House siding

[Corinne]

Is vinyl siding the same as plastic siding?

If not, which is better?

Thanks.

Corinne

[Edwin Pawlowski]

All vinyl is plastic, but not all plastic is vinyl.

I don't know if one is better than the other.

[Ivan Vegvary]

I need to install new siding on a 8'x32' portion of my house. (Old aluminum siding and 1"x6" ship lap lumber has already been removed). I am tempted to place Hardie Plank directly on the studs (after insulation and house wrap) and skip any ousided sheathing. The inside of the house is already sheathed with the same 1"x6" ship lap under the drywall (this is 'lumber' country and the previous owner was in the logging business) so I don't need the outside sheathing for shear strength. BTW, it is nice to be able to hang pictures anywhere you want. All of the insides are 'lumber under sheetrock'. All comments and cautions appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary

[Wayne Whitney]

Is the 1x6 sheathing run diagonally? If not, it doesn't provide much shear resistance. [If you think about shearing a rectangle into a quadrilateral, aligned points on opposite sides stay the same distance apart. Then the only shear resistance each board provides is due to multiple fasteners across its width, and a 1x6 isn't very wide.]

So if the inner board sheathing is not run diagonally, then you should at least use plywood sheathing on the exterior at the corners. If your house may be subject to earthquake or high winds, use plywood sheathing on the entire exterior. There is of course a lot more to the details, but that's the upshot.

If the inner board sheathing is run diagonally, then you need to estimate its shear capacity (I don't really know) and compare that against the potential shear demand (likely strength of earthquakes and wind).

Cheers, Wayne

[Art]

Won't the house wrap tend to rip if it is not in front of sheathing?