Hello my garage wall is 305 inches long. 6 1/4"Hardie planks I'm isntalling are
12ft long. Should I use 2 whole boards and add a short piece or should I cut the long board to make all pieces similar. I worry about keeping a straight line and clean joints, this will be visible from the street at an angle so all details will be easy to spot :) thanks, LukeYour wall length does present a problem for best use of the Hardie planks and least waste. Bottom line is use the longest pieces you can. Two 12' lengths would leave you with a piece 17". That is too short - you really want something longer. Additionally, your ends should land on studs for proper fastening and the good clean look you are after. You also want to avoid the 'stair-step' look and stagger your joints as far as possible (2 or 3 studs) so the eye doesn't see one and get immediate 'drawn' to the next, then the next.
You need a good miter saw to make your cuts as clean and square as possible. Even the factory ends are likely to have blemishes that wouldn't look as good as a fresh cut. Support your piece well to keep it straight and flat while cutting, and measure-twice-cut-once!
Practice on a few short pieces to get the hang of it. Check each coarse as you put it up for level, and use a chalk line - don't just measure off the previous coarse because if one coarse gets away from you and isn't straight, the problem will just build on itself as you go up the wall.
You don't mention if there are any windows or doors in the wall. If so, factor them into how you want things to look and keep any breaks from falling right near them, particularly in the rows right under or over top.
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