How to install Hardie® VL Plank

This is a video about How to install Hardie® VL Plank
I have been able to get hands on with the Hardie® VL Plank, this is a fibre cement cladding that is pre finished in several colours, it comes with a 15 year warranty and is easy to install and maintain.
It is a great alternative to traditional wall claddings such as timber and it is completely fire proof too.
For more information about the Hardie® VL Plank click this link
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[@mikeenglish7063]

Silly question time. If installing cladding vertically. How do you maintain the vent strip , when the lower batten would close off the vetilation void

[@ukconstruction]

Hi Mike, you need to cross batten to maintain the air space and use the deeper vent strip at the bottom

[@mikeenglish7063]

@@ukconstruction cheers Robin. , i thought it might be that. But wondered if there was a clever product to avoid it

[@jacobecorder]

45 degree Diagonal battens would work also.

[@EtreTocsin]

Why wouldn’t you just cover the vent strip with the vertical boards?

[@conorlavery4762]

What a beautifully precise and well engineered system...... this product was destined to be in your hands Robin....... match made in heaven

[@rinokentie8653]

Many thanks! Much clearer than the official Hardie videos. Now I know how to do my project.

[@skiathosmobi]

Lovely presentation as usual 👍

[@philipdavenport5246]

I'd definitely want to be the man who fitted the battens in the first place if I was to fit the board as well.

[@ukconstruction]

That is a must if you ask me!!! the preparation is absolutely key and the battening should be done with care and consideration for flatness etc!! great comment Philip!!

[@horsk9704]

I used the standard Hardie plank three times now on old terrace houses. It lets the brick work dry out for good so even though its not insulated a dry brick is much more thermally efficient. My only problem was ending it against the house next door neatly but i just got some black plastic trim from eurocell and ripped it down and glued it on. But i think ill try the VL plank next time as it looks so much easier for a one man job.

[@pauldunne9437]

Will be using that on my garden room

[@mattopham6709]

To use this stuff you have to invest in the entire "system" seems to be the trend these days. Special end grain sealer, special screws, special saw blade, special bottom trim, corner trim just not something I'd buy into unless we were asked specially for it. Looks a tidy job but Rob "neat n tidy" Clevett could polish a turd amd it'd look good

[@TheNorthernmunky]

Makes it look easy, beautiful work

[@ukconstruction]

Thank you Logan, kind comments are my favourite!!

[@grantholdaway186]

Great video, helps a budding self builder who will be installing a product such as this the confidence to do so and what it entails. The devil's in the detail and you cover most of it. Keep it up, am learning a lot!

[@petermc1743]

Great video as always thanks Robin. On the subject of reducing waste, there are freely available, easy to use on-line tools which allow you to fit your cutting list into the stock size, with the minimum wastage. Search for "cut list optimiser". 👍

[@ukconstruction]

Great tip!

[@SmallWonda]

Oh, that was really interesting - & looking it up, see it's an Australian product! Goodness!! I wonder how it would compare to Colourbond (aluminium siding)? I suppose from the aesthetic, it would give a more 'natural' look - which might look better against brickwork - have to investigate costs, but interesting, thanks RObin, you are a star! My husband will be surprised.

[@buck8441]

Good content, if you do a lot of cladding it’s easier with experience to use a nail gun with s/s ring shank nails for the trims and boards also if you can’t help having joints on runs you need a roll of Epdm tape. 👍

[@TheHairyKarl]

Great vid Rob, would be cool to see a standard hardie board installation vid too. I install it all the time but would be good to see a vid with yourself in case there’s any tips and tricks.

[@ukconstruction]

If I do some soon I will indeed publish a video, have a great week

[@TheHairyKarl]

@@ukconstruction cheers Rob, love your work

[@jewellers]

I'd like to see that as well - Using it more and more in shower rooms so a video on that would be great.

[@michaelplays2449]

great video , thanks

[@ukconstruction]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@neil-mv3it]

great video

[@ukconstruction]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@darrenmackenzie1892]

Great video... I'm planning to clad using pvc exterior cladding.. but there's no video in how I'd finish off a door way??

[@cliveramsbotty6077]

giving qvc a run for their money

[@zitobin1]

Great video mate. Are there profiles that deal with out of 90 degree internal and external detail? Say a 75 degree external corner for example?

