Fiber Cement & James Hardie Siding Installer

Enough varies house to house that a number quoted over the phone is a guess. What actually moves your price: total square footage of wall, how many stories, how much trim and how many corners and windows break up the runs, whether the boards are primed or factory-finished ColorPlus, and how much rot turns up behind the old siding. That last one is the wild card, and it is why we walk the exterior before quoting. The estimate is free and there is no obligation. Call (916) 200-6617.

Yes. If the damage is limited to a few panels or boards, we can often repair or replace just that section. We will tell you honestly if a full replacement makes more sense once we see the extent of the damage.

It costs more up front than vinyl. It is heavy and brittle before it is fastened, so it needs more crew and more care to handle. Cutting it releases crystalline silica dust, which means proper blades, dust collection and respirators on our end. Primed boards need painting on a schedule, roughly every 10 to 15 years depending on sun exposure. South and west-facing walls in the Valley take a beating. In exchange it does not melt, does not feed termites, and holds up to Central Valley summers better than almost anything else.

Most of the horror stories trace back to installation rather than the material. Boards face-nailed when they should have been blind-nailed, or nailed so hard the head crushes through the board. Siding run down into the dirt with no ground clearance, so it wicks moisture from below. Butt joints caulked shut when the manufacturer's instructions call for joint flashing and no caulk, which traps water inside the wall. No flashing where a roof meets a sidewall. Every one of those is a crew decision, not a product defect.

Harder than it looks and much harder than vinyl. A twelve-foot plank is heavy and wants two people. Cuts have to be made with a dust-controlled saw or shears. The fastening pattern, the clearances at grade and at roof lines, and the gaps at horizontal flashing are all specified by the manufacturer, and getting them wrong is what voids the product warranty. Plenty of homeowners attempt it. Most of the repair calls we get on fiber cement are on walls somebody did themselves or hired cheap.