My home is approx. 22 years old and has cedar siding with pine trim around window, doors and what I believe is called the water table. The cedar needs to be painted or stained but the pine is rotten. Should I replace the trim with hardiboard or PVC or some other material?

PVC does not take paint very well but it has become a great material for trim. Pine isn't all that bad but it must be primed/sealed on all 6 surfaces before installation if you want it to last.

The most durable product to use to replace the pine trim IMO is Hardie Plank. It is a cement board siding. It can be painted.

Some links:

James Hardie fiber cement siding from WFP Cedar:

James Hardie fiber cement siding from WFP Cedar (http://www.wfpcedar.com/cement_siding.html)

Google search for more info:
siding hardie cedar - Google Search (http://www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=siding+hardie+cedar&spell=1)

My home is approx. 22 years old and has cedar siding with pine trim around window, doors and what I belive is called the water table.Is this a 2x6 or larger sill trim? If so I would replace it with rufsawn same dimension cedar. The cedar needs to be painted or stained but the pine is rotten. Should I replace the trim with hardiboard or PVC or some other material?For upscale, same size cut cedar is the best. I personally like rough sawn for a more natural hi-country asthetic look. nm:)

I would leave the pine on there and cover it with pre painted aluminum. You can buy ready made material for many applications including profiles that fit over standard brick mold. It is most commonly sold in white, sometimes in brown. Coil stock is available in many colors. You can rent a sheet metal break to do custom pieces or find a contractor. Much of the trim on my house was originally redwood, but much of it rotted in less than 10 years. I don't know if it was cheap junk or poor workmanship. In 1985 I covered ALL my trim in aluminum. It was a lot of work, but still looks good without any maintenance. I also ripped off the deteriorating hardboard siding, put inch foam board on, and then vinyl siding.

I am reaching the point where I would be too old to be up on a ladder painting, especially the gable ends of my 2 story house. Glad I planned ahead when I was younger.

Before I put ''hardiboard'' or something on my house, I would want to see a job 10-20 years old with no maintenance

I would leave the pine on there and cover it with pre painted aluminum.
Before I put ''hardiboard'' or something on my house, I would want to see a job 10-20 years old with no maintance

Hi Labman,
Would you be able to give a web site for the aluminum product you just mentioned. If it is too good to be true then I am interested. :D nm

My home is approx. 22 years old and has cedar siding with pine trim around window, doors and what I belive is called the water table. The cedar needs to be painted or stained but the pine is rotten. Should I replace the trim with hardiboard or PVC or some other material?
Hardiboard is a great material but is very britle. Pvc is a good material but I don't think you will like the final appearance. To be honest I would say that the pine lasted 20 years or so I would replace it with pine or another wood. It will be cheaper and faster to go with wood. There are many alternatives to wood but in the end wood is just as good a product that is more forgiving than most other products dollar for dollar.

I would never put wood trim on a house. Now that it is over 20 years later, I am so glad I did away with all the wood trim on my house. I would hate to even think of starting to replace the wood trim again and then be painting it again in 5, 10, 15,. years.

I found many of the profiles including the brick mold stuff at lumber yards. Much of my material came from Carter's and Wick's plus a local lumberyard. I think I bought the coil stock from an aluminum products contractor. You should be able to find the material at Lowe's or Home Depot now.