LP Smartside siding

[BBQ&Love]

I'm going to repeat it again for a lot of ones that don't read through everything. Although Masonite is a brand name, everyone associates the word "masonite" with the smooth brown slick hardboard, that most pegboard is made out of. This IS NOT the same as what OSB is, or what I am assuming Smartside is. The masonite I know, and that many are familiar with, the pegboard stuff, was used years back to make a lap siding product. This type of siding delaminated very easily, absorbed moisture, and you would see houses and mainly garages with the bottom piece rotted off and mushrooms growing out of the next couple of pieces. Now I am not sure 100% what Smartside is, hence the reason for this thread, but when my parents bought a shed kit from Lowes, I am fairly certain it had Smartside on it. It was an OSB product, stamped on one side to look exactly like wood grain.

To the ones that actually have "Smartside"......am I right or wrong on what Smartside is?

And if that's what it is, I don't think I'll have a problem is it comes pre-primed completely. As long as the edges are completely sealed, I think it will be an okay product. Like I said, in 30 years or so, I won't give a **** anyhow. I know I don't want a 4x8 sheet product though, I want a lap product. And I'm not above going with cedar, if necessary, but if Smartside does what it says, and they stand behind the product, I won't have a problem. If it is a compressed paper product like what I call masonite, hardboard, pegboard type of material, then I want nothing to do with it. I may hit the lumber company on the way home, and get a sample piece myself.

I have all kinds of time to decide because I can't get a goddamm quote from a contractor YET!!!!!!!!!!

Your understanding is correct in every way. Smartside is an advanced OSB product. It is not a Masonite type product.

 

[er3456df]

Kevin-

You're right on the money. It looks like OSB on the back, but feels like OSB that's been turtle-waxed.

I can't say I'm an expert, (I'm not even a very good carpenter) but I did the SmartSide lap siding after replacing my front door and it looks fantastic a year later.

I had some scraps laying in the bed of a truck ever since, with full rain and sun exposure, and if you put it next to new pieces you can see a difference on the back side but it ain't much. The front side is indistinguishable from a new piece, other than some miniscule warping- such a small warp that I can't see it mattering for a piece of siding. They did not swell, or seem to absorb any appreciable amount of water.

In short, I can't guarantee you that it's a good product, but anyone who says they "know" this stuff is junk has probably never seen it. Only time will tell.

 

[wssix99]

This IS NOT the same as what OSB is, or what I am assuming Smartside is. The masonite I know, and that many are familiar with, the pegboard stuff, was used years back to make a lap siding product. This type of siding delaminated very easily, absorbed moisture, and you would see houses and mainly garages with the bottom piece rotted off and mushrooms growing out of the next couple of pieces. Now I am not sure 100% what Smartside is, hence the reason for this thread, but when my parents bought a shed kit from Lowes, I am fairly certain it had Smartside on it. It was an OSB product, stamped on one side to look exactly like wood grain.

SmartSide comes in two versions: one a fiberboard (looks like Masonite, but isn't) and the other is OSB backed. That may be the source of some confusion in the thread - and I don't see this called out on LP's web site.

Everyone we've talked to (dealers, installers, LP reps.) seem to prefer the OSB backed product, but didn't get any real pros/cons on either side. We are going to use the fiberboard version on our place due to our curved wall. The fiberboard stuff seems to be (as one might expect) a little more flexible. We've had a piece of the fiberboard backed siding and the OSB backed siding on the radius wall for 8 months now and both have stood up perfectly, even though we didn't paint them or seal the ends. Both took the radius without breaking, but the OSB backed was definitely harder to curve.

We just took two pieces off the other day and the OSB board has a strong memory and molded to the shape of the curve - and didn't spring back. The fiberboard backed stuff relaxed a bit and straightened out some, but still had some memory of the curve.

^ All of this is probably not relevant to anyone with straight walls, but I just thought I'd through it out for trivia.

 

[Casey69]

i think a lot of faux wood products are better than they were 20 years ago. laminate flooring used to warp & swell too, but adhesives & engineering used in it have gotten a whole lot better since their origination.

don't blame anyone for not wanting to put it on their house, especially if they've been burned by something similar before.

 

[sedgwic]

IO did a replacement of masonite (specifically Abitibi) lap siding with SmartSide about four years ago. At the time I needed the trailer to be emptied quickly and broke up all of the pieces to about 5' long and stacked it in my far backyard. well time went on and it wasn't bothering me, but Mrs. finally pressured me into getting rid of it last month. about halfway into the stacks I started running into boards that were so soft they barely held together and termites- lots of termites and ants- lots of ants. toward the bottom I needed the flat shovel to get it up is was almost dirt with rolly pollies and earwigs munching on the remnants EXCEPT for one thing. there were some scrap cut offs of SmartSide in the pile, too. they were still firm and seemed to have been eaten by nothing, nor hurt by the wetness they'd been in for the years, and the masonite next to it wasn't as bad as it was in other places.
In another one of my abandoned piles I found some sheet Hardie pieces that were crumbling. Those were cut offs that were never painted and had been near the ground for about two years.

 

[wssix99]

Here are some pictures of our LP Smart Side: (mixed with some portions of the wall covered in Synergy EIFS.)

We were originally going with the fiberboard version, but the distributor screwed up and ordered the OSB. (Our siding was pre-finished by the distributor.) We decided to give it a shot on the curved walls and we were able to get it to work after some drama. The pre-finish, and possibly some of the OSB was cracking as we bent the boards. (We did a tester earlier with the fiberboard product and didn't have the problem.) Eventually, we were able to pre-bend the boards on a rig our siding guys made up, which allowed them to de-stress a bit so we could put them up. The boards seem to relax pretty well and the tester pieces we took down retained their curved shape for a long time.

One interesting installation detail is that the **** joints and corners need a 3/16" gap to allow for expansion as the boards pick up moisture after the install. This requires some special treatment/sheet metal pieces at the **** joints and corners but the install looks really nice.

 

[Mandres]

Well all these anecdotes are pretty encouraging, maybe the chemistry has improved enough with regard to the glues and preservatives that this kind of siding is a decent option.

I still think it should be cheaper

 

[DoninDEN]

First post from a newbie here:
I’m looking at this issue right now. I have an old house where the wood is so cracked and old rather than filling and reprinting, my painter (as a good honest man) is recommending residing. This is really helping me understand the views on the different options. It is a new rental for me (I’m trying to have a rental to help me save for retirement) and I want it to look nice and be durable.

1) With any of the products, vinyl, Hardi or Smartside, am I correct that the old boards wil need to be pulled?
2) Should the house be wrapped before the siding goes up? The house is 60 years old.
3) Is vinyl a good choice?
4) I can just fill and paint and it will last maybe 3 to 5 years for not much money, I know it won’t look great, but how big of a can of worms might I be opening when I pull the boards off a 60 year house in a dry climate like Denver?

 

[rburke65]

DoninDen.....you might want to start your own post on your subject.
Kevin54 .... I used Smartside INDIDE my shop. I was able to get 4x10' sheets at a lumber yard here in Canfield. I liked it. Willing to give you a tour when your down the street at the next Swap Meet. I think you will like it.

 

[pablo94sc]

This thread peaked my interest. I'm thinking of using it to replace the masonite triple 4 (3.5" lap?) that's original to the house. Perfect timing!

 

[stikman56]

I believe it's a very good product. I've built with it. We're going with the lap siding on our house. Looks nice as well. They've changed the recipe with all the claims they had on they old stuff. My Dad sold the first unit of that stuff in Portland way back when, and got to follow up with all the claims on it for the next several years. No longer does moisture get into it they say. I've heard 3 different reasons the old product failed, they all make some sense, don't know which one is true though. They could not afford to keep putting out the same product they had, when you really stop and think about it.

 

[BUGTHUG]

I believe it's a very good product. I've built with it. We're going with the lap siding on our house. Looks nice as well. They've changed the recipe with all the claims they had on they old stuff. My Dad sold the first unit of that stuff in Portland way back when, and got to follow up with all the claims on it for the next several years. No longer does moisture get into it they say. I've heard 3 different reasons the old product failed, they all make some sense, don't know which one is true though. They could not afford to keep putting out the same product they had, when you really stop and think about it.

Well all I would say is good luck, and hopes it works out for the new users. They CAN AFFORD to keep putting it out when the they didn't honor the last warranty. I was paid 10cents on the dollar when all of my siding failed after being on the house for less than 3 years. Then the company filled for bankruptcy to protect them from paying out anymore. I can't respect or recommend doing business with a low life company like that . JMO.

 

[ThomasPI]

Ok, so I am digging up a 5 year old post for info. We are working with a builder on a new house and he is going to price Hardie board, since meeting up with him I have done more reading and leaning to smartside for a few reasons. Any updates from folks who have it on their homes etc ?

 

[wssix99]

Ok, so I am digging up a 5 year old post for info. We are working with a builder on a new house and he is going to price Hardie board, since meeting up with him I have done more reading and leaning to smartside for a few reasons. Any updates from folks who have it on their homes etc ?

Where are you located???

We've had some contraction problems with the product because we installed it over insulated concrete and should have eased the screw holes a bit. I trust our issue would not be a problem for conventional wood construction where the structure would also contract with the siding...

 

[wasfast]

Fear based response: LP had so many issues in Oregon with the original siding that merely mentioning that you house had LP siding, nevermind if it was the "newer" version, will send buyers either running or asking for a big compensation.

The original issue was LP reduced the resin/wood ratio and the wood swelled. What was intended to save LP money in production turned into a colossal financial burden for them.

Cement board (i.e. Hardiplank) is an excellent product in a wet climate and has stood the test of time over 20 years in use.

 

[jhracer]

I used the Smartside Profiles siding on my shop. In the process of replacing the siding on my house with it. Shop was built 3 years ago I'm very happy with the look.

 

[Falcon67]

I've used both - LP on the old shop and even though it belongs to someone else, we do a drive by every now and then. Built in 1997 and still looks good, I know it's only been painted by me. Current shop is HardiPanel. It's fragile before install and a ***** to work with, cut, panels are heavy as hell. But once in place, no issues. I would say that the window trim on the shop is LP because I got tired of cutting Hardi. I forgot to paint the pre-primed LP window trim on the back of the shop. That was 9 years ago. No problems, maybe someday I'll paint that.

 

[ace10]

We clad the exterior of my detached garage with hardieplank (and brick) with Boral trim and I did the interior wainscotting and chair rail in LP products.

Both are performing well. :0)

 

[Farmall450]

Zombie thread, but I've helped install smartside twice, and both turned out very nice. We paint all of the cut edges, although now they say if you caulk a seam no need to do both. I'm not a big fan of the metal seam covers, I think that part kinda looks like ****.

 

[Zick]

Ok, so I am digging up a 5 year old post for info. We are working with a builder on a new house and he is going to price Hardie board, since meeting up with him I have done more reading and leaning to smartside for a few reasons. Any updates from folks who have it on their homes etc ?

Ours has been up for over 10yrs now and no issues to speak of or at least any that I've noticed.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Our home has LP lap siding.. built mid 90's. It is holding up really well.. holds paint great.. zero issues or maintenance.

Hardi can get you a reduction on your home insurance due it's fire resistance.