Fiber Cement Siding Takes a Front Seat

Fiber cement contains a mix of cellulose fiber material, Portland cement, silica, sand, water and other additives, based on Victoria Ballard Bell’s helpful book Materials for Design. Panels made with it can also be known as Hardie board, after the title of the number-one manufacturer. Fiber cement altered the asbestos cement sheeting of board.

This background hasn’t ceased Hardie board along with other manufacturers’ fiber cement products from becoming a widely used siding for houses. Over just a heavy-duty replacement for vinyl or wood siding (fiber cement panels are termite and rot resistant and virtually maintenance free), this material can have its own aesthetic, thanks to larger panel sizes and the a variety of color treatments which could be utilized. These examples show some of these layout variants possible with asphalt cement panels.

Stuart Sampley Architect

This photo of this popular Moontower Residence in Austin, Texas, exemplifies the flexibility of fiber cement relative to siding. One volume is covered with flat siding, while another is board and batten; both are restricted by the same corrugated metal roof and treated with a similar color palette.

Nic Darling

The 100K House — a pilot project in Philadelphia for entry urban houses — is a very simple box which garners attention from the vertical random vertical striping of two colors of fiber cement panels. Notice how the windows will be the same width as the panels, thus getting part of the total pattern — or lack thereof.

This house indicates a jump in scale concerning panel dimensions, but also how fiber cement can be used along with other substances. It acts as a framework on this facade, wrapping around volumes covered with substances of a finer scale and different color. I enjoy how the door is tucked at the gap between the panels and the white volume.

Boehm Architecture

While the substances in the preceding example were comparable in color and tone, this endeavor is all about comparison. Fiber cement panels and wood planks have been articulated in a way that the prior read such as two-dimensional bits layered over the latter.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

Fiber cement panels in this prefab house cover a little volume, while bamboo siding can be used for the larger bar. The slate-blue color is transported into the distance between the windows on the second floor.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

A closeup of this slate volume indicates the exposed fasteners that ring the perimeter of each fiber cement panel.

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

Two dimensions and colors of fiber cement panels insure this guest house. Dark floats above mild. That is an inversion of what we would anticipate, but one which is “righted” by the magnitude of the siding along with the panels, little preceding large.

DeForest Architects

More variation in fiber cement panels: vertical board and batten in the foreground (notice how the front door fits), and larger rectangular panels at the trunk.

Alan Mascord Design Associates Inc

And now for something different. This last example uses a flat board and batten configuration. The orange color fits with a palette which includes red mullions and also a smaller yellow-green volume.

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Metal Works Wonders With Home Exteriors

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