Progress photos - siding

The siding is going up, and it looks fantastic!  Our sider (is that what I'm supposed to call him?) is originally from eastern Siberia, just across the river from China.  When he told me he was from far east Russia, I asked if he could see Sarah Palin's house.  That was a definite ice breaker (no pun intended, as apparently it gets really cold in Siberia) and we've had a nice, minimally conversational relationship ever since.  Our sider doesn't converse much.  I suspect it's because he's working by himself.  Apparently all of the other guys that he normally works with are stuck on other jobs and for the moment, he's flying solo. 

We decided to use HardiePlank Lap Siding, which we've used before on our old house.  We ended up going with an 8 inch plank, to give more of a coastal/bungalow look.  Most homes are sided with 6 inch planks, unless they're homes from the turn of the century, in which case you'll see very narrow or very wide planking. 

Once we decided what material we wanted to use for siding, we had to pick a wrap.  There's lots of information out there about Tyvek wrap versus tar paper.  After a discussion with our builder/sider and some research into what wrap material to use with HardiePlank, we ended up using tar paper.  I'm no expert on the differences between Tyvek and tar paper, but I did read a lot of interesting stuff on Tyvek retaining moisture, with subsequent mold issues.  Obviously Seattle has quite a bit of moisture, so based on our builder's recommendation, we wrapped with tar paper.  Tar paper also happens to be about $500 cheaper than Tyvek. 

HardiePlank 8 inch Lap Siding

So glad we went with the 8 inch plank!  Don't be fooled by the creamy yellow siding and trim.  Eventually the house will be painted with Benjamin Moore HC-165 Boothbay Gray and a crisp white on the trim (exact color TBD).