Can we talk about the siding on my house in Tacoma?

Last week, I noticed a weird damp spot on the inside wall of my living room. I went outside and checked the siding, and sure enough, there was a crack I missed during my check last month. Three years ago, I had the whole house re-sided with a fiber cement product, and I thought it was bulletproof. The installer told me to 'watch the seams every fall', but I got lazy. Now I'm looking at a $2,000 repair for water damage behind that one panel. Has anyone else had fiber cement fail on them like this, or did I just get a bad batch?

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3 Comments

thea5155mo ago

My neighbor's fiber cement cracked at the seams too, so maybe it's not just you?

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morgan_jenkins904mo ago

Had the same thing happen on my back porch. Used a high quality caulk made for fiber cement, the kind that stays flexible. Cleaned the crack out really well with a wire brush first. Let it dry for a full day before applying. That was three years ago and the seal is still holding strong, no more water getting in.

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michael_wood325mo ago

Isn't the real problem here that you skipped the maintenance you were told to do? Fiber cement is tough stuff, but nothing is truly set it and forget it. The installer gave you clear advice to check the seams every year and you admit you got lazy. That crack didn't just appear overnight. This sounds less like a product failure and more like a simple case of a small issue getting worse because it was ignored. Paying for the water damage is a tough lesson, but it probably could have been avoided.

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