This requirement is not just to prevent damage to the siding it serves a couple of other functions as well.
Gap for smart siding and ground.
Siding materials need proper clearances between finish grade and the siding regardless the type of siding.
List of the cons of lp smart siding.
Once you go beyond that limit then the pro rata deduction on the coverage you receive is 2 2 per year.
The warranty on lp smart siding is not very long.
The manufacturer requires a 3 16 gap at the end of each piece of siding.
This includes butt joints and places where the siding terminates vertically against windows doors and other fixtures.
Climb cut the surface of the siding such that the rotation of the blade cuts downward on the primed or prefinished surface.
Leave a 3 16 inch 5 mm gap and seal.
Insulated sheathings lp smartside lap sidings may be installed over low compression.
The only thing currently blocking the gap is the tar paper i believe it s tar paper that comes down from behind the siding.
There is roughly a 2 inch gap at the back of my house between the fiber cement siding and ground level that leaves the crawlspace exposed.
Lp smartside engineered wood trim siding resists damage from impacts better than fiber cement and vinyl siding.
Where siding butts window trim door casings and masonry etc.