Roof & Siding For House

[Hogballs]

Hi, all-

I'm a non-firefighter and am building a house in inland Southern California (3000' elevation, lots of brush) and am looking for some advice on fire proofing.

This looks like it might be an appropriate forum for my questions, but if it's not, feel free to yell at, ridicule, spit upon and direct me to the right spot.

The house is spec'd for Hardiplank siding (http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/prodhome/hardiplank.php) and Eagle concrete tiles (http://www.eagleroofing.com/products/products.php?category=3) for the roof.

Now (after the Cedar Fire) we're wondering if it might be better to switch to stucco, at least on the north and east sides of the house, for the siding and standing seam for the roof?

Or are the concrete tiles and Hardiplank siding a good bet?

Hog

[Jackson8888]

It sounds like you are on the right track. The concrete shingles should be fine as long as all of the gaps are sealed. However, I advise you to reconsider the wood siding and lean more toward stucco.

Boulder County in Colo. has a good web page on the subject:http://www.co.boulder.co.us/lu/wildfire/construction.htm (http://)

Remember, just as important as the construction materials is the flammable materials within 30 to 100' of the house.

[Hogballs]

The siding is a fiber-cement composite that contains no wood.

It conforms to these standards:
1. Non-combustible (ASTM E136)
2. Approved for fire-rated construction (ASTM E119)
3. Flame spread of 0 (ASTM E84)

What I'm wondering is, since the product is a 'lap siding', whether we need to worry about embers getting inside the wall via the laps...

Hog

[neiowa]

Before using stucco research fully. There are several "systems" having very severe problems (nothing to do with fire resistance) around the country (particularily in the SW) resulting in tremendous repair costs to homes. AND lots of rich lawyers.

After the fires in S. California of a few years ago there was considerable research around design for resistance/surviving wildfire. Likely someone here can refer you to sites with reports. Magazine Fine Homebuilding - June/July 1995 - #96 had a very good article on the results of the subject "FIRE-RESISTANT DETAILS
by John Underwood. Studying the houses that survived the 1993 Laguana Beach fire storm yields lessons in building to withstand the heat"

See also www.fireveil.com