Hardie and Rockwool Renovation

Blue Jay Exterior Renovations was created so that we could provide excellent service for homeowners on their residential renovations. At the same time, our background has given us lots of experience with products more commonly used in commercial applications. On this project, we had the chance to combine the best of both worlds!

The home was originally clad in wood siding, and later in its life vinyl siding was installed over top. When our customers moved in, they installed new windows built out with additional depth to accommodate their future plans for a siding renovation. This excellent planning paid off, as it afforded us the room to install two 1” layers of Rockwool Comfortboard 110 insulation before putting on the siding.

We installed the first layer of insulation continuously, which means that there are no breaks for wood framing. This improves thermal and acoustic performance of the insulation. From there, we installed 1” thick wood framing (also known as strapping or furring) designed to anchor the exterior lap siding. We installed another 1” of Rockwool vertically between the wood strips for a combined 2” buildup.

We then installed 8.25” HardiePlank (Boothbay Blue), adding 3.5” HardieTrim (Arctic White) at doors, windows, corners, and as a decorative shadowband at both the front and back gables. New aluminum soffit, fascia, and eaves were the finishing touch on this simple but striking design.

The homeowners chose Rockwool insulation for two main reasons: sound dampening and moisture performance. Rockwool (and other mineral wool products) are uniquely effective at noise reduction relative to other exterior insulations. Rockwool is also a vapour permeable insulation, which allowed us to install that second layer without jeopardizing the integrity of the insulation, sheathing, or studs (non-permeable insulations could potentially trap the moisture between the layers and cause issues).

As an additional bonus, mineral wool insulation products are non-combustible, which means that it won’t burn or spread smoke when exposed to flame. Combining Rockwool insulation and James Hardie siding creates a robust fire-resistant exterior, which helps to keep everyone safe.

The home now has wonderful noise resistance and fire protection characteristics thanks to James Hardie and Rockwool, and will look phenomenal for decades to come!

Interested in siding and exterior insulation for your home? Reach out to us for a consultation!