Could anyone list what the best materials would be to side a future shed with. Obviously there is vinyl, but what other options are there that may or may not be better than vinyl? Also, what about cost? Thanks.

 

I'd suggest you look into fiber cement siding. It's available in 4x8 sheets in various styles- smooth, Cedarmill woodgrain, Sierra 8, stucco (4x10 sheets in stucco), or fiber cement lap siding also available in at least 6 styles, and various width reveals. Trim boards (for use on corners or as trim around doors and windows) are also available in fiber cement, but I prefer using Miratec composite trim with fiber cement.

Fiber cement siding can be painted any color you like and it holds paint very well- not like wood or masonite that would need to be repainted every 7 years or so.

The siding itself is around $100 per square (100 sq ft), so it's very reasonably priced. Not sure what it retails at in stores, likely it's a little higher.

 

Thanks sleeper. I've looked around and found HardiPanel at lowes in 4x8 sheets marked down to $13.60 each. Looks like thats what I'm going to get. Don't mind painting. I figure I'll need 9 pieces or so for a 12x12 shed. Does that sound right? Looking at their website, they suggest a weather resistant barrier behind the panels. I won't need that for a shed, but I'm concerned about rain infiltration between where the panels butt against each other. Or I could caulk them. Any insight? Also, how would I make the doors?

 

A 12x12 shed would require 12 pc (3 per side, since it should be installed vertically), provided the walls were not over 8' tall. Hardipanel requires the weather resistant barrier (tarpaper or housewrap) so at the minimum, you should wrap the shed with tarpaper- it's cheap insurance against leaks. You'll leave 1/8" between panels and caulk it with caulking that meets the ASTM requirements for use with hardipanel. I use either OSI Quad or Geocel ProFlex.

As far as the doors are concerned, it depends what you want them to look like. Double doors seem to work best. roughly 24"x6' each. If you want them to look like the rest of the shed, you could build two 2x3 frames and screw the hardipanel to them. Then get some heavy duty barn door type hinges and put about 4 hinges on each side. A barrel bolt installed vertically near the top-center will be needed on one door (the passive one) to hold it shut and a latch can be put on the other (the operating one). Doors are fairly tricky to make and have them work as planned, so it's pretty hard to describe here.

 

Thanks a lot sleeper. Great information. Yes, the walls will be the normal 8'. So I'll wrap the framed walls with housewrap or tarpaper and then nail the hardipanel on with stainless steel nails? Also, do you think I could get away with using 2x3s 16"oc to frame the walls? Probably going to frame a 3:12 roof on it.

 

Sure- it's just a shed! For the corners, you could sheet right to the corner, then apply a cedar 1x4 (or similar) as corner trim. On houses, something like Miritec 5/4 would be installed first, then the siding would butt up against it. But for a shed, going on top would probably be better, since you won't have a lot of framing to work with at the corners.

Just be sure that when you frame, you figure out how your siding layout will work. In other words, when you pull your tape measure from the corner of the building, you'll want the center of your studs to be on 16" centers so that your siding panels will join together over a stud. Picture yourself working left to right putting on siding as you frame. Then you won't kick yourself later.

 

Thanks for the help sleeper.