Rainscreen for Vertical Fiber Cement Panels and EasyTrim Reveals
Hello All,
I am building a new residence (central KY, zone 4a) which will incorporate the use of vertical fiber cement panels and EasyTrim reveals. The siding will be over Zip sheathing. I will be using a max of 4′ x 5′ panels of Allura fiber cement paneling.
My plan all along has been to use Benjamin Obdyke Slicker Classic between the sheathing and the siding, but as I get closer to the actual ordering of product and installation, I am questioning the need for this.
Let me first say that I am a big proponent of the idea of a rainscreen, so of that I don’t need to be convinced. However the EasyTrim reveals incorporate an “Easy Bump” which holds the Fiber Cement panels away from the underlying sheathing making a nice rainscreen type gap. My question is if this is enough, as obviously the Easy Trim reveals themselves will be directly in contact with the sheathing but mostly where the fiber cement panels are field fastened, there wouldn’t seem to be that gap.
Also, should I go ahead with my plan to use the Slicker, what are people using to apply this – regular staples or do I need to plan to use cap staples?
thanks much!
Carl
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Carl,
Let me give your post a bump. I'm not familiar with EasyTrim, but the online pictures (Man. What a horrible-to-navigate website) suggest the trim pieces hold the cement panels away from the siding. If that's the case, I suspect you don't need anything else to create a rain screen.
There is a gap, but is there airflow?
Hi Jon,
It's hard to tell (hence my whine about the website). It looks like the EasyTrim is part of the company's QuickPanel system. The site says the system creates a "pressure-equalized rain screen."
It is a little confusing, but the Easy Trim Reveals are different from the Quick Panel system. I talked with Easy Trim and they do say that using them does provide a "rainscreen" gap. I also thought about the ventilation issue as this would not be from wall top to wall bottom but would be more so panel by panel. I'm also thinking about attaching washers to the back side of the FC panels where will attach them to keep a more even gap. Alot of work I know, but not as much as attaching rainscreen material over the whole wall surface. However I haven't completely decided one way or another.