Hardieplank Lap siding Help..

Originally Posted by joecaption

I would not have used those big nails to attach that trim. I use trim head stainless steel or ceramic coated screws with latex color matched caulking to cover up the screw heads.....

Originally Posted by mnp13

Now THAT would piss me off. The big holes should be closed and sealed properly before they are covered. One crooked plank will lead to two, which leads to three and then one whole run, which leads to another whole run, which leads to half a side. Not good.

I hope you haven't paid for the full job yet. And if not, don't until all that stuff is fixed.

As a woman home owner, I've had some "interesting" experiences with contractors who assume that I couldn't possibly know anything about my home because I have boobs. One guy told me at my last house that I shouldn't vent my furnace on the driveway side of my house because (and I quote) "what if you come home drunk from a rugby party and hit the vent pipe with your car." Uh, thanks for the input, move along now.

More recently, I had someone in to estimate some work, and he kept addressing my husband instead of me. Finally my husband said point blank "talk to her about this, I don't understand a thing you're talking about." The look on the guy's face was priceless.

I totally understand a contractor asking if my husband will be home, since then they can field questions all at once. However, the blanket assumption that "men do this work" is endlessly irritating to me and a number of different contractors have lost my business for that reason alone.

My friend (single, female homeowner) had an installer completely screw up drywall. He hung it so the seam was centered between the upper and lower cabinets in the kitchen, instead of putting the seams behind the cabinets where they wouldn't show anyway. His finish work was crap and when it was painted, you could clearly see the line. When she asked him about it, she was told that that was "how it turned out" and that she "wouldn't notice it after a while." It took multiple calls to his supervisor to get it finished correctly, and he was pissed that she complained, and that caused other issues with his work.

Now, granted, I'm sure there are contractors who treat men the same way. However in my experience the way they speak to my husband is VERY different from how they talk to me... until they are informed that I'm the one that does that work.

Originally Posted by AtlanticWBConst.

As fired-up as you are, I hope that things can be handled with some patience, rationality, and professionalism - on both ends (with both parties involved).

That is all I can offer at this point. Best of luck with coming to an understanding or a resolution.

Originally Posted by carmel64

Beautiful work. Gorgeous homes as well. I want to ask you a question...once the planks are up and the trim is overlapping the planks, there is a gap between each board, is that then caulked or just left alone. I hate looking at the gaps that the lapping after each board. The trim is not put on to cover the gaps I know. Personally, I don't like the "gap" look but I'm not sure if it's supposed to be caulked afterwards. One Youtube, I see where they apply caulking but my gaps are pretty big and would require quite a bit of caulk...Have I confused you yet?

Thanks for your response. It's well aprreciated.

Mel

Originally Posted by Nailbags

Well I always put on the trim first. the the siding then I caulk the end joints the boards that are next to the siding. I leave a 1/8 inch gap between the siding and the trim then fill with caulk as directed by the installation guild lines. Best of luck to you.