Exterior window trim and corner board

I'm in the process of residing my house with fiber-cement board. However, I'm not sure what to do about the window trim and corner boards. I'm consdering PVC. Good idea?... If I go this route, how well does PVC hold paint?

FYI: My house gets beaten by the weather up here in New England.

 

I am in the process of doing the same and went with a "white wood" for my corners and window trim. I think I would have prefered a PVC product but that seems to be a special order item in my part of the state (odd). Though I saw our local HD now has a PVC product called "Tuf Board". They only came in 8' lengths though and I need a couple longer. After putting it up I would say the downside to using a white wood is you really have to sort through when you are buying to find good pieces. Many are warped, twisted, have knots in bad spots, etc. That PVC stuff like Miratec, etc seems to be pretty nice to work with and comes a lot smoother.

 

I use a composite trim called Miratec. www.miratectrim.com.

It's a great product, a lot of local builders here use it too. You can read the web site but it has all the properties of wood when you work with it and also none of the problems of wood either, which is why it's popular. It comes in all widths and 16' lengths. I've never seen it in the big box stores so see where it's sold in your area. It also holds paint very well because it's more stable than real wood.

The problem with PVC is that it's EXPENSIVE! Miratec is about 2/3 the cost of less than cedar. PVC is also not enviromental friendly.

 

i believe james hardie has a product called hardi trim that can be used around windows and as corner boards. i would look into that. then u will have a uniform appearance.

 

The Miratec has a smooth side and a grain side. It looks like real cedar, you can't tell the difference. It matches Hardieplank and weatherboards great, that's the combination that many builders use around here in West MI. The fiber cement trim is difficult to work with and cut, the siding is easy but personally I would choose Miratec trim over cement trim any day now that I've been working with it.

my two cents . . .