Flashing Behind Hardie Board Siding

Remember one of the main hardie siding problems is water damage however it s also one of the easiest to prevent with proper installation.

Flashing behind hardie board siding.

H jointer covers james hardie recommends 6 inch 152 4 mm wide joint flashing that overlaps the course below by 1 inch 25 4 mm. James hardie recommends that a slip sheet joint flashing is installed behind each butt joint in the siding. However some local building codes may require different size flashing. Flashing behind butt joints is an effective low maintenance way to comply with building code and help protect against water intrusion.

Each sheet is pre cut with a stick it adhesive for the fastest application available. On a wall to be covered with wood cement board vinyl or metal. Flashing is a strip of metal usually aluminum about 8 inches long and bent at 90 degrees with each side at least 5 inches wide. Bearskin joint flashing is a plastic sheet for use as a joint flashing behind every butt joint in the siding.

One of those recommendations deals with properly flashing behind field butt joints. Some local building codes may require different size flashing. This has proven problematic over time as caulking the joint results in unsightly surface appearances due to the different textures as well as resulted in failure of the caulk joint and associated ongoing maintenance. As you can see in the photo above we ve installed a piece of flashing behind each field butt joint in order to keep water and moisture from getting behind the siding.

This is a 6 wide piece of weather resistive material to make sure that no water gets through. Water which makes it s way behind the hardie siding should hit the flashing layer. The flashing keeps water off the sheathing and drains water properly which prevents water damage. A common problem with cement board siding products and some other types of horizontal lap siding is that older installation guidelines called for caulking the joint instead of flashing the joint.

There are several products that can be used in this type of application.