Viroc / Versapanel - Any experience of working cement / wood fibre boards ?

[Andy Dingley]

My house is leaking. My house is _always_ leaking - I'm thinking of giving the varied leaks their own weblog.

This time it's collapsed fascia boards. I hate UPVC, so I'm about to replace them with some "Viroc" from Avon Plywood. This appears to be a cement matrix with wood fibres in it - a sort of concrete MDF. I'm told it's waterproof - we shall see. I think it's the same stuff as "Aquapanel", which I've previously used as a backer for wet tiling.

Now I need to cut it to size. I guess I should use a rough blade for this, not my favourite, but just how damaging is the dust ? Should I run it through the cabinet saw at all ? Is it OK, so long as I clean up afterwards ?

Any advice on painting it afterwards, for outdoor use? Thoughts on suitable primers ?

Thanks for any comments. Lets hope I get it installed before the forecast monsoon hits 8-(

[stuart noble]

If it's the same as Aquapanel, I wouldn't fancy running it through a saw. It's basically resin bonded cement, and would probably blunt the blade and cover the surrounding area in a cloud. I'm developing respect for cement as I get older since I always seem to feel rough after snorting it all day

[mp]

I wouldn't slide the stuff across a nice shiny saw table. If you're going to be cutting a fair bit of this stuff, use a skilsaw and buy a blade for fiber cement board or a segmented diamond blade. You can get either one for less than $30.