Cutting Fiber Cement Siding

This old house general contractor tom silva shares his secrets for working with fiber cement siding.

Cutting fiber cement siding.

Use saw equipped with commercially available dust collection system. You have to make the cuts very slowly. Cutting fiberglass cement siding raises a lot of silica dust so work outside and wear a dust mask. Use a specialized blade used with the saw such as mikita hardiblade or dewalts filber cement blade.

The cleanest way to cut fiber cement siding is by using siding shears. To keep dust to a minimum use a circular saw that s equipped with either a dust collection bag or electric fan that. It can be cut and drilled just like wood. Pilot holes and driving two galvanized box nails at each stud photo 4.

It is a concrete product that is light flexible and has a woodlike finish. Nail up the frieze board by drilling 1 8 in. Typically siding shears use air. For tasks performed outdoors only.

Use your eyeware and ear protection. Your nail length may vary from ours depending on the type of exterior sheathing used on your home. When cutting fiber cement siding with circular saw use a blade that has only four or six teeth. Just about any type of cutting tool can be used to cut it even a utility knife however the problem comes from the dust generated during the cutting and blade life.

See below for a shopping list and tools subscribe to. Cement fiber siding is a commonly used building material. These are specialized to reduce the dust caused from cutting these planks. James hardie siding is made from cellulose and portland cement.

For a slow but virtually dustless way to cut siding use power. The advantage of using the circular saw is that you can cut more than one board at a time. For the contractor who measures siding jobs by the square mile not the square foot i think the. Under 29 cfr 1926 1153 c iii osha provides a specific safe harbor practice for cutting for cutting fiber cement boards using a handheld power saw with blade diameter of 8 inches or less 1.

Cutting fiber cement siding stationary shears. This is probably the most popular method for cutting fiber cement siding. Best way to cut vinyl siding is with an ez siding shear.