining hardie boards together is actually very easy but there are a number of ways that contractors get it wrong.
Hardie boards should be joined in moderate contact.
Step 7 seal larger gaps up to 1 2 inch wide with polyurethane caulk.
Seal small cracks and gaps in your siding under 1 4 inch wide using an acrylic latex caulk.
While paint does tend to somewhat glue these pieces together caulking them is never advised and can cause permanent damage.
Simply apply this inexpensive filler into the cracks to seal.
Bottom of siding boards should not be caulked water is meant to exit through the bottom of each board.
The siding has many moisture weep holes i believe this relief cut simply allows for a very clean overlap of sections of siding.
We provide a table of all fiber cement siding installation clearance or gap specifications caulking requirements storage or moisture requirements.
If this is a problem you could just use a slightly wider strip that overlaps the relief cut.
The foundation goes up a few inches more beneath the siding so the lowest set of nails holding the siding on are a few inches up from the bottom of the siding.
Climb the ladder and inspect the caulking between the trim and the siding looking for.
Paint works well over it.
The relief cut prevents the strips we are making from clipping on the bottom of the siding snugly.
Also avoid caulking tongue and groove siding boards together.
This is messier than acrylic latex but effective.
3 16 gap at butt joints between horizontal sections and where the siding meets doors windows and corner trim.
At least 6 inches of clearance from the bottom of the siding to the finished grade.