Fiber cement siding ("fibre cement cladding" in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and "fibro" in Australia) is a building material used to cover the exterior of a building in both commercial and domestic applications. Fiber cement is a composite material made of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

reinforced with

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell w ...

fibers. Originally, asbestos was used as the reinforcing material but, due to safety concerns, that was replaced by cellulose in the 1980s. Fiber cement board may come pre-painted or pre-stained or can be done so after its installation. Fiber cement siding has several benefits since it is resistant to

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...

s, does not rot, is impact resistant, and has fireproof properties.

Specifications

Sheet sizes vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer but generally they range between 2400 – 3000 mm in length and 900 –1200mm in width (600 & 450 mm increments). This manufactured size minimizes on-site wastage as residential floor, wall and roof structures lay structural members at 450 or 600mm centres. When used as siding boards, widths between 130mm and 300mm (5.25 inch to 12 inch) are available. Fiber cement thicknesses vary between 4.5-18mm and also vary in density – the lower density resulting in a fibrous rough edge when cut and the higher density having a cleaner smoother edge when cut. Thermal resistance and sound transmission can vary greatly between fiber cement products. Fiber cement sheet products rate poorly in thermal resistance and sound transmission and separate wall insulation is highly recommended. Generally the thicker and denser the product the better resistance it will have to temperature and sound transmission.

Installation

Fiber cement cladding is a very heavy product and requires two people to carry the uncut sheets. Thin fiber cement cladding is fragile before installation and must be handled carefully because it is prone to chipping and breakage if improperly handled. Once the product is cut it may again require two people to install – one to hold the sheet flush against studwork and the other to nail the product in place. Cutting fiber cement sheeting: Sheeting can be cut to size in three ways. * Thinner sheets can be scored with a heavy duty cutting blade and snapped * Using a hand- or electric-powered "fibro cutter" (Australian term) * A mechanical saw using a diamond blade (masonry blade) is needed to cut thicker and denser sheets When hanging fiber cement sheets, an approximately gap is required between end-joints (cladding seams), later to be filled with caulking made for fiber cement siding. Metal step flashing is required behind overlapping seams to prevent sheathing damage from water. Hot-dipped galvanized roofing nails are used to secure the sheets. Some caution must be exercised to properly ventilate areas where fiber cement siding (FCS) is being cut; long-term exposure to the

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...

dust generated during the installation process can cause silicosis. Fiber cement cladding can be painted or stained before or after installation. Once the product is fixed the joints are usually covered with timber

batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

s and the entire wall surface is painted.

History

Early fiber cement panels used asbestos fibers to add strength. Ludwig Hatschek patented asbestos-reinforced fiber cement in Austria in 1901 and named it " Eternit", based on the Latin term "aeternitas", meaning everlasting. In 1903, Schweizerische Eternit-Werke AG began fabricating the material in the city of Niederurnen in Switzerland. Cellulose-reinforced fiber cement products were introduced 1980s as a safe replacement for the very widely used

asbestos cement Asbestos cement, genericized as fibro, fibrolite (short for "fibrous (or fibre) cement sheet") or AC sheet, is a building material in which asbestos fibres are used to reinforce thin rigid cement sheets. Although invented at the end of the 19t ...

products manufactured before that time.

Durability

The external cladding products require very little maintenance once installed and painted. The thicker/denser fiber cement products have excellent impact resistance but the thinner less dense products need to be protected from impact. Compared to wooden siding, fiber cement is not susceptible to termites or rot. Fiber cement siding using baseboard materials that have been classified, by accredited laboratories, as Category A according to ''BS EN 12467: 2004 Fiber-cement flat sheets - Product specification and test methods'' are sidings which are intended for applications where they may be subject to heat, high moisture and severe frost.

Fire resistance

Fiber cement cladding is a non-combustible material which is widely used in high bushfire prone areas throughout Australia. While the best possible reaction to Fire Classifications are A1 (construction applications) and A1Fl (flooring applications) respectively, both of which mean "non-combustible" according to European standard EN 13501-1: 2007, as classified by a notified laboratory in Europe, some fiber cement boards only come with Fire Classification of A2 (limited combustibility) or even lower classifications, if they are tested at all.

Safety

Long-term exposure to silica dust generated by cutting fiber cement siding during installation can lead to silicosis and other lung diseases among workers. Researchers at the US

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the C ...

(NIOSH) confirmed these findings, showing that many of the silica dust particles are in the respirable fraction, able to penetrate the deepest parts of the lung. Laboratory tests performed by cutting fiber cement siding within an isolated chamber showed that by connecting a regular shop vacuum to a circular saw, exposures to silica dust produced by the cutting can be reduced by 80-90%. Later, NIOSH completed four field surveys where construction workers cut fiber cement siding. Results showed that exposure to silica dust was controlled below the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) for respirable crystalline silica (0.05 mg/m3) when a regular shop vacuum was used.NIOSH 015br>Reducing hazardous dust exposure when cutting fiber-cement siding
By Qi C, Whalen JJ. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2015-185.

Alternatives

Competitors to fiber cement cladding include products made from

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

, polyvinyl chloride, wood composite products (such as

hardboard Hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard (HDF), is a type of fiberboard, which is an engineered wood product. It is used in furniture and in the construction industry. Description Hardboard is similar to particle board and medium-densi ...

and

Masonite Masonite is a type of hardboard, a kind of engineered wood, which is made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibers in a process patented by William H. Mason. It is also called Quartrboard, Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex, and ...

) and aluminum siding.

References

External links

Installing Fiber Cement Siding
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiber Cement Siding Composite materials Engineered wood Building materials Fibre-reinforced cementitious materials