Louisiana Pacific Siding

[Susan]

I'm sure both you guys and my sales rep are getting sick of all my questions, but when you plunk down this much money in one fell swoop, I guess anyone would ask a million questions.

We found out we can get hardboard siding on our Keystone home by Palm Harbor. The manufacturer of the siding is Louisiana Pacific. Anyone have any dealings w/this product? I know in the past they had a lawsuit filed against them because of this product, but I've also heard they have corrected the problems that caused this.

Thanks!

[Mac]

Hardboard, or OSB? Hardboard is essentially paper. OSB is the stuff I had (Inner-Seal, now they call it Smart-Lap and Smart-Panel, I believe. I'd still go with Hardi-Plank, but if you take good care of it and make sure all windows etc. are properly caulked, you should be OK.

[Susan]

Hardboard is the only option unless we go w/vinyl siding. Hardiplank, hardiboard, smart panel, etc. are not options offered on this home.

We are trying to make the right choice between Hardboard by LP or vinyl siding w/an OSB wrap. We just weren't impressed w/the vinyl as it seemed cheap and flimsy.

[JohnnyJ]

I have looked and found no reference to the "Keystone" model on any of the
Palm Harbor web sites.

I was frustrated by dealers who mask the product identity with "code" names.

One of the PH dealers in Alabama used names like Kennedy, Johnson, etc.

One of the Patriot dealers uses female names like Abigail, Jennifer, etc.

The use of those names indicated to me that the dealer was already trying
to pull one over on an unsuspecting buyer, and confuse them from the
beginning. I never went back to any of those dealers. Reason: If I were to
comparison shop from one dealer to another, they would have no clue
when I asked about the "Jennifer" model.

I'm certain that no one here knows the home you are looking to buy. If you
could clue us in as to a model number, we would know.... and so would
you.

good luck

[rmurray]

I would be inclined to say the vinyl would be the best choice....Hardboard was big in the industry a few years ago..all suppliers said it was great..we all fell for it and proudly sold many..almost everyone has had problems...I would have a hard time ever selling hard board again..

[angelnstix]

I have a question...Susan have you ever seen what hail can do to vinyl siding? I strongly advise against it...yes they have their so called warranties, but waiting for it to be replaced is a headache alone. I have had both, I KNOW. We went with the cement siding on our home we have now, it cost more, but it will last. I don't want my home looking like crap even for a day, and one hailstorm and there you are, full of holes with vinyl siding. But I guess if you live where there is no hail, then it may be good. Oh and my son also hit our vinyl siding with a small toy bat and it put a gouge in it. I just was not impressed at all. Sorry for the negativity but I hate to see anyone get let down as I was. Good luck in your decisions and you are VERY wise to get advice when in doubt. Take care.

[angelnstix]

Another bit of advice, every 2 years with the hardboard we had on our Palm Harbor we would caulk where it needed, we NEVER had a problem with the hardboard. Just make sure when you get your home it is painted as it should be, if now have the factory come out and touch it up. Go over everything in your new home with a fine tooth comb. When your home is delivered and you have to sign the inspection sheet, DO NOT SIGN where it says you have inspected, simply put "NOT INSPECTED", it will take you a good 3 days to go over the entire home, if theres a crease in the linoleum for instance, they HAVE to fix it. This is true for any manufacturer, not just PH. Most manufacturers have a checklist for you and you go through it and make sure everything is perfect and I mean perfect. PH is VERY good about making their customers happy, not the dealer but the Palm Harbor company itself, they have a guy that will come to your home in a truck with everything he needs and he will fix anything, I was really impressed with them. We have a Fleetwood home now and I must say they are NOT as easy to work with as PH was. Your going to get a lot of different points of view when asking questions, but I feel confident in telling you how I feel because I owned a Palm Harbor had it for 7 years and was very pleased with it. We sold it and moved to my parents ranch and the cost of living is much higher in the country so we opted for the Fleetwood because we could get a 32 X 80 with 4 bedrooms cheap. I love it so far, been in it for almost a year. But it is NOT a Palm Harbor, it is not fancy. But it is home, and I am back where I was raised. Keep those questions coming, a home is a major purchase and you need to be certain to do it right. angelnstix

[Charlotte]

She is right about hail damage. I am in Colorado, Denver specific. Several years ago I was at a dealership that had a beautiful three section home that had many, many holes, large and samll inthe siding. Vinyl. I asked what had happened, the answer, Hail.

I don't know what happened to the home but the damage was awful.