We Begin With The Fibre Cement Board Cladding

It is so very exciting! We have completed the fibre cement board cladding on the very first exterior wall. We have several walls to go, but we have perfected the technique on this first wall, and are ready to tackle the cladding on the rest of the container house project. Read on and see the photos.

We chose one of the smallest walls to start with. This allowed us to test our action plan and come up with solutions for any problems before they became large issues. We are now confident enough to tackle the larger walls.

The first step, of course, was to tape down the foil insulation. We taped it directly to the container using nothing more than packaging tape. Even if the packaging tape stops sticking after a few years, it won’t matter, because the screws holding the boards in place will also hold the foil insulation in tape.

After that, we carefully cut the fibre cement boards to the correct length and screwed them to the outside of the shipping container. Because of the wavy design of the sides of the containers, the tips of the screws will be safely hidden between the exterior and interior cladding once it is all installed.

The best thing about the shiplap design, is that the screws are hidden by the overlap of the board above it, as you can see in the photo below.

In this corner, we will also be installing a deck from the first floor. So, we needed to install a door frame.

Once the door frame was installed and primed, we could continue with the fibre cement board installation. We are turning into a well-oiled machine. Kevin and I sit on the scaffolding. I hold the board in place while he screws it to the steel. Louis works on the ground cutting the boards to the correct length and passing them up to us.

All that time I spent sitting in trees as a child has really paid off! The scaffolding is a bit wobbly right up at the top and I am very grateful for any hand holds I have! You need your sea legs up there.

But it looks amazing, doesn’t it?

Any Problems?

We did not encounter too many problems. The main issue was that some of the corners of the cladding cracked around the screw in the section above the container. The problem was easily resolved though. Kevin inserted the corner screws a little more slowly and did not make them quite as tight as he did against the container. Problem solved!

The Fibre Cement Board Cladding Continues

The first wall is complete and we have perfected the technique. Therefore, we are ready to turn a corner and carry on.

The next question we asked ourselves is this: How are we going to make the corners where the cladding meets nice and neat? We do have a plan. Watch this space as all will be revealed.