I’m looking into the possible purchase of a newbuild townhouse unit in a northern suburb of Houston, TX. While the architecture and interior are pleasing, I am a bit leery of the fact that the exterior siding is a composite material, specifically “Smart Siding”, made by Louisiana-Pacific. The product apparently was introduced arourd 1996.
I’ve done a bit of research, and so far I’m not overly impressed with this material. It consists of something known as Oriented Strand Board (OSB), essentially resin-impregnated particle board with a thin, water-resistant covering layer that simulates wood grain. A predecessor product by the same company, widely installed in the 1970s and '80s, apparently was the subject of a massive, successful class-action lawsuit due to early failure, and numerous similar siding materials by other manufacturers have also been targets of such suits. Most of the class actions have been settled, however, and the manufacturers involved have either re-engineered their products or gotten out of the business.
Although LP claims a limited 30-year warranty against failure of its siding, on the face of it it seems a totally inappropriate material for weather resistance in the humid, insect-ridden Houston climate. I am therefore asking the opinion of anyone who may have experience with this product: Will it last at least 15-20 years with reasonable maintenance, or is it hopelessly bad and I should walk away?
If you check into it, the manufacturers warranty usually only extends to the original purchaser and can’t be transferred to the next buyer (you) and would only pay for replacement of the siding anyway. Any damage caused by leaks or rot would be at your expense.
Not familiar with this material but based on your research unless this is a real gem, I’d keep looking.
If it weren’t a townhouse, I’d suggest using it as a bargaining chip and see if you could get the price lowered to help you replace it with Hardi-Plank or even vinyl siding when or if it fails. I don’t know who is supposed to manage the exterior, but you might be able to replace it all the same, then you just have to worry if the other owners are going to keep their exteriors maintained.
This reads as if you’re defining OSB, but from context, I surmise you’re actually describing a product composed of OSB with some kind of facing or veneer.
I think you’re right to be concerned - my experience of OSB is that it is a versatile and strong material when kept fairly dry, but in a wet or even just damp or humid environment, it degrades quite severely. Plywood, for example, even if not a proper exterior grade, retains much of its strength even if has become wet and has delaminated a bit. OSB turns into something with the structural properties of crackers held together with glue.
Here’s the stuff. I am not a big fan of OSB. Whoever built my garage decided that it was a good material to use as sheathing under a sheet metal roof, and he was wrong. OSB, in my experience, will wick moisture at any exposed edge and it does not hold fasteners as well as plywood. There are many places on my garage roof where I have had to drive screws through the sheet metal and OSB into little squares of 1/2" plywood to secure the sheet metal because the nails have loosened. Despite the water-proof veneer on this siding product, I fear that it is not, as you suspect, a good product for your climate.
Right. Guess I left out a comma in my original description.
I think Crotalus’ coments are right on. L-P states this stuff has been infused with zinc borate to reduce the chance of insect infestation, but still appears that it’s high-maintenance, susceptible to early failure if there are any installation defects at all, and wholly unforgiving if moisture gets underneath the veneer. I’m going back to have a closer look at the sding and the overall construction quality of the place this weekend, but at this point I doubt I’m gonna buy.
The newer composite sidings aren’t as bad as the ones in the past.
Most people remember masonite. It completely sucked. It was a pain to put up because every screw had to be set just right or risk water penatrating. Even the jobs that would have passed a proper installation check have been falling apart lately.
If your looking to keep things as cheap as possible that product will work for you. It should last at least 15-20 years but after that I’d consider it borrowed time.
I’m personaly a fan of vinyl siding. Its cheap, easy to install, lasts a good long time and it the easiest siding to maintain. If I had enough money that I could just pay someone to paint my house every 5 years without thinking about it, I’d go with wooden siding.