[@kelvinwilliamson8173]

I saw a clip of Ed with a Festool eco-skeleton this week, is it for real and will you do a short please?

[@lorrym2007]

Please can u do a video on the vertical in this system ? There's nothing on website or utube 1. maybe a video on butt joints, trimming around windows and doors 2. If I'm double batterning up to my neighbours wall I will be 65mm+ proud..wondering how to finish such a detail? Top bloke ,great videos Kind regards D

[@nevans8416]

Is it possible to fix a utility power cable to the outside of this cladding, if so how would you recommend this? regarding fixings etc.

[@2loco]

That is lovely. Thanks for the demo mate. 🫡

[@ukconstruction]

My pleasure!

[@Si-jk4iy]

@Robin Clevett How did the Hardie Cement Blade go for Tooth width on your Track Saw? Did you need to put fresh Sacrificial strips along the Cut Guide Edge?

[@Morning_Rays]

I learn so much from your channel. Super. Thank you. Two questions please. What kind of dust mask do you use? How do you fit soffit? Does it go over cladding?

[@ukconstruction]

I tend to use these masks amzn.to/455XzQQ and I depends on the cladding type, I try to come up underneath the soffit if possible, but sometimes we cut the soffit against the cladding, in lots of cases you may need a cover fillet bead for the join

[@Morning_Rays]

@@ukconstruction Thank you

[@darreningram299]

Great video Robin, very clear and easy to relate back to if needed. Regards to the VL plank, if you had a long run, on other brands of external cladding the joins are visible and I always think they look unsightly. He was unfortunate enough to have a long run, is there a special way of joining the boards or did they simply just butt up together with a clean mitre cut after you’ve sealsealed the ends??

[@ukconstruction]

The butt joint in the Hardie VL Plank is similar to timber cladding, Clean cut followed by the sealer and then you leave a 1mm gap between the cut ends, there is an EDPM tape that is positioned behind the board joints onto the batten frame. I have a video with this detail that will be published on Sunday this week, Thank you for watching and your kind words

[@darreningram299]

@@ukconstruction cheers Robin, much appreciated. Have a good day mate

[@johnfithian-franks8276]

Hi Robin, I live in the UK and have a brick built house with a 50 mm gap onto the inner brick wall. My house is about 70 years old and some of the bricks are showing damage to the face of the brick, I do not like rendered walls and have always thought of siding as being used in the USA only. Would you recommend this siding to go over the brick face to protect the bricks behind them.

[@ukconstruction]

Hi John, lots of people fit this type of cladding to enhance and protect existing structures and buildings, and if fitted with the correct void ventilation etc this would be ideal, be sure that treated battens are also used

[@andybibby]

Can PIR insulation board be placed behind this??

[@RobertClark-tp5kp]

I found this very useful but not being a builder I got confused as the words "Trim" and "Profile" were used interchangeably, and the camera panning in to profile/trim in question was too brief - I had to rewatch 3 times at 50% speed with captions on. I think it would be helpful at the end of the video to have a list of all the profiles used. The demonstration frame with batons seems to have roofing membrane behind it. On a 1966 townhouse I imagine that the old decaying wooden cladding will have blockwork under it. Would one fix a membrane on this? Or could one paint the area to be clad with Thomson's Water Seal (or equivalent) ? On neighbouring townhouses on the terrace where there is replacement white plastic cladding and the cladding has been joined to meet the horizontal span, there seems to be a white plastic tape over the joint. But in the Hardie's catalogue there is a black EPDM tape, which I think from the video goes behind the joint, but no white tape to go over the the front of the joint. Should/could there be and where would one source this? Finally where a joint is necessary for several horizontally laid VL planks, should these be staggered or should they be in a straight line?

[@davetaylor4741]

Welcome to my World. The same but different. In the land of it's birth we generally put it up straight over the stud work which we frame at 450mm. We house wrap over the studs so no cavity under the planks. Hardie do their own breathable house wrap but it is expensive. The rest is much the same. Being fixed gauge it usually doesn't work with the perfect run over header. That is normally a cut round on windows and doors. Getting the boards in between two windows or a window and a corner etc. Can be a fiddle. Long boards with lots of large cut outs hard to stop from snapping. Your mock up is only short walls with no joins. There are different joining methods. None that great. If you had a straight joint then you could have a pretty good join. But staggering the boards for look and strength not so good. Hardie must be paying well. This is the second info commercial. I reckon if I had a dollar for each of these planks I have put up over the last 24 years I might have nearly as much as the advertising contract. Work smart not hard. You have the right idea.

[@ukconstruction]

Hi Dave, Hope you are well mate, thanks for your comment, you are right about if you have a long board with several large cut outs then you really need another pair of hands!! Have a good week down under mate!!

[@jlewis1688]

Could you cut the boards with a chop saw if you could fit the Hardie blade in it ? it looks fantastic stuff, thanks for doing the video

[@garethmorgan8475]

That's what we do in Aus

[@ukconstruction]

Yes you can, you can get all sizes of blade and as long as you have a decent dust extractor this will be good!!

[@jlewis1688]

@@ukconstruction thanks for the reply

[@stephenmartin5841]

What about internals? Is there a cover for that too? Or is are do you have to scribe them like normal?

[@ukconstruction]

Hi Stephen, the internals are cut or as you say scribed into the internal corner channel with a 1mm gap, it looks neat, there was some footage in the video showing this part

[@cengeb]

I dont think we have this version in u.s. lap siding type is whats on my house. Hardie is great stuff. We dont have big space between beams for lap siding.usualy goes over flat walls.

[@Heaveho120]

I know that house at 6.09! It's where I live in Felixstowe. That house took an absolute age to erect.

[@stevestheboy1]

just thinking of doin our porch in hardy would it b ok to put 25 mill of celotex in between the battens would this affect the airflow

[@ukconstruction]

You need to maintain the clear airflow, you can put the 25mm insulation behind the battens providing you secure the battens with the appropriate number and type of fixing and at the right spacings etc

[@stevestheboy1]

@@ukconstruction thank you

[@danthechippie4439]

Hi Robin, is it only available in the UK?

[@ukconstruction]

No Dan I believe it is available in many countries

[@cengeb]

Utility knife,craft knife?

[@tullgutten]

11:42 now you have a large hole where an mouse can EASILY go in between the trim and the vent grid... That is a big fail with this system. A mouse needs just 5mm to go in and that looked like 10 or 15mm square

[@conanthedestroyer7123]

15:27 That is what she said.

[@joehart3826]

This is a good video BUT - where's your knee pads?

[@peartonperformance5212]

Every video this guy has a different brand of power tools 😂

[@ukconstruction]

I use what ever is closest!!

[@peartonperformance5212]

@@ukconstruction I don’t think it matters with the level of skill you have, you could do the same job with Lidl own brand tools 👍

[@cengeb]

Screws are self drilling,self tapping have a different tip

[@djtaylorutube]

Whoa, safety first! 5:45 you CANNOT just use a sponge from the kitchen without first donning hi-vis, hard hat, goggles and most important ASK PERMISSION OF SIGNIFICANT OTHER!

[@davidwilson-tn3sm]

Hardie board has a very sketchy reputation.. I'd be worried if this going to be commonplace in the UK. It has struggled in less wet countries .... UK stick to what works.... this ain't it.

[@cengeb]

When installed correctly, like seal all cut ends, don't caulk butt joints, only caulk where Hardie says in the instructions, hardie has a 30 year warranty 15 year on the painted surface..stuff is fantastic, insects fire proof, strong, must be installed correctly, like anything, quality stuff needs to be installed properly

[@cengeb]

And use the caulk that Hardie says to use, there is a difference

[@paulmonkcom]

Should we wear a mask when fixing the boards? Is the dust very hazardous?

[@ukconstruction]

Hi Paul, any material that has the potential to generate dust whilst being machined etc can cause problems so I would say yep a mask is basic PPE needed

[@paulmonkcom]

Thanks for your speedy reply, much appreciated@@ukconstruction 8~)

[@Oli_Hudson]

Is that your Porsche in the background there Robin?! 23:06

[@ukconstruction]

Don't tell anyone!!!!

[@skiathosmobi]

Lovely music coming from the tiki bar next door 😉