# How to replace Louisiana Pacific siding with Hardie Plank.



## emory (Oct 11, 2011)

I need to replace several areas of the LP siding on my house. The bottom three boards are the ones that are bad and need to come off. I read an article on removing the old siding, but it didnt mention how to put the new ones on. Once I get the old boards off, do I need to start at the bottom and work my way up, or start at top and work my way down? If it matters, each board is roughly 10-12 feet long and 7-8 inches wide. Thanks!


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Is that the trash that looks like ground up newpaper when you cut it?
Good luck trying to remove it. It tends to mess up the piece above it your trying save when your trying to remove it.
I would start at the bottom and work my way up when installing the new.
How close to the ground is the bottom piece?


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## emory (Oct 11, 2011)

Thanks for the reply. The house sits on a slab and it looks like most of them are 4-6 inches above ground level. Some of them look like they will just crumble off and the only the thing left will be to remove the nails that were attempting to hold them in place. Is there any particular nail I should use when hanging the new ones?


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/exterior/siding/replace1/fiber_cement/install.htm

When it's that close to the ground concider doing what's shown in the pictures.

I believe even Hardee plank needs to be a min. of 4" off of any soild surface.
(it may be 2" but there is no 2" wide material availible to do what you need to do)


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## cortell (Nov 27, 2010)

I had to address a similar issue with a property recently. It was T1-11 LP SmartSide panel (4'x8' sheets). To answer Joe's question, it doesn't look like ground up newspaper. It looks like OSB, because it actually is OSB.

I had read reports that the OSB-based LP products (SmartSide) had significant failure issues prior to 1996, as the waterproofing treatment was applied solely to the surface. They have since changed their process such that every fiber that goes into the OSB is supposedly treated, and as such the siding is much less susceptible to rot. (Again, this is what I remember reading a while back). The siding that failed for me was installed around 1996 so it's possible I had the problematic stuff. It crumbled apart and it had 6" clearance from grade. However, what happened was that the bottom edge of the siding made contact with the concrete slab. When it rained and the slab got wet, moisture transferred to the siding and rotted it out over 15 years. That's my unprofessional analysis, anyway.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

no:no:LP is not Hardie is not Masonite

but your analysis is correct


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## cortell (Nov 27, 2010)

Tom Struble said:


> no:no:LP is not Hardie is not Masonite
> 
> but your analysis is correct


Yes. My mention of Hardie (instead of LP) was accidental, though I did it several times, so obviously my synapses were misfiring something fierce. :huh:


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## cortell (Nov 27, 2010)

I got in the time machine and corrected my post, btw


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