Patent ID: 7758954

Claim:
A building article comprising: a substrate comprising fiber cement having a porosity of about 2% to about 80% by volume, wherein the fiber cement contains in the range of from about 2 to about 80% by volume of cement, from about 30 to about 70% by volume silica, and from about 1 to about 15% cellulose pulp, and wherein the substrate contains hydroxyl functional groups; a first composition coated over at least a portion of the substrate, wherein a portion of the first composition extends into a subsurface region of the substrate, said first composition comprising a water-based epoxy sealer having a plurality of cross-linking molecules wherein each molecule has at least two reactive functional groups, each functional group being capable of forming chemical bonds with the hydroxyl functional groups in the substrate; and a first cross-linked interfacial zone comprising an interlocking matrix formed in the subsurface region of the substrate, said interlocking matrix comprising hydroxyl functional groups in the subsurface region bonded to and cross-linked by the cross-linking molecules in the portion of the first composition